Confections! What did we make? (2017 – )

[ChocoMom]

@curls  The mold is Fat Daddio's Topsy Turvy Square- model PCMM-05.  (Not sure if the item number is one that Kerekes assigned to it, or if it is a Fat Daddio item number.)  I think the transfer sheet came from Kerekes, as well. 

 

I was a little puzzled at the mould's design name, as the finished product doesn't look very "Topsy Turvy" to me. It isn't terribly deep, either.   I liked the angled cube mould a little more, esp. for making liquor cubes.  On the up-side, this square has a little more surface area for displaying the transfer sheet designs.  

 

 

[curls]

@ChocoMom thank you! Do you know about how many grams per piece?

[ChocoMom]

2 hours ago, curls said:

@ChocoMom thank you! Do you know about how many grams per piece?

According to the specs, 11 grams per cavity.   

 

Can't wait to see what you make!!! =) 

[curls]

3 hours ago, ChocoMom said:

According to the specs, 11 grams per cavity.   

 

Can't wait to see what you make!!! =) 

Thank you! I think I’ll add that mould to my list of moulds to buy.

[Jim D.]

The chocolates I made for Thanksgiving 2017. I wish to thank two eG people who helped with the technique of swirling colored cocoa butter in molds:  @Lisa Shock (in the thread on how certain decorations are achieved) and @RWood, who was very generous with her expertise on the same technique and how she created the beautiful piece that is her "avatar." Success at this decorating method has eluded me for longer than I care to admit. The marbling effect turned out better than any previous attempt, and in my new demisphere molds (custom made through Tomric), any decorating method seems easy. This was also the first batch decorated with my new Grex airbrush (when I have time, I will post some comments on that in the airbrush thread).

 

Clockwise starting with the yellow piece at the top: banana & passion fruit caramel, yuzu with ginger, Meyer lemon, apricot pâte de fruit & almond gianduja, chocolate chip cookie truffle, strawberry-flavored marshmallow & kalamansi, coffee ganache & hazelnut gianduja, eggnog with dark rum, spiced pumpkin, plum with port, coconut cream, apple caramel

 

[curls]

The Thanksgiving selection: salted pumpkin caramels, chocolate nougat, cranberry-ginger-orange ganache, and bourbon ganache. 

 

[Chocolot]

This is Cherry-Pistachio. Flavor isn't exactly what I want, yet, but needed something in white chocolate.

[dhardy123]

On 11/16/2017 at 9:37 AM, Jim D. said:

The chocolates I made for Thanksgiving 2017. I wish to thank two eG people who helped with the technique of swirling colored cocoa butter in molds:  @Lisa Shock (in the thread on how certain decorations are achieved) and @RWood, who was very generous with her expertise on the same technique and how she created the beautiful piece that is her "avatar." Success at this decorating method has eluded me for longer than I care to admit. The marbling effect turned out better than any previous attempt, and in my new demisphere molds (custom made through Tomric), any decorating method seems easy. This was also the first batch decorated with my new Grex airbrush (when I have time, I will post some comments on that in the airbrush thread).

 

 

Beautiful chocolates Jim. Can you please share with me the marbling effect on your molds? I am aware of the marbling technique using multiple piping bags with different colors in them to marble a mold. Is there a different technique?

[Jim D.]

@dhardy123, Thanks for the compliment. The assortment shows some successes and one "failure"--I use quotes because even that one turned out good enough to use (IMHO). First, the failure: I speak of the red and yellow piece near the bottom of the photo. For that one, using a gloved finger, I swirled red cocoa butter around the circumference of the cavity, and then, before the red was fully set, did the same with gold c.b. In a mold with steep sides (like the geodesic dome I used), it is difficult to do the swirling and impossible to keep the two colors from mixing. Thus the pseudo-marbling effect on that one.

Thanks to @RWood, I learned that waiting for the first color to dry is crucial. Then the colors stay separate.

 

This is all much easier to do in a more "spread-out" dome, like the demisphere I used for the others (the dark green + copper piece in the 1:00 position in the photo and the purple + gold in the 9:00 position). For those two, I used a somewhat easier technique of swirling one color (green and purple respectively), letting that dry, and then spraying the whole mold with copper or gold c.b. The end effect is marbling. I think in any marbling, it is necessary to spray a color behind the rest (that is, on top of the swirled colors); otherwise the chocolate shell shows through, which may fit the color scheme you have in mind, but likely won't.

 

I have used a technique similar to the one you describe, as in the case of having several different chocolates (white, dark) tempered in separate bowls and pouring them together into a mold, then mixing them a little in the cavities to achieve marbling. I found that very difficult--keeping two chocolates in temper, pouring them just right, and not over-mixing them. I'm just not coordinated enough to make that work in a consistent way. In that method you are not decorating the shell; you are creating it with a marbled effect, and the result is a beautiful bonbon. There is a thread discussing this technique as developed at Savour School in Australia.

[RWood]

2 hours ago, Jim D. said:

@dhardy123, Thanks for the compliment. The assortment shows some successes and one "failure"--I use quotes because even that one turned out good enough to use (IMHO). First, the failure: I speak of the red and yellow piece near the bottom of the photo. For that one, using a gloved finger, I swirled red cocoa butter around the circumference of the cavity, and then, before the red was fully set, did the same with gold c.b. In a mold with steep sides (like the geodesic dome I used), it is difficult to do the swirling and impossible to keep the two colors from mixing. Thus the pseudo-marbling effect on that one.

Thanks to @RWood, I learned that waiting for the first color to dry is crucial. Then the colors stay separate.

 

This is all much easier to do in a more "spread-out" dome, like the demisphere I used for the others (the dark green + copper piece in the 1:00 position in the photo and the purple + gold in the 9:00 position). For those two, I used a somewhat easier technique of swirling one color (green and purple respectively), letting that dry, and then spraying the whole mold with copper or gold c.b. The end effect is marbling. I think in any marbling, it is necessary to spray a color behind the rest (that is, on top of the swirled colors); otherwise the chocolate shell shows through, which may fit the color scheme you have in mind, but likely won't.

 

I have used a technique similar to the one you describe, as in the case of having several different chocolates (white, dark) tempered in separate bowls and pouring them together into a mold, then mixing them a little in the cavities to achieve marbling. I found that very difficult--keeping two chocolates in temper, pouring them just right, and not over-mixing them. I'm just not coordinated enough to make that work in a consistent way. In that method you are not decorating the shell; you are creating it with a marbled effect, and the result is a beautiful bonbon. There is a thread discussing this technique as developed at Savour School in Australia.

 

They all look really nice, Jim. I'm glad it worked better for you.  But, seeing all that that you've gotten done just reminds me that is till haven't made anything for holidays 

[dhardy123]

3 hours ago, Jim D. said:

@dhardy123, Thanks for the compliment. The assortment shows some successes and one "failure"--I use quotes because even that one turned out good enough to use (IMHO). First, the failure: I speak of the red and yellow piece near the bottom of the photo. For that one, using a gloved finger, I swirled red cocoa butter around the circumference of the cavity, and then, before the red was fully set, did the same with gold c.b. In a mold with steep sides (like the geodesic dome I used), it is difficult to do the swirling and impossible to keep the two colors from mixing. Thus the pseudo-marbling effect on that one.

Thanks to @RWood, I learned that waiting for the first color to dry is crucial. Then the colors stay separate.

 

This is all much easier to do in a more "spread-out" dome, like the demisphere I used for the others (the dark green + copper piece in the 1:00 position in the photo and the purple + gold in the 9:00 position). For those two, I used a somewhat easier technique of swirling one color (green and purple respectively), letting that dry, and then spraying the whole mold with copper or gold c.b. The end effect is marbling. I think in any marbling, it is necessary to spray a color behind the rest (that is, on top of the swirled colors); otherwise the chocolate shell shows through, which may fit the color scheme you have in mind, but likely won't.

 

I have used a technique similar to the one you describe, as in the case of having several different chocolates (white, dark) tempered in separate bowls and pouring them together into a mold, then mixing them a little in the cavities to achieve marbling. I found that very difficult--keeping two chocolates in temper, pouring them just right, and not over-mixing them. I'm just not coordinated enough to make that work in a consistent way. In that method you are not decorating the shell; you are creating it with a marbled effect, and the result is a beautiful bonbon. There is a thread discussing this technique as developed at Savour School in Australia.

Yes it was from the Savour School that I learned the technique using multiple piping bags

[Jim D.]

3 hours ago, dhardy123 said:

Yes it was from the Savour School that I learned the technique using multiple piping bags

From what I have seen on eGullet, the school's graduates learned impressive skills there. Too bad there is not a U.S. branch.

[dhardy123]

29 minutes ago, Jim D. said:

From what I have seen on eGullet, the school's graduates learned impressive skills there. Too bad there is not a U.S. branch.

Yes it all looks great. I subscribe to the online lessons and videos. They are also really well done. She just had Melissa Coppel demonstrating a moulded bonbon in one video. She gave some interesting tips for spraying molds

[Jim D.]

I did not know they offered online learning. I guess when I saw "Australia," I immediately gave up. So you think the lessons are worth the money and time? Can one follow at his or her own pace, or how does it work?

[dhardy123]

I think its well worth the money. It works out to about $10 Cdn a month. She generally has 1 new video per week which is accompanied by a recipe in PDF so you can download it. The videos can range from minutes to hours based on what she is doing. You can definitely pause the video as you work at your own pace. As  Kristen is the self-proclaimed "Queen Of Chocolate", she has numerous videos on chocolate techniques, such as molding, decorations, spraying, tempering, etc. She also does many videos on non-chocolate things like gateaux, cookies, and pastries. In addition, she has guest chefs demonstrate their techniques, such as Bachour, Haasnoot, Melissa, etc.

 

I would suggest sign up for a month and check it out. It also has a pretty active forum relating to the recipes and Kristen replies to most questions posted there.

[Jim D.]

Thanks for the examples. There are lot of non-bonbon items, and whereas I find them interesting, that's not what I am looking for. So I guess my last question to you is whether the percentage of bonbon material is enough to make it worthwhile.

[keychris]

If you're only after bonbons, you're probably going to be disappointed. But if you're interested in pastry techniques in general, I'd definitely have a look. I've been subscribed since the start (mostly just because I like to support local businesses now!) and still enjoy watching the videos. The Melissa Coppel one from last week was excellent, and there's another one coming out soon.

 

The forum is a little quiet compared to here!

[Jim D.]

2 minutes ago, keychris said:

If you're only after bonbons, you're probably going to be disappointed. But if you're interested in pastry techniques in general, I'd definitely have a look. I've been subscribed since the start (mostly just because I like to support local businesses now!) and still enjoy watching the videos. The Melissa Coppel one from last week was excellent, and there's another one coming out soon.

 

The forum is a little quiet compared to here!

Thanks for that information. The price is certainly low enough that it is worth trying.

[keychris]

A big factor might be how irritating you find an australian accent

 

I just a quick count, there's 18 videos for what I would consider bonbons, including moulded and enrobed chocolates and truffles

Edited November 20, 2017 by keychris (log)

[Jim D.]

21 hours ago, keychris said:

A big factor might be how irritating you find an australian accent

 

I just a quick count, there's 18 videos for what I would consider bonbons, including moulded and enrobed chocolates and truffles

 

That number of videos is certainly high enough that I will give Savour a try.  (See, I didn't write "Savor"  -- and I like an Australian accent--just wish all your actors didn't work so hard to get rid of it.)

[ChocoMom]

OMG!  I just tried panning for the first time!!!  FUN!!!!   Should not have done espresso beans for the first attempt, but I did. So there we go. Must have morphed into a human Tigger, eating them....'cause I'm bouncing off the walls right now.  

Process: started with ChocoVision's panner.  Left in 2 of the agitators.  450g espresso beans, coated with gum arabic.  Pics include the set up, and the final product. Used approx 900g of 72%, tempered.   40g Confectioner's glaze..and damn! that stuff STINKS!!!!!     

Will maybe leave the agitators out next time, cause I am inclined to think they are responsible for dinging the chocolate coating and giving a blotchy/ coat.   I was irritated at first because, honestly....deer poop looks better than these do. Like, more uniform, you know? (Not that I examine deer poop extensively, but we have a lot of the up here, so I see a lot of it.  Whatever.) Anyways, I had the air at 61F blowing in there.  I thought I'd need the agitators to break apart the chocolate covered beans, but maybe if I did less at a time, it would be easier to manage.  So here it is. (Not proud of it, but thought it was fun to play with.) 

 

[Kerry Beal]

Try a bit more heat - alternating heat and cold to get them to round up. What temperature chocolate are you using?

[Chocolot]

What is your cold air source?

 

[ChocoMom]

On November 22, 2017 at 10:46 PM, Kerry Beal said:

Try a bit more heat - alternating heat and cold to get them to round up. What temperature chocolate are you using?

So, alternate the heat with the cold air?  I had the air blowing in there at 61F.  I have a hair dryer strictly for chocolate use, also to the left of the panner. I used that to clean the panner our before the glazing phase.  So, I could also use that to alternate with AC?  I'm just not sure how to go about that- as in, at what point would I know to use hot air instead of cold?  It did seem like a fair amount of chocolate was wasted on the area where the agitators are attached- on the back wall of the panner. 

The chocolate was tempered, and at 88.6F, I believe.  (I used the little chocovision tempering machine to the left the panner.)   

 

14 hours ago, Chocolot said:

What is your cold air source?

 

I have an Idylis AC unit that stands the right of the panner, on the floor- which is my cold air source.   I salvaged / swiped an extra piece of the stretchy aluminum tubing during the home rebuild, exactly for this purpose.  So, I taped and sealed one end of the tube onto the AC vent, ran the tubing through a wire coat hanger, and rigged it so the  other end would blow on the area where it looked like the majority of the beans were landing.  The cold air flow was pretty impressive for such a goofy set up.    I used a ladle to slowly pour chocolate in an even manner over the beans as they tumbled. I had them going at med-slow, then increased it to medium.   Once they were dry, I took them all out, wiped down the interior quite thoroughly, poured the beans back in, and then proceeded to drizzle in the 40g of confectioners glaze.   I let run for a good 30 min just to make sure everything was completely coated. (And to get rid of that horrid stink from the glaze.)   

 

I wasn't sure what speed to run the espresso beans at, and if I should have used agitators.  It seemed like the agitators were necessary to break the beans apart some. But, I am not fully convinced of that now, because I think it might have dented the coating.  Which, would be true for anything, wouldn't it?  I can't think under what condition the denting/uneven finish wouldn't happen with those inside there. 

 

I have some malt ball centers that I can run for another trial.  Not for trial are the  Montmorency dried cherries- which I have no intention to waste. I'd love to get those panned, to sell.  

 

I am really looking forward to learning how to work this little beast properly, and make some nice products.  Thank you for all of your help!!!!  

 

 

[Kerry Beal]

As you progress and get chocolate building up on the sides - use the hair dryer on the sides. when things start to get sticky - back to cold air - 12 C or so. When you are done the sides of the pan will be clean. 

 

Use untempered chocolate at about 35-37 C.

 

And start with something easier than coffee beans! Malt balls are good. Cherries are a bitch - roll each one round if you can.

 

Pan should turn at such a rate that the product comes about 2/3 of the way up the pan then rains back down.

 

Get your hand in there to break up doubles.

 

Polish a day later - knock two pieces together - they scuff when ready to polish. Polish first til shiny - then glaze.