Molded Ganache: Tips and Techniques

[Tweety69bird]

Hi everyone,

I'm thinking about Easter, and would like to do some egg shaped truffles. I have small egg molds, and my plan is to pipe the ganache into the molds, wait till the harden, remove them and hand dip. My concern is whether or not the gananche will release from the mold. Should I freeze them to ensure a release? Thanks in advance.

[Sebastian]

mm.. if you put a non stick spray down, it might work, or if you lines the moulds with saran wrap to help 'pull' them out. i've never tried moulding pure ganache, but i think it might be difficult...

[culinary bear]

The non-stick spray is a non-starter if you're going to dip the ganache as it makes the dipping chocolate slip off.

Cling-film (saran wrap) works, but it's time consuming to line the moulds.

Are the moulds plastic or metal?

[Tweety69bird]

Are the moulds plastic or metal?

They are clear plastic.. the bendy cheap kind...

Do you think if I freeze them, they'll pop out of the mold?

[Wendy DeBord]

No, they won't come out of a mold cleanly. Lining them with plastic is a pain and will give you wrinkles on your eggs. Spraying them with pan spray may not make a difference getting them to release, they could stick more. I don't think it will work even if you freeze them.

Instead, how about molding them the traditional way? Make a shell using the molds you own and piping in your ganache then sealing them.

Is there a reason why you'd rather hand dip then use the molds?

[Tweety69bird]

Is there a reason why you'd rather hand dip then use the molds?

Well, I have done marzipan eggs this way, and thought maybe I could do the ganache eggs the same way... And I thought it may be quicker to dip them than to do however many there are on the mold at a time and having to keep my chocolate in temper through the whole thing instead of just through the dipping phase.... but I do want it to work, so if I'm only going to give myself trouble with this technique, then traditional molding is the way to go...

[Art]

Please be aware that not all fats are compatible with cocoa butter. Using non-compatible fats in / along with products that contain cococa butter (such as chocolate) may lead to bloom or a whole host of other problems. One problem that may occur, for instance, is that the non-compatible fat will eventually migrate through the chocolate to the outside.

Luckily, milk fat (i.e., butter) is a compatible fat and that is why you can use cream succesfully in making ganache and butter / cream based confections.

I'm not a confectioner so I'd be just guessing but what I would perhaps try is to refridgerate / freeze the eggs then to demold, hit the mold with a hair dryer to "melt" the outside causing it to release -- also, I'd think the difference in rates of thermal expansion between the mold and the ganache would help it to release.

As I said, I'm not a confectioner and so I'm sure there is someone here that knows about this better than I. The most important point is that I suspect that whatever oil is in cooking spray is probably not compatible with cocoa butter.

-Art

[Art]

Oh, I just saw your response where you said the molds were the "cheap bendy kind". Somehow I missed that.

Those are thermoformed molds which means that a hot thin film of plastic is placed over a "negative" mold and the film of plastic is sucked down into the mold using a vacuum.

DO NOT hit the mold with a hair dryer. It will melt and/or change shape.

-Art

[Sugarella]

^^ .....sounds like you know what you're talking about to me, Art.

You should participate more often.

[Art]

Thanks. I try to participate as I can find time.

We are in the process of starting a new chocolate factory (i.e., making chocolate all the way from the bean) and so much of my time is spent refurbishing vintage chocolate equipment, building new equipment (I am right in the middle of building our winnowing machine right now), or making test batches.

I wish there were more time to spend in the forums but I often am reduced to poking in from time to time.

Thanks for your positive comments. Hope to see you around.

-Art

Edited March 25, 2006 by Art (log)

[Sebastian]

Actually, milk fat is and isn't compatible with cocoa butter. How's that for covering my bases 8-) mlk fat will be compatable with ccb up to a level of about 6% in the total fat, after which you loose the ability to temper the chocolate. In a ganache, you've typically got far more than 6% milk fat, so compatilibity is no longer an issue, as no ganaches are ever tempered. A surface coating of a non lauric vegetable oil isn't going to be any more incompatible with chocolate at this point than milk fat is (milk fat is nonlauric as well). Many smaller confectioners (usually the bigger guys who are concerned about $ and extending shelf life) use vegetable fats to make 'ganache like' centers (peanut butter meltaways, for example) where they replace the cream with something such as soybean oil or coconut oil. Any time you're talking ganache, you've got incompatible levels of oils - this is usually undesireable for solid applications, but it's exactly what you want for a ganache (the interplay between the incompatible oils is technically referred to as eutectics).

[sote23]

Pastrychef has a new item that is a mold for ganache. seems like a great idea to me. anyone have any experience or know anything about them.

http://pastrychef.com/Catalog/chocoflex_ga...lds_5363768.htm

Luis

[Anna N]

Pastrychef has a new item that is a mold for ganache. seems like a great idea to me. anyone have any experience or know anything about them.

http://pastrychef.com/Catalog/chocoflex_ga...lds_5363768.htm

Luis

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Neat but definitely pricey - $400 for one of each? Ouch!

[Sebastian]

They must think i have something on them - It's showing up as $99 for me..

[naes]

Neat but definitely pricey - $400 for one of each?  Ouch!

They must think i have something on them - It's showing up as $99 for me..

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There are 4 different molds - round, oval, square and rectangle. So, if you buy one of each, you're looking at $400.

That does seem like a pretty hefty investment. Though, I do like the idea a lot!

Edited January 2, 2007 by naes (log)

[JeanneCake]

At our local Home Goods store, they sometimes have the silicone baking pans and muffin pans - I bought the mini-muffin size to make bite-size cheesecakes. I'm going to experiment with some ganache just to see if it will work - much cheaper than what the forms are selling for in the link! I would guess I'd have to freeze them a bit for them to pop out as easily as they would out of a flexipan, the silicone in these pans seems a little thicker.

[sote23]

I like the idea because if they work, it would eliminate getting a guitar.

[K8memphis]

Well those silicone things are nice but some of them definitely impart their flavor to your hard work. Especially when you're using any kind of heat or warmth and you're wanting to produce subtle flavors. I've never used these particular ones and I have enough molds to last a lifetime. Just a thought for you.

I don't care for the way silicone bakes muffins up either. But for mini pastry shells they're great.

[sote23]

Well those silicone things are nice but some of them definitely impart their flavor to your hard work. Especially when you're using any kind of heat or warmth and you're wanting to produce subtle flavors. I've never used these particular ones and I have enough molds to last a lifetime. Just a thought for you.

I don't care for the way silicone bakes muffins up either. But for mini pastry shells they're great.

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thanks for the input. i knew there might be some sort of drawback to them.

[schneich]

look what i found, i researched pavoni because of their minitemper tempering machine, they are the manufacturers of those chocoflex molds. they seem to be a kind of italian PCB. especially those gel-metallic-glazes and the mutlicolor velours are quite interesting. next week i will checkout the how much they charge directly...

cheers

t.

Edited January 12, 2007 by schneich (log)

[John DePaula]

look what i found, i researched pavoni because of their minitemper tempering machine, they are  the manufacturers of those chocoflex molds. they seem to be a kind of italian PCB. especially those gel-metallic-glazes and the mutlicolor velours are quite interesting. next week i will checkout the how much they charge directly...

cheers

t.

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Great find!

[bripastryguy]

t

I have tried about finding out about ordering direct from Pavoni, they say it is much easier to deal with one of their established distributor all ready. I have used kerekes in brooklyn, NY and they are pretty good but they dont stock all those awesome items. If you can get direct let me know

[Linda Grishman]

t

I have tried about finding out about ordering direct from Pavoni, they say it is much easier to deal with one of their established distributor all ready. I have used kerekes in brooklyn, NY and they are pretty good but they dont stock all those awesome items. If you can get direct let me know

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Hi: I cannot find a direct website for Pavoni. Where in Italy are they located? My sales rep is going to Italy next month, so I may have her visit them.

Thanks,

Linda Grishman

[Sethro]

A guitar cutter would still be much faster. What if you need more ganache than there are spaces in the molds? You have to make multiple batches, waiting in between each for the previous to set? That already bothers me with baking in fleximolds, especially the washing them in between batches, but there's not other option in that case.

[Stephanie Wallace]

I think these are only a viable option for those us making pretty small batches. Though, honestly I don't think I could give up being to size bonbons however I'd like. I'm getting pretty damn proficient/accurate with a knife.