Confections! (2006-2012)

[Kerry Beal]

Chef Storm, who hosted us at Niagara College for the chocolate conference earlier this year, asked me to help the college when they attended the Chocolate Ball in Toronto last Friday.

For the last several years, Toronto has had a week long Chocolate Festival, culminating on the Friday with the Chocolate Ball. It is in part and event, and part fund raising for good causes. Part of the proceeds of the Chocolate Ball went to Sick Kids in Toronto - through an organization started by a precocious young lady (Ava Rose) who benefited from the hospital as a baby.

The ball was held in the Palais Royale - a 1930's dance hall on the lakeshore. It was a dark and stormy night - rain lashing the windows and breakers piling up on the breakwater just outside.

The theme was retro - 50's and 60's - so Ruth from the college and I got together and came up with some ideas. We were the only group that actually followed the theme - everyone else just put out what they usually sell - but I guess that's the advantage of being a college - your product is education.

So we made little burgers with Pierre Herme's Salted Butter Caramel recipe - sprinkled some sesame seeds on the tops before baking. I can't believe I I made and piped 835 macarons in a couple of hours. The filling was a 'patty' of chocolate ganache, topped with a piece of lettuce and a tomato made from thin pieces of chocolate clay - all glued together with the salted butter caramel.

Shakes were chocolate cups molded in shot glasses (Ruth gave up after about 200 - chocolate doesn't unmold well from glass) and put on a base of a large callet. The filling was peanut butter and jelly, topped with an italian meringue, a sprinkling of poprocks and a little chocolate straw.

Ruth made little hostess cupcake lookalikes, with the white buttercream filling, chocolate ganache on top and the signature white pigtail drizzle across the top.

Julienne potatoes, fried then shaken with chocolate sugar made the fries.

A bunch of dollar store soda fountain glasses were decorated inside with chocolate to look like milkshakes, and topped with royal icing and gumballs. We forgot to take the big one with us when we drove from Niagara on the Lake to Toronto - so we went exploring the the basement of the Palais Royale, found a gorgeous big vase, tempered up some chocolate, smeared it inside the vase, topped with some of the meringue and the chocolate straw that I made to use as a centerpiece.

We were one of the first groups to show up - and got the best place in the house. Global news did their report in front of our display.

Our display.

Benni's Beatles - the man can make a showpiece!

Check out Ruth's chocolate doughnuts.

[Kerry Beal]

Funny - last Saturday I was checking online to see if there were any news articles on the Chocolate Ball - not a one to be found. I wanted to find some pictures to post, and had to wait until Jordan, the culinary student from the college who helped at the ball was able to send me some today.

This evening I got looking again - and there seems to be a couple. So I'll post a link to the ones I found.

Here is one and here is another.

[mostlylana]

My goodness Kerry and Ruth... what a labour of love! Congrats on a fabulous display. Amazing!!What a great event. How fun would that be?! I took a look at the links you posted - lots of creativity. On the 2nd link you're able to scroll through some photos. Do you remember what product photo 8 of 12 is? It looks like some sort of dense, rich square. Yummmmmmmm...

[Kerry Beal]

My goodness Kerry and Ruth... what a labour of love! Congrats on a fabulous display. Amazing!!What a great event. How fun would that be?! I took a look at the links you posted - lots of creativity. On the 2nd link you're able to scroll through some photos. Do you remember what product photo 8 of 12 is? It looks like some sort of dense, rich square. Yummmmmmmm...

The caption on that one says "Brownies from the Palais Royale". In the pastry kitchen in the basement of the building - there were some very nice pastry chefs working away at making some treats for their table. I don't recall seeing them making that one and I don't recall seeing on their table.

It looks kind of like a chocolate cheesecake bite.

I'll check with Ruth and see if she recalls.

[Kerry Beal]

WOW that's amazing! It must have smelled like heaven! You both did great.

We baked off the macarons in the production kitchen at the college - between the duck breasts they were cooking, and the breads in the oven - it was heaven.

At the venue they were making meals in the kitchen there too - smelled great - and we were hungry! Don't recall the smell of chocolate however - perhaps I've become immune!

[Darienne]

Confectionery Partner, Barbara, and I made 8 dozen chocolate-dipped, caramel-coated pretzel rods today. And a variety of this and that with the extra chocolate. Yummm...

[rena]

I have a question about Buttercreams. I know there is a topic here somewhere. I did a search and couldn't find it.

Anyway, I made 35oz of fondant to be used as 'soft centers' for chocolate molds. It's ripening now. I want to add a Frappe to it to make it lighter. I also have freezed dried fruit powders, fruit purees, extracts and frozen concentrate orange juice and grape juice to use as flavor componets. When and how would I add the Frappe? Before I add the flavor or after? and do I heat it over a double boiler to add the Frappe and flavors? Sorry for all the questions I'm doing a sample pack for a classmate....

Thanks in advance.

Rena

[Darienne]

O.K. Back in business. I hope. Haven't been able to make much for quite a while now.

Made a few dozen Christmas lollipops and sent them down to Moab to the kids from the Multicultural Center where I was known as the Candy Lady last year.

Then last week I managed to dip everything in the house and package it up to give to folks to whom I was in debt in some way or other: vets, computer tech guy, chiro, etc.

Just made a few dozen butterscotch heart lollipops for our local library to sell and make a few dollars. Learned two things: butterscotch will stick like crazy to marble...I guess I had not oiled it enough although then there's that oily lolly back to deal with. But, much better this time, put the lollipop molds on a sheet of silpat (a woman cannot have too many silpats I have found) and they didn't stick at all, of course. Duh.

I like to make lollipops for the kids, etc,...the part I could do without is the packaging.

Next week it's chocolate coated toffee...and Enstrom alike recipe. And it's so good you can't believe it.

[CanadianBakin']

I used passion fruit puree in marshmallows for the first time today and oh.my.goodness....I could have licked the bowl clean. I can't wait to enjoy eating one after they set and have been cut. Eating it out of the bowl is pretty sticky.

[mrose]

Can I get a copy of the recipe for these marshmallows?

[lebowits]

Yesterday I made milk chocolate hearts filled with vanilla milk chocolate ganache. Today I'm making what I'm calling "Melt My Heart" which is a white chocolate variation on the "melt away" using cinnamon oil as the flavoring agent in place of mint. This results in something like a "red hot" for about 10 seconds before the eutectic effect kicks in and cools everything down so you taste the white chocolate. The molds will be smeared with bright red cocoa butter before casting the shells and the center will also be colored with red cocoa butter.

[Darienne]

Yesterday I made milk chocolate hearts filled with vanilla milk chocolate ganache. Today I'm making what I'm calling "Melt My Heart" which is a white chocolate variation on the "melt away" using cinnamon oil as the flavoring agent in place of mint. This results in something like a "red hot" for about 10 seconds before the eutectic effect kicks in and cools everything down so you taste the white chocolate. The molds will be smeared with bright red cocoa butter before casting the shells and the center will also be colored with red cocoa butter.

Sounds wonderful. Any photos? Recipe sources? Free samples sent to my house?

[Kerry Beal]

Yesterday I made milk chocolate hearts filled with vanilla milk chocolate ganache. Today I'm making what I'm calling "Melt My Heart" which is a white chocolate variation on the "melt away" using cinnamon oil as the flavoring agent in place of mint. This results in something like a "red hot" for about 10 seconds before the eutectic effect kicks in and cools everything down so you taste the white chocolate. The molds will be smeared with bright red cocoa butter before casting the shells and the center will also be colored with red cocoa butter.

Sounds intriguing!

[Lior]

A few days ago I made an Irish cream espresso coffee 2 layered truffle. I made a nice one (with the gold top) which I meant to photograph alone all by its self but hubby got to it first... (you can imagine my indignation at seeing it missing on this little plate:

[lironp]

They look gorgeous!

[Lior]

Thank you!

[lebowits]

Here are a couple of pictures of "Melt My Heart". I need to play with the formula a bit more as it didn't scale up the way I expected. It still tastes quite good.

Sorry for the fuzzy image. I need to figure out how to get a good close up with this camera.

[Darienne]

Oh my!!! How wonderful.

[CanadianBakin']

Can I get a copy of the recipe for these marshmallows?

It's in RecipeGullet: Strawberry Marshmallows There's a link in the recipe to a huge thread on marshmallows. For the passion fruit I just substituted an equal amount of puree.

edited to add: link in recipe doesn't seem to work. Try here.

Edited January 31, 2010 by CanadianBakin' (log)

[mrose]

My grandkids are coming this weekend & I want to make marshmallows for them to go with a hot chocolate mix I have made. I have an Jello jigglers mold that is a series of jelly bean shapes in a flat sheet. Do I just spray these molds with oil so the marshmallows don't stick, do I spray then coat with corn starch, or what should I do this so they don't stick?

Edited February 4, 2010 by mrose (log)

[CanadianBakin']

My grandkids are coming this weekend & I want to make marshmallows for them to go with a hot chocolate mix I have made. I have an Jello jigglers mold that is a series of jelly bean shapes in a flat sheet. Do I just spray these molds with oil so the marshmallows don't stick, do I spray then coat with corn starch, or what should I do this so they don't stick?

I think I would just spray them with Pam. Be aware it's very sticky. You may want to put the marshmallow into a piping bag and pipe it into the mold. After sitting 10 hours or more, they should come out pretty easily and then just dust them in icing sugar and cornstarch. You must store them airtight.

[Darienne]

Today confectionery partner, Barbara, and I made our first marbled chocolatey bits and Enstrom Copycat Toffee (which is to die for).

The toffee was not a complete success as the chocolate did not stick well to one side...both were wiped and dusted with cocoa. Next time, we will score and break the toffee into pieces and then dip them separately. However, I don't expect the recipients of this largesse to refuse to eat them because the coating lacks perfection.

Edited February 4, 2010 by Darienne (log)

[Darienne]

Edited February 4, 2010 by Darienne (log)

[BeeZee]

Today confectionery partner, Barbara, and I made our first marbled chocolatey bits and Enstrom Copycat Toffee (which is to die for).

The toffee was not a complete success as the chocolate did not stick well to one side...both were wiped and dusted with cocoa. Next time, we will score and break the toffee into pieces and then dip them separately. However, I don't expect the recipients of this largesse to refuse to eat them because the coating lacks perfection.

Isn't that the best thing about chocolate and candy...most people are happy for the gift of candy and happily devour it regardless of the beautiful looks or lack there of!

[Darienne]

Isn't that the best thing about chocolate and candy...most people are happy for the gift of candy and happily devour it regardless of the beautiful looks or lack there of!

Yes, I do find that my popularity has increased over the past two years.

The best pieces of the toffee are off to the vets (canine) tomorrow. Never hurts at all.