Dipping/enrobing difficulties

[bbrizend]

First off I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone that has assisted me with their knowledge and advice.  It is truly appreciated.

 

Now on to my next issue:

 

I've been making chocolate covered peanut butter balls for several years now but I have 2 issues that I cannot seem to over come.

 

The 1st issue is getting the ball, which is about 3/4 to 1 inch in diameter, fully covered in tempered chocolate.  I use a round dipping fork to hand dip each ball and deposit it onto parchment.  But inevitably, once the chocolate sets, the bottom of the piece is no longer covered with chocolate.  It's like the center is too heavy and pushes the chocolate coating aside as it rests.

 

The other issue is that while the coated piece is cooling it 'leaks' an oily substance that I believe is coming from the fat in the peanut butter or the butter that is added to the recipe.  It leaks from the exposed bottom and, sometimes, from the top where the chocolate shell is thin from where the dipping fork made contact.  I've tried reducing the butter in the recipe, but the center only gets crumbly without it and won't hold together.

 

As always, any thoughts, tips, advice is much appreciated.

[curls]

Are you dipping in milk chocolate or dark chocolate? There are more issues to overcome if you are dipping in dark chocolate.

[pastrygirl]

Have you tried pre-coating them?  It may help to put a little tempered chocolate on your hands then give each piece a quick roll to coat with a thin layer. 

[Kerry Beal]

2 hours ago, bbrizend said:

First off I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone that has assisted me with their knowledge and advice.  It is truly appreciated.

 

Now on to my next issue:

 

I've been making chocolate covered peanut butter balls for several years now but I have 2 issues that I cannot seem to over come.

 

The 1st issue is getting the ball, which is about 3/4 to 1 inch in diameter, fully covered in tempered chocolate.  I use a round dipping fork to hand dip each ball and deposit it onto parchment.  But inevitably, once the chocolate sets, the bottom of the piece is no longer covered with chocolate.  It's like the center is too heavy and pushes the chocolate coating aside as it rests.

 

The other issue is that while the coated piece is cooling it 'leaks' an oily substance that I believe is coming from the fat in the peanut butter or the butter that is added to the recipe.  It leaks from the exposed bottom and, sometimes, from the top where the chocolate shell is thin from where the dipping fork made contact.  I've tried reducing the butter in the recipe, but the center only gets crumbly without it and won't hold together.

 

As always, any thoughts, tips, advice is much appreciated.

I can't stand dipping tools for round things. I roll round stuff twice in my hands - gloved hands - scoop a bit of chocolate onto my left palm - roll the ball between my palms - drop off the fingers onto the parchment. When fully firmed up - if there is an issue with the bottom - I'll go under them with a little offset - then repeat the process for a second layer. Often the first layer is quite thin like a skim layer on a cake and thicker for the second one. 

 

I'll see if I can find some pictures somewhere but I'm not sure if I have any. 

 

RE the leaking - a huge issue with peanut butter fillings. Adding something like tapioca maltodextrin can stabilize and minimize the leakage, or perhaps some non fat peanut powder. 

Edited November 15, 2021 by Kerry Beal (log)

[Jim D.]

I had the same issue of what I think is fat bloom when I was making a dipped chocolate chip cookie truffle.  Even though I precoated them (which is a major pain), in time the fat came out onto the surface and ruined it.  That had never happened with that particular item previously.  I agree with curls that using milk chocolate is easier (I was using dark for enrobing), but aside from that I don't have a real solution.  You can try enrobing twice (let the first dip dry, then do it again), but that is a lot of extra work.  Maybe reformulate your peanut butter balls?  Add crushed cookies, for instance, to help soak up some of the peanut oil?  Maybe use a more homogenized peanut butter which incorporates the oil better (sometimes with ingredients you may not wish to use)?

[keychris]

you're getting fat migration because the chocolate is physically squeezing the filling as it sets and contracts, forcing the fat out. If you can't change your formulation, you could try adding something like a layer of crushed peanuts to the outside of the ball, then dip. The nuts will provide a layer that can be squeezed a bit (because there's air in between all the nuts) and you shouldn't see the fat come out. It should also help with your base too (in theory).

[bbrizend]

On 11/15/2021 at 9:05 AM, curls said:

Are you dipping in milk chocolate or dark chocolate? There are more issues to overcome if you are dipping in dark chocolate.

 

Dark chocolate

[bbrizend]

You'll have to pardon my ignorance but why is Milk easier to deal with than Dark?

 

And, thanks everyone for the insight.  You've given me new options for working out my issues.  

[Kerry Beal]

3 hours ago, bbrizend said:

You'll have to pardon my ignorance but why is Milk easier to deal with than Dark?

 

And, thanks everyone for the insight.  You've given me new options for working out my issues.  

Milk chocolate is more 'amorphous' than dark (ie the crystals don't line up quite so neatly) so it is less leaky to liquid oils. 

 

Have a look in the Science of Chocolate by Beckett for EM microphotographs that show this.