How to dip (enrobe) these marshmallows?

[JeanneCake]

With the current COVID-19 crisis closing things left, right and center; I am taking advantage of the enforced time off to play in the kitchen.  I have been obsessed with the different marshmallow offerings from a shop in Chicago and another one in Arizona.  So I've long used the recipe from Nightscotsman, adapted slightly to use  less gelatin and whipped a few minutes less for a slightly softer  marshmallow that's easy to pipe into forms or on tarts....

 

I'm using the cylinder flexi molds, sprayed; filled half way then I'm sinking a truffle into it and then piping more marshmallow on top.  I let it sit overnight then I'm dipping them into coating chocolate.  I need a way to make these look neat and because I am by no means a chocolatier, I am asking (begging!) for some assistance in making these look good. I don't know what I don't know so assume you are talking to a complete novice (because you are!) when offering help.

 

I tried dipping just the bottoms.  The tops of them aren't really level so they wobble a bit and the fluid chocolate drips on one or more sides when I'm dipping the bottoms. Then I "glaze" the tops, letting the chocolate run down the sides (I just scrape up the run off and add it to the next batch of coating chocolate I melt.)  I try to slide them before the chocolate sets up too much in an effort to minimize how much they stick to the grid.  

 

Some challenges: I don't have any cocoa butter at the moment and am unlikely to get some any time soon given the current situation.  (We have a lot of coating chocolate because we use it to dip cheesecake lollipops).  I also don't have a finer grid either (if that matters at all). 

 

Am I doing this the wrong way, or approaching it the wrong way?

 

 

[curls]

They look quite yummy. Would it be possible to build more of it in your flexi mold and pipe the chocolate base in prior to adding the marshmallow? Then you would have a solid chocolate base that might make dipping the piece easier. If you could coat the sides of the mold with chocolate too then you’d only have to deal with adding chocolate to the top.

[teonzo]

@curls  gave you a good solution if you have a bit of experience with molded chocolates.

 

Another solution could be this one:
- insert a toothpick in the bottom side of the marshmallow, going as deep as you can (half the height would be ideal) being careful to avoid the truffle;
- dip the whole marshmallow in chocolate, top-side down;
- place a wire (thin rod, or whatever else) over a piece of parchment paper;
- using a clothespin, hang the marshmallow on the wire (the "eye" in the clothespin runs throught the wire, the "jaws" hold the toothpick), so it stays top-side down and the excess chocolate continues dripping on the parchment paper.
If you use this method then I would say it's better going for a pointy top, not a flat one. This way when the marshmallow hangs topside down the excess chocolate will make a very nice looking pointy tip on the top of the final product.

 

One thing: from the photos it seems you are using the chocolate when it's a bit too thick.

 

 

 

Teo

 

[JeanneCake]

Thanks @curls and @teonzo for the help.  I will try those techniques this week. You are right about the consistency of the coating chocolate, Teo,  I did notice it got thick/viscous faster than I thought it would, I am sure because I was fumbling and thinking "dip the bottom see what happens" and "dip the top see what happens" "dip the whole thing see what happens". 

 

When we dip cheesecake pops, we are fast enough with the dipping that we run out of chocolate before there's a change in the consistency.

 

The dark side is beckoning....come to the chocolate side, Jeanne, come to the chocolate side 🤣

[Jim D.]

55 minutes ago, JeanneCake said:

The dark side is beckoning....come to the chocolate side, Jeanne, come to the chocolate side 🤣

 

When you get the bug, there's no turning back.  I know you work with AUI, which carries the delicious chocolates from Felchlin. Try some Maracaibo Clasificado.  With your cake skills, you would be terrific at chocolatiering.

[JeanneCake]

I need to get off the internet.  I just saw a video for a combination (?) Chocovision Revolation 3Z tempering/enrober/skimmer  - for which I am not buying, trust me.  I'm getting a 60 quart Hobart before I buy any (more) chocolate equipment (because I have an EZ temper, so @Jim D. the dark side has already started it's slow tease) and with what's going on in the world at the moment, I am in no position to spend $7k just because I'm obsessed with marshmallows. 

 

But wow, that is one cool machine. Sigh.

[curls]

19 hours ago, JeanneCake said:

I need to get off the internet.  I just saw a video for a combination (?) Chocovision Revolation 3Z tempering/enrober/skimmer  - for which I am not buying, trust me.  I'm getting a 60 quart Hobart before I buy any (more) chocolate equipment (because I have an EZ temper, so @Jim D. the dark side has already started it's slow tease) and with what's going on in the world at the moment, I am in no position to spend $7k just because I'm obsessed with marshmallows. 

 

But wow, that is one cool machine. Sigh.

If it is the same one I’ve seen, don’t get it. You don’t need the tempering machine since you own an EZ temper and the enrobing belt that comes with the Rev is super tiny. When you need an enrober, some of the folks here can steer you to the good units. My vote is for the 60 quart Hobart.

Edited Friday at 04:17 PM by curls fix spelling mistake (log)

[Jim D.]

9 hours ago, curls said:

You don’t need the tempering machine since you own an EZ temper 

 

I am also an owner of an EZtemper, but I would just add that while it can be used to temper chocolate, it does not deal with the issue of what to do with having a large amount of chocolate ready for making shells or dipping centers. For that, of course, one needs (on a large scale) a full setup such as a Selmi or (on a smaller scale) a large bowl and some method of keeping the chocolate within a temp range or a melter or a tempering machine. The advantage to me of a Rev machine is that, unlike the other smaller-scale methods, it automates the maintaining of the temp through many hours of making shells or dipping.

[curls]

Valid point Jim D. I have several melters of  different capacities. They work great for having several kilos of chocolate ready for use. After using a 2 quart Pyrex measuring bowl and the seed method of tempering, I progressed to my first melter (still using the seed method). Melters are a lot cheaper than the Rev machines and I find it easier to empty chocolate moulds into a melter than a tempering unit like the Rev where you have to watch out for the machine parts that are dividing the bowl. A few melters and an EZ temper are my current setup — works great for me. Occasionally I yearn for an enrobing line but I’d need a lot more customers and wholesale accounts before that would make financial sense. I also think you get a better feel for each chocolates characteristics when you learn how to work with them without machinery.

[teonzo]

55 minutes ago, Jim D. said:

some method of keeping the chocolate within a temp range or a melter or a tempering machine.

 

You can buy 2 Paragon units and 2 big bowls. You keep one at 31°C for tempered chocolate, the other at 34°C for untempered dark chocolate to add when the first one goes low or overtempered. Much cheaper than melters, more versatile, easier to clean.

 

 

 

Teo

 

[curls]

@teonzo great idea to use Paragons instead of melters. Do you have any ideas for making inexpensive enrobing units?

[Jim D.]

1 hour ago, teonzo said:

 

You can buy 2 Paragon units and 2 big bowls. You keep one at 31°C for tempered chocolate, the other at 34°C for untempered dark chocolate to add when the first one goes low or overtempered. Much cheaper than melters, more versatile, easier to clean.

 

Teo

 

 

Yes, but don't you have to pay some attention to the chocolate, such as stirring it from time to time so that it doesn't become overtempered too quickly and so that the temp is constant throughout the bowl?

 

And to @curls' point, indeed the round nature of the bowl is an issue. I have, through trial and error, found a method of dumping the contents of molds while holding them almost vertically over the bowl. Supposedly a chocolatier in western Canada was inventing something like the Rev machines but designed so that the whole bowl is available to be "dumped over." The real solution:  Someone needs to invent a tempering machine with a square bowl.  Sounds like a challenge for a "chocolate doctor"?

[teonzo]

18 minutes ago, curls said:

Do you have any ideas for making inexpensive enrobing units?

 

Oompa Loompas.

 

 

 

Teo

 

[teonzo]

22 minutes ago, Jim D. said:

 

Yes, but don't you have to pay some attention to the chocolate, such as stirring it from time to time so that it doesn't become overtempered too quickly and so that the temp is constant throughout the bowl?

 

And to @curls' point, indeed the round nature of the bowl is an issue. I have, through trial and error, found a method of dumping the contents of molds while holding them almost vertically over the bowl. Supposedly a chocolatier in western Canada was inventing something like the Rev machines but designed so that the whole bowl is available to be "dumped over." The real solution:  Someone needs to invent a tempering machine with a square bowl.  Sounds like a challenge for a "chocolate doctor"?

 

I don't have a Paragon unit, never seen one in real life, I just know about the existence from the threads here on eGullet. So there's the chance I understood it wrong.
From what I see there is the mat, you can lay whatever you want on it (even non induction compatible) and you get the precise temperature control. So you can use the mat plus whatever bowl / pan / else you want. You just need to buy something that is square / rectangular with the measures you need. There's plenty of choice out there, both plastic and steel. Most probably you can find square containers that are induction compatible too.
If you use 2 Paragon units and 2 bowls for each chocolate you use (and you have the EZtemper), then the only things you need to clean are the drippings outside the bowls. With the cost of a melter you buy 2 Paragons and all the bowls you need and end up saving a bit.
You still need to stir the chocolate, but that's going to happen with melters too. Working with the 2 bowls will ease the work with overtempered chocolate: just ladle some from the 34°C bowl, stir and done, it's a matter of 20 seconds, much quicker than using a heat gun, microwave or else.

 

 

 

Teo