Cooking with "Chocolates and Confections" by Peter Greweling (Part 1)

[Desiderio]

I have tried few recipes form the book , one was little bit to challenging for my skill at this point, I dont have enough equipment and experience, but I will keep trying with more time and patience.The others were simpler and very good.Today I am going for some sleeping Beauties , I was thinking to flavor the chocolate nougat with some coffe to do a moka flavor.

I have been readiong his slabbing and piping technique for butter ganaches and I found out some of my mistakes , so I am very excited to try them properly.I recently made some chocolates that I really like and with the technique they should be even better .I love the book evey time I picked up and I read it , I learn something new

[Desiderio]

Ok sleeping beautie didnt turn well at all , I have should follow my recipes for nougat and caramel , the nougat didnt turn well at all , I couldnt spread it, totally failure, caramel ok but stayed to soft.I think I am going to follow my own recipes next time , I am very disappointed to had waste so much ingredients.

[lapin d'or]

Ok sleeping beautie didnt turn well at all , I have should follow my recipes for nougat and caramel , the nougat didnt turn well at all , I couldnt spread it, totally failure, caramel ok but stayed to soft.I think I am going to follow my own recipes next time , I am very disappointed to had waste so  much ingredients.

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That is a such a shame. I hate wasting stuff.

I am going to try one of the nougat recipes next - I will try and watch the mixture carefully so I get it tipped out before it sets up solid. I did the condensed milk soft caramel recipe at Easter and it was a bit too soft but I think I took it off the heat a bit too soon. I do not like hard caramel so I was a bit hesitant.

The caramel tasted good but I had to double dip the pieces to get them completely covered. Little bits of caramel started oozing out of the first shell. Very scary looking.

Jill

[gap]

I made the marshmallow recipe over the weekend. Very simple/quick and was a success. I just rolled this batch in cornflour (cornstarch) and icing sugar but the next batch will be layered with a ganache and then dipped.

[gap]

I was wondering if anyone has made the Meltaways? What do you use for coconut fat? Is that just coconut oil or can you buy a solid block of fat labelled as coconut fat?

[Kerry Beal]

I was wondering if anyone has made the Meltaways? What do you use for coconut fat? Is that just coconut oil or can you buy a solid block of fat labelled as coconut fat?

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As you suspected it's the stuff called coconut oil. I've seen jars in asian and caribbean markets.

I just recently bought a jar to try the meltaways, now just got to find a 'round too-it'.

[Desiderio]

I made them and they were very good , next time though I am going to dip them in chocolate .I buy the coconut oil/fat at my local vitamine cottage , but I have seen it in the grocery store as well.

[Trishiad]

I made the meltaways a few weeks ago. I wanted something I could toss together quickly and bring to a friend that evening.

I bought the coconut fat at Whole Foods and used a 70/30 combo of bittersweet and milk chocolates. I also increased the peppermint oil by 5 or 6 drops. I popped the pan into the fridge and they were ready in no time. They tasted a bit like Magic Shell. If I made them again, I'd want them to be creamier. They didn't melt away as well as I'd like. More milk chocolate next time perhaps.

[Kerry Beal]

I made the meltaways a few weeks ago.  I wanted something I could toss together quickly and bring to a friend that evening.

I bought the coconut fat at Whole Foods and used a 70/30 combo of bittersweet and milk chocolates.  I also increased the peppermint oil by 5 or 6 drops.  I popped the pan into the fridge and they were ready in no time.  They tasted a bit like Magic Shell.  If I made them again, I'd want them to be creamier.  They didn't melt away as well as I'd like.  More milk chocolate next time perhaps.

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The meltaway recipe I put together before I realized that they use coconut oil uses butter and fondant, milk and dark chocolate and mint oil. Perhaps adding a bit of butter would soften them?

[Desiderio]

When I made the ones from the book , I followed the recipe the way it is and they turned out pretty good, they actually melted away very well.

I am courious to know if the milk chocolate , since contains milk and milk solids , can influence the result.

[gap]

Thanks all for the meltaway advice

[mrose]

The recipe for jfb's calls for praline paste which is also descibed as a paste made from hazelnuts & caramel (p230). I always thought they contained pecans as he describes further down the paragraph in the process to make them. Do you make pralines & just grind them to a paste? Do you add extra sugar as in nuts pastes? Does anyone have a good recipe for pralines?

[Kerry Beal]

The recipe for jfb's calls for praline paste which is also descibed as a paste made from hazelnuts & caramel (p230). I always thought they contained pecans as he describes further down the paragraph in the process to make them. Do you make pralines & just grind them to a paste? Do you add extra sugar as in nuts pastes? Does anyone have a good recipe for pralines?

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Different kind of pralines. The ones they make in the US south are a fudge like item with pecans. Pralines in europe can be what we would call bonbons or chocolates, and praline paste is caramelized nuts ground to a paste. It doesn't necessarily have to be hazelnut, but that would be the classic. It's not something that you usually make yourself because like nut pastes they grind with a stone or metal grinder to get the very smooth result and not generate a lot of heat.

A source would be Qzina or one of your chocolate suppliers I suspect.

[Serj]

The last few weeks I've been playing with sourdough and neglecting chocolates. Throughout, however, the internal chocolate-itch has been building up, so last weekend and this weekend I've been playing. I had a good day today. I discovered successfully tempering chocolate in a robot coupe - easy, fast & clean!

Anyways, I don't know why but i've been focussing on Earl Grey ganache. The recipe the FPS gave us is good but I wanted to try something else, so I tried the Chocolate Obsession recipe & the Greweling recipe. I didn't like the chocolate obsession flavor - too weak but I thought this one was good. I piped the ganache into my newly found robot couped chocolate shells and it all came together well. I'm happy!

Tomorrow I'm going to make some rocher and try something fruity - how appropriate for mothers' day...

[Kerry Beal]

The last few weeks I've been playing with sourdough and neglecting chocolates. Throughout, however, the internal chocolate-itch has been building up, so last weekend and this weekend I've been playing. I had a good day today. I discovered successfully tempering chocolate in a robot coupe - easy, fast & clean!

Anyways, I don't know why but i've been focussing on Earl Grey ganache. The recipe the FPS gave us is good but I wanted to try something else, so I tried the Chocolate Obsession recipe & the Greweling recipe. I didn't like the chocolate obsession flavor - too weak but I thought this one was good. I piped the ganache into my newly found robot couped chocolate shells and it all came together well. I'm happy!

Tomorrow I'm going to make some rocher and try something fruity - how appropriate for mothers' day...

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Serj,

Tell us more about tempering in the food processor.

[Serj]

I just threw the couverture in and blitzed it until it got to 32. I guess it's the same idea as warming it up in the microwave but we don't have one of those at work! I have no idea if it would work in a home food processor (don't have one)... do the industrial ones have more RPM??

[Serj]

So in the name of science (and just feeling like doing something goofy) and since I had unusual methods of tempering on my mind last night I heated some couverture to 50 and threw it in the kitchenaid mixer with the paddle on a low speed until it got down to 29 degrees, then added warm, untempered chocolate to bring it back to 31. I figured the three important steps are time, temperature and movement and that should satisfy all three steps right? Well it didn't work - it took forever (I had time to clean my apartment, including scrubbing the bathroom down). After the paddling the chocolate looked a bit thicker in the bowl so at first I was excited, but no. Maybe too much time and movement??

[Kerry Beal]

So in the name of science (and just feeling like doing something goofy) and since I had unusual methods of tempering on my mind last night I heated some couverture to 50 and threw it in the kitchenaid mixer with the paddle on a low speed until it got down to 29 degrees, then added warm, untempered chocolate to bring it back to 31. I figured the three important steps are time, temperature and movement and that should satisfy all three steps right? Well it didn't work - it took forever (I had time to clean my apartment, including scrubbing the bathroom down). After the paddling the chocolate looked a bit thicker in the bowl so at first I was excited, but no. Maybe too much time and movement??

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If you are game to try it again, bring down to 27 and see if that makes a difference.

The one concern I might have would be the introduction of a lot of air.

[alanamoana]

So in the name of science (and just feeling like doing something goofy) and since I had unusual methods of tempering on my mind last night I heated some couverture to 50 and threw it in the kitchenaid mixer with the paddle on a low speed until it got down to 29 degrees, then added warm, untempered chocolate to bring it back to 31. I figured the three important steps are time, temperature and movement and that should satisfy all three steps right? Well it didn't work - it took forever (I had time to clean my apartment, including scrubbing the bathroom down). After the paddling the chocolate looked a bit thicker in the bowl so at first I was excited, but no. Maybe too much time and movement??

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also, with too much agitation comes friction which might equate to heat...which is why it might have taken too long to come down in temp.

[prairiegirl]

Serj,

I agree with you about the Earl Grey. I did not like the Chocolate Obsession one as it came out too weak and almost to buttery in texture. I have not tried the Greweling recipe yet. I always go directly as the recipe reads the first time around and then I alter the recipe to match what I like...then I give out samples to my clientele and get their opinion!

I have used a passion fruit compote with a lemoncello liqueuer ganache and have had many compliments on it. It is a take off from the Strawberry pate/balsamic ganache recipe.

i have also done the passion fruit marshmallows using the chocolate obsession recipe which I like much better than any of the other marshmallow recipes. This is an awesome combination!!

[Desiderio]

So far I have made with success , the peanut butter cups , meltaway and lately for mother's day the dark and stormies, those were among the ones that really intrigued me , I dont know something about fresh ginger vanilla bean and dark rum , really makes me happy .They are very good ,but I think I need to find another white chocolate to work with , I think next order is El rey

[Kerry Beal]

Made two recipes today, the first peanut butter honeycomb suffered from lack of a heat lamp. We were unable to keep the candy warm enough to allow us to get the filling in there. So we ended up with very large chunks of candy, with a peanut butter smear on them. They'll get eaten at work I'm sure. I'll try again with better planning next time.

The second was a resounding success, sponge candy, seeming a rather strange recipe containing gelatin. It didn't collapse significantly, tastes just right. The only issue is going to be figuring out how to cut it.

[mrose]

I thought I saw a recipe that contained juniper berries or a slash of gin in the book. I can't seem to find it. Does anyone remember the ganche that contained it?

Thanks

Mark

[Kerry Beal]

I thought I saw a recipe that contained juniper berries or a slash of gin in the book. I can't seem to find it. Does anyone remember the ganche that contained it?

Thanks

Mark

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I don't see it in there, perhaps it's in Andrew's book?

[Ceviz]

My ganache problems have never ended ...

For making ganache, I'm using piping technique. Ratios are 1:2 for dark, 1:2 for milk and 1:2,5 for white. It works well with milk and white.

But with % 60 dark, for 1:2 ratio, after room cooling, ganache don't form a skin which I can see on milk and white ganache. My milk and white ganache forms pudding like texture and can be cut very cleanly with a knife but dark ganache doesn't form this pudding like texture and looks a little bit grainy and when cutting, after cooling, it breaks and sticks to knife. 1:1,25 ratio gives me good results and these problems disappear but in this case ganache is very soft and not workable.

What can I do for solving these problems?

Thanks ...

By the way, I want to say that "Chocolates & Confections" is really great and it has given a lot of answers to my questions.

Edited June 2, 2007 by Ceviz (log)