Confections! (2006-2012)

[minas6907]

Heres a jar of candy I made for a dear friend of mine.

Black - Licorice

Pink - Raspberry

Blue and Purple - Blueberry

Orange - Apricot

[Lior]

what a lovely gift to receive!

Edited May 12, 2011 by Lior (log)

[Darienne]

Heres a jar of candy I made for a dear friend of mine.

Black - Licorice

Pink - Raspberry

Blue and Purple - Blueberry

Orange - Apricot

Do you live within 200 miles of me? Will you teach me the tricks? LOL. They are beautiful.

[minas6907]

Hi Lior. I just noticed that your in Ashkelon. This particular jar of candy is for a person I know who lives near me, but I made a large batch of this to send back with a friend who lives in Tel Aviv to give to my friends there.

And Darienne, I guarantee I have no secrets! I read about the hard candy in Chocolates and Confections, and watched every youtube video I could fine that delt with it. Search for 'Papabubble' on youtube.

[RWood]

I was not going to jump on the bacon/chocolate thing, and since this was a request, I can still say I didn't .

The caterer I work for has a big client that wanted a truffle made with bacon from their new product line.

This is the first attempt. I made it with the bacon fat in place of the butter, and the texture is very silky. I added crispy bits of bacon to the ganache, which I'm not sure about as far as texture from being in the ganache. The flavor is the strongest in this version. I tried a bacon brittle as well, but the flavor was more from the brittle part and not the bacon.

I'm taking these in later to have the chef try them and go from there.

[Darienne]

I've never tried bacon with chocolate and it still doesn't appeal to me, but your chocolates are lovely. Good going!

[E.T.]

I'm with Darienne on the chocolate with bacon thing The truffles are beautiful though!

[RWood]

I'm with Darienne on the chocolate with bacon thing The truffles are beautiful though!

It's not as bad as it sounds . My boyfriend's reaction was "I'm not eating that!", but he later said he would try them.

It's not something I was interested in doing, but we'll see what happens. My only concern is the bacon seems to be getting tough, like it does after it's been cooked a while. I'm not sure about what kind of shelf life either.

[Lior]

minas6907! I did not notice your reply-so sorry!!!! Did these friends love it?

[threestars]

Seems like the bacon+chocolate taste yummy! I wish to try it!

[minas6907]

Heres some pics from a candy bar I helped with at a wedding, I briefly mentioned it on a previous post. Theres a few shots of the entire candy bar, I did the pulled sugar lolli's (licorice) sticking out at the top of the two white vases, chocolate caramels on the long white plate, and it just so happened I had some time a few days before the wedding so I made some black licorice heart shaped gummies lined up in front of the cake pops (another friend did the cake pops). I was busy helping the caterer, and I was told that like a half hour after dinner the table was wiped clean, I didnt believe it until I saw it, nothing was left except a bunch of black licorice vines! Enjoy!

[Kerry Beal]

Heres some pics from a candy bar I helped with at a wedding, I briefly mentioned it on a previous post. Theres a few shots of the entire candy bar, I did the pulled sugar lolli's (licorice) sticking out at the top of the two white vases, chocolate caramels on the long white plate, and it just so happened I had some time a few days before the wedding so I made some black licorice heart shaped gummies lined up in front of the cake pops (another friend did the cake pops). I was busy helping the caterer, and I was told that like a half hour after dinner the table was wiped clean, I didnt believe it until I saw it, nothing was left except a bunch of black licorice vines! Enjoy!

Nice job!

[Lior]

looks fabulous!!

[RWood]

I'm pretty much just making bars now, much faster with all the other stuff I have to do for the caterer I work for.

My version of an almond joy I guess, only in bar form. I make the frappe for the filling from Greweling's book. I tried using marshmallow creme once to see if it would save a step, but it was way too sweet and no one liked it compared to what I had made before. Even with unsweetened coconut, this one is pretty rich.

[curls]

Your version of an almond joy looks delicious. Might have to make that recipe myself.

[jrshaul]

I've been mucking about with chocolate quite a bit lately, but my results enrobing truffles haven't been quite as successful as yours. What method are you using for your Snickers bars and truffles?

[E.T.]

I'm pretty much just making bars now, much faster with all the other stuff I have to do for the caterer I work for.

My version of an almond joy I guess, only in bar form. I make the frappe for the filling from Greweling's book. I tried using marshmallow creme once to see if it would save a step, but it was way too sweet and no one liked it compared to what I had made before. Even with unsweetened coconut, this one is pretty rich.

Those look delicious! I'd love to try one ... or two

[RWood]

I've been mucking about with chocolate quite a bit lately, but my results enrobing truffles haven't been quite as successful as yours. What method are you using for your Snickers bars and truffles?

For truffles, I wear a rubber glove and smear a little tempered chocolate in my palm and roll it for the first thin coat. Then when it sets, I use a dipping fork for the final coat. Takes practice.

I've found for the bars, I first spread a layer of chocolate on one side (the foot), and when it sets, cut them to desired size. I use a cooling rack, and place it over the bowl of chocolate. I have a large tempering machine, so it fits over the bowl. I then ladle the chocolate over the bars, shake the rack to remove excess and smooth it out. Then use a dipping fork to move them to parchment to set. So far this method has worked the best for me. Most of the time the bars are too flexible to dip.

[minas6907]

Heres my first attempt at doing anything with sugar that isn't candy, and usually I'm pretty critical of what I make, but I'm very pleased with the results. Enjoy!

[Genkinaonna]

That's a very pretty rose! Pulled sugar was my nemesis in culinary school, I know what a PITA those little buggers can be...

[Darienne]

Exquisite. I am so in awe of your rose. And your very first.

[minas6907]

Hey thank! While it was my first rose I made, I saw plenty of videos that gave me the general idea, and the instructions in the book The Advanced Professional Pastry Chef were very helpful. I found it easier to pull a bunch of pedals and warm each one an put them together since you can further tweak the shape after warming with a heat gun, rather then pulling a pedal and attaching it immediately to the bud. I didn't have a warming box or anything, just pulling the sugar in and out of the oven. Anywho, I think i can do even better next time.

[Quesmoy]

Today was my first attempt working with chocolate, and I think they turned out pretty good. I made the Caribbean Cocktail ganache (from Andrew Shotts book), just made it a little softer, and then molded them. I also had a couple extra shells that needed to be filled, and I have some candied cherries sitting around, so I made a couple chocolate covered cherries. I am actually really surprised that I did not have the cherry syrup leak all over the place. Now I need to start practicing painting skills.

[minas6907]

Nice on the molded chocolates, you were a little adventurous with the filling, all I have ever done is the caramel filling from Greweling's book...I need to widen out, haha. Heres my latest, liquor filled bonbon, I used the formula from The Art of the Chocolatier, and it came out wonderful! These ones have a tequila syrup, they taste great, though my dipping method could use some work (first time doing dipped chocolates) and I'm I actually was able to save the chocolate twice from shells that broke, but I'm amazed in general that this process actually works! Oh, and if anyone is curious, one of the things that kept me from doing this for so long if not having a confectionery funnel, the nice stainless ones you see in videos and the books. After some brain storming, I thought something like a turkey baster would work well, but it actually didnt, liquid shot out of the thing and made a mess! Anyways, what worked flawlessly is pouring the syrup into a measuring cup with a spout, and holding a small plastic funnel over the imprint, just pouring right into the funnel, a little at a time, and the gently drops right into the cavity, worked very nicely and was alot cheaper! I almost got a stanless funnel, but it was waaay out of my price range for something that wasn't going to get much use.

[Quesmoy]

Those look good. I have been wanting to try making liquor filled chocolates, but I don't know how I would be able to keep the liquid from leaking out.