Confections! (2006-2012)

[Desiderio]

Anna , I think your caramel filled chocolates look scrumptios ( sp?), my caramel is lighter and more liquid on purpose, I usually use darker and firmer , depends on what I need to do.Those frogs are soo cute and well made, I can tell who lend you the mold, lucky woman!!!

[Kerry Beal]

Anna , I think your caramel filled chocolates look scrumptios ( sp?), my caramel is lighter and more liquid on purpose, I usually use darker and firmer , depends on what I need to do.Those frogs are soo cute and well made, I can tell who lend you the mold, lucky woman!!!

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Actually Anna is the proud owner of that mold. Anna is accumulating quite a fine collection of molds.

[Desiderio]

Some of the chocolates a friend of mine ordered.The production has just started

[John DePaula]

Some of the chocolates a friend of mine ordered.The production has just started   

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Stunning, Vanessa, just stunning!

[lapin d'or]

Is there any hope for overcooked caramel?

I had a go at the home made snickers bars this weekend but I have cooked my caramel a tad too high and the texture is quite brittle and very chewy. I have already poured it onto the nougat layer so I cannot easily reboil!

Is there any hope it will soften if I leave it out uncovered for a while. I left it open for a night but no change. This is so frustrating because I normally undercook caramel and if I leave it out for even an hour it goes tacky - not this time.

The taste of the nougat was superb so I have plans to try again even if I have to abandon this batch.

At the moment it will not cut easily into bars. I tried just cutting one corner and it sort of shattered - no control over the cut.

I guess I could try and peel the caramel layer off the nougat.

[Anna N]

Is there any hope for overcooked caramel?

I had a go at the home made snickers bars this weekend but I have cooked my caramel a tad too high and the texture is quite brittle and very chewy. I have already poured it onto the nougat layer so I cannot easily reboil!

Is there any hope it will soften if I leave it out uncovered for a while. I left it open for a night but no change.  This is so frustrating because I normally undercook caramel and if I leave it out for even  an hour it goes tacky - not this time.

The taste of the nougat was superb so I have plans to try again even if I have to abandon this batch.

At the moment it will not cut easily into bars. I tried just cutting one corner and it sort of shattered - no control over the cut.

I guess I could try and peel the caramel layer off the nougat.

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This is an interesting post and I am hoping that some of the experienced candy-makers will jump in here.

Here's Shirley Corriher - page 430 in Cookwise:

"The darker the caramel, the softer it will be when it hardens. With the pale melted sugar, most of the sucrose is still left to harden. In the dark caramel, a lot of the sucrose has been destroyed (converted to other compounds), so not as much is left to harden."

This sentence was so counter-intuitive to me that I had to do more research (not that I would doubt Shirley. ) Sure enough. I was heading totally in the wrong direction assuming that the longer I cooked the caramel and the darker the shade, the more likely it would be to harden up. Apparently, or so my research seems to say, if I want a nice "snappy" caramel, I need to keep that temperature in the lower range.

So, please, all you experienced caramel people, chime in here and confirm or deny my assumptions.

[Anna N]

Vanessa, your new batch of chocolates are stunningly beautiful. You are using an airbrush, yes? with the PCB coloured cocoa butter. (I mean aside from the ones that are done with transfer sheets.)

Edited to ask: "How did you do that blue/green "X"?

Edited January 21, 2007 by Anna N (log)

[Desiderio]

Thank you John and Anna.

Anna ,I use chefrubber colors, the green x is made with a paint brush , I just like to try things , its the artist in me I guess .

[choux]

Anna, I think where some of your confusion is coming from is that 'caramel' can refer to 2 different things. There is caramel as in just plain caramelized sugar, nothing else added. This is when it will be firmer at lower temps, probably about 300-320* degrees vs dark caramel at 350* or so. (please don't quote me on the temps, I'm just using examples). Then there is caramel the confection, which would usually have butter and cream added. This is usually cooked to 240-250 degress. How high you take it will determine how much water is boiled off and therefore how firm the final candy will be.

So, when I make candy caramels for dipped chocolates I would caramelize white sugar to about 330* or so(I just go by colour), then add cream which cools it off and adds a lot of water. Then it gets cooked some more to cook off the water to 243*(my preference) and poured out.

It would probably make more sense if there was more than one word to describe the process!

[Anna N]

Anna, I think where some of your confusion is coming from is that 'caramel' can refer to 2 different things. There is caramel as in just plain caramelized sugar, nothing else added. This is when it will be firmer at lower temps, probably about 300-320* degrees vs dark caramel at 350* or so. (please don't quote me on the temps, I'm just using examples). Then there is caramel the confection, which would usually have butter and cream added. This is usually cooked to 240-250 degress. How high you take it will determine how much water is boiled off and therefore how firm the final candy will be.

So, when I make candy caramels for dipped chocolates I would caramelize white sugar to about 330* or so(I just go by colour), then add cream which cools it off and adds a lot of water. Then it gets cooked some more to cook off the water to 243*(my preference) and poured out.

It would probably make more sense if there was more than one word to describe the process!

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I agree that your explanation would makes sense, however, Shirley is talking about caramel as in the candy. And further research in other candy-making texts seems to confirm this:

Kendrick and Henderson - Candymaking - offer a number of recipes for caramel candies - the one called "Soft Caramels" is cooked to 244F (120C) (firm ball stage) after the dairy/fat addition. This is higher than any of the other caramel candy recipes.

[choux]

She is talking about just plain old caramelized sugar, which can be used for making spun sugar or cages, like she says. If you try making spun sugar with a dark caramel it will be soft ans won't hold its shape. It's when you add another liquid to the caramel that you need to cook it higher to drive off the water to make it firmer.

You can make caramel candies made from light caramel and from dark caramel, it just depends on when you add the cream to stop the caramelizaton process. Then you cook that mix to the desired firmness.

[Kerry Beal]

Lapin d'or, I think you are SOL on the too hard caramel. It doesn't tend to soften much over time, but you could probably peel it off.

Anna, chewy caramels are brown due to the maillard reaction, where lactose (a reducing sugar) reacts with milk protein. A longer explanation can be found in the caramel class in the confectionary course.

Sucrose caramelization is involved when you make toffee and liquid caramel.

[prairiegirl]

Tammy and Vanessa,

Your chocolates look very interesting. Do you have your recipes posted anywhere?

[heleen1]

THe exact same thing happened to me this weekend, when I was making the home made snicker bars just like you did ;o). My caramel was too hard to cut also. I've made caramel before, and it was a lovely chewy texture, but I'm fearing for people's teeth with the one I made over the weekend. I'm guessing it needs to be cooked not quite as high the second time as we did. I have to check my other caramel recipe to see what the required temperature is for that one, but I'm sure this one was cooked somewhere between soft ball and hard ball stage, and I'll definately stop at 'soft ball' next time.

[lapin d'or]

Well my too chewy home made snickers bars have now been rescued.

It was a bit of a marathon, but I managed to deconstruct the caramel and nougat layer, re-cook the caramel to a softer setting, squidge the nougat back in the pan and then top again with the caramel.

I have just dipped them which was a bit messy as the nougat was now somewhat crumbly but yum they taste so good.

Many thanks for the help. I will try hard to get the caramel right next time - it will be so much easier!

I am taking the bars into work tomorrow and hoping everyone enjoys them as much as I do.

Thanks Kerry for the recipe

[enurmi]

I'm thinking of doing little boxes of chocolates for Valentines Day. I'm really not sure if I'll have any interest at all, but I might as well try! I'm thinking heart shapes, three to a box; 73.5 with espresso-chocolate ganache inside, 37/43 with a creme caramel inside, and white chocolate with an as of yet undecided filling-- maybe a peanut butter, perhaps with dark chocolate accents. Any hints, tips, or suggestions? I'm going to have to ask people to see if I have any interest, and if I do, I'm thinking of charging somewhere around $3 a box. See, they're very small, I'm no professional, and the target market is pretty young.

Edited January 23, 2007 by enurmi (log)

[Kerry Beal]

I'm thinking of doing little boxes of chocolates for Valentines Day. I'm really not sure if I'll have any interest at all, but I might as well try! I'm thinking heart shapes, three to a box; 73.5 with espresso-chocolate ganache inside, 37/43 with a creme caramel inside, and white chocolate with an as of yet undecided filling-- maybe a peanut butter, perhaps with dark chocolate accents. Any hints, tips, or suggestions? I'm going to have to ask people to see if I have any interest, and if I do, I'm thinking of charging somewhere around $3 a box. See, they're very small, I'm no professional, and the target market is pretty young.

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Little boxes of heart shaped chocolates sounds like a wonderful idea. I might charge a bit more than $3 however. It is wise not to underprice - give things away, get them hooked (like we did to you), but it is difficult to raise your prices later once people have become accustomed to paying a certain price. Also if you under value your product, they will to.

You need to allow for the cost of packaging, supplies, your time. Don't forget too, that you are paying full price for all your supplies.

The chocolates you are making sound fabulous. I love a fruit flavour with white chocolate. A heart shaped mold lends itself to all sorts of nice effects by drizzling with a bit of contrasting chocolate before molding with the main chocolate, by painting a little streak of contrast, or even using some coloured cocoa butter.

[enurmi]

Thanks for the input, Kerry! I've never sold any of my food before, so I'm really just worried about getting people to buy it, moreso than making much money. I'm not sure the people to whom I have access would be willing to pay anything at all for chocolates, so... But I might raise my price-- that was just a beginning thought.

About the actual chocolates, I was also considering a strawberry filling for the white chocolate, but I'm not sure how to go about doing that. Ganache I've made before, and the same for caramel, but I've never done fruits before. Also, I get the feeling that a more jam-like, fluid center might go over better than a chewy pate de fruit. But any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

As for the hearts themselves, I was thinking of doing a little red streak of white chocolate or just milk chocolate on the white chocolate ones, some dark chocolate on the milk, and white chocolate on the dark. Any other ideas? I don't think I really have access to any brick and mortar candy making stores. Does anyone know of any in the DC/MD/VA area?

Thanks again!

[Kerry Beal]

Thanks for the input, Kerry! I've never sold any of my food before, so I'm really just worried about getting people to buy it, moreso than making much money. I'm not sure the people to whom I have access would be willing to pay anything at all for chocolates, so... But I might raise my price-- that was just a beginning thought.

About the actual chocolates, I was also considering a strawberry filling for the white chocolate, but I'm not sure how to go about doing that. Ganache I've made before, and the same for caramel, but I've never done fruits before. Also, I get the feeling that a more jam-like, fluid center might go over better than a chewy pate de fruit. But any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

As for the hearts themselves, I was thinking of doing a little red streak of white chocolate or just milk chocolate on the white chocolate ones, some dark chocolate on the milk, and white chocolate on the dark. Any other ideas? I don't think I really have access to any brick and mortar candy making stores. Does anyone know of any in the DC/MD/VA area?

Thanks again!

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What products do you have access to? Can you get (or make) fondant? What about freeze dried strawberry? Compound flavourings?

You could make a white chocolate ganache replacing part of the cream with a cooked down strawberry puree (perhaps with a bit of strained quality jam). If you had some freeze dried strawberry, you could powder it and add that to intensify the flavour. A tiny bit of kirsch would boost the flavour.

Another nice combination is almond paste, strawberry flavour of some sort, a bit of Poire William.

If you have fondant, you could put a layer of jam in the bottom of the mold, top with a bit of fondant flavoured with kirch or a strawberry flavoured vodka (if they make such a thing).

[enurmi]

What products do you have access to?  Can you get (or make) fondant?  What about freeze dried strawberry?  Compound flavourings? 

You could make a white chocolate ganache replacing part of the cream with a cooked down strawberry puree (perhaps with a bit of strained quality jam).  If you had some freeze dried strawberry, you could powder it and add that to intensify the flavour.  A tiny bit of kirsch would boost the flavour.

Another nice combination is almond paste, strawberry flavour of some sort, a bit of Poire William. 

If you have fondant, you could put a layer of jam in the bottom of the mold, top with a bit of fondant flavoured with kirch or a strawberry flavoured vodka (if they make such a thing).

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Very few products, unfortunately; just the basics. In fact, I'm worried about getting enough molds in enough time!

I don't think there would be a way for me to get fondant, and it's probably a little beyond my time and effort constraints right now. Freeze dried strawberries and compound flavorings I could probably swing at the right specialty store. I'm liking the ganache with strawberry puree et cetera in it. Thanks again for all your help!

ETA: Two other things I've been wondering about since I posted. As I'm sure you've picked up, I'm really new to this whole thing, so it's really great to have someone as experienced as you to help me! So firstly: if you were me, how much would you charge for the box? Also, what do you think is the best way to sort of 'get the word out' about this? Thanks!

Edited January 23, 2007 by enurmi (log)

[Desiderio]

I think you should have some of your potential customers, try some " samplers" , thats the best way for me to let people know my products.Usually I have a friend of mine that does that pretty well, I call her my marketing lady, because every single person she contact with some of my stuff end up ordering ( also large amounts).For the price , you need to do a little math on what are your expenses , befcause you need to be able to cover that first, your time as well.If this is your first time , do a calculation of all the things you buy ( keep recipits etc) .Boxes and packaging are expensive , unfortunally I am discovering that most perople , not in the field, doesnt have a clue of how much a box can cost.

You can order few molds online and they should be there in time , if you ordered now.

Strawberry puree and withe chocolate sounds great for me as well, like Kerry said mabe a dash of liquor, I would go with a little bit of chambord ( raspberry liquor) or if you want to go little bit more valentine spirit, you can use some champagne or champagne extract in combination with the strawberry.

You can find some color ( need to be oil based ) at your local craft store, usually Wilton brand is the only available.With that you can color the white chocolate to make the decoration inside the mold before you pour chocolate inside.

Good Luck.

[tammylc]

I started basically where you're at, and am now in the process of starting my own business. I attended a truffle making class and thought "this is easy" so I decided to make my own and sell them for Mother's Day. That's when I learned that there's a big difference between making a few dozen chocolates for family and friends and producing and packaging a couple hundred on a production schedule! But it was addictive anyway, so I offered them for Father's Day, then Halloween, with around 200-250 pieces ordered each time. Then at Christmas, I made over 400 truffles.

Now I've decided to go legit so I can start advertising more freely, and so that I have the option of selling to restaurants or stores. I'm doing it as part of a larger food related business offering customized tasting events (visit www.tammystastings.com to check out). Michigan has pretty strict laws governing food businesses, so there are a bunch of hoops to jump.

When I started, I sold mostly to friends, neighbors and coworkers. I'm fortunate to live on a cohousing community where I know all of my neighbors, and they were great early supporters of my chocolate making. Now they're telling their friends and passing out order forms for me.

Definitely do the math. I undercharged a little bit on my first time out, mostly because I didn't investigate the cost of packaging. Not to mention your time! But you do have to take into account your market. I live in Ann Arbor and we have Zingerman's, which sells all manner of artisanal chocolates, so I had a ballpark as to what this community would be willing to pay. My chocolates start at $2.50 per piece in boxes of 2 or 4, with discounts for boxes of 8 or 12 or larger custom orders. I need to review my pricing now that I've started making molded chocolates instead of hand-dipped truffles, as they are a little smaller and thus use less chocolate/ ingredients. But there are differences in labor and materials as well, not to mention the overhead involved in starting a business.

Good luck with your new venture!

[Kerry Beal]

Just in regards to the price, for a box of 3 I'd probably charge somewhere between $5 and $7.50. For my boxes of 6 truffles/chocolates I usually charge $10. For a box of 3 frogs or 3 tiramisu mice I charge $7.50 (sometime higher, depends on the audience).

But for me selling made chocolates is not my business, teaching people to make their own is. So I sell finished chocolates to show people what they can learn (and to help pay for my supplies).

[Desiderio]

Frogs and mices are bigger than regular truffles/chocolates right?And probably little more challenging to make ( not for you :-P )but they do require more time I guess?

Anyway one thing I am doing is to go online and check as many chocolate place as you can , there are so many around , something for everyone , every taste every pocket.You can find what is closer to your production line and packagin style, and compare prices.

I think I have found a kitchen , wich is kinda too expensive for me at this moment, so I am still looking around, but the place in question sells only stuff made in Colorado and they are very very ecxited to carry my chocolates ,so now I am out hunting for more kitchens ( not too many here :-( ) I wish I had the money to make my own lab down in the basement, its possible to do it , it will just cost , well maybe later one who knows

[Desiderio]

Ahh some more things to do for the business part.I talked to the owner of the store and asked her some tips , since she cook and sell stuff there as well.About labeling, she told me to go to the dept. of agricolture ( here in COlorado )and they have all the info on labeling and requirements etc.Also she told me that a sample of my products needs to be send to them for a shelf life testing, you can actually start selling before that , but still need to do the tasting , then they will get back to you with the results.

You can print you own label out of the computer on sticker etc.you are not require ( here in COlorado at least ) to put the nutrition fact unless your production is over a certain number ( cant remeber , but is high number of unit per year ).