OK, I'm thinking of working with chocolate, maybe make some rolled paste (fondant like) to cover a cake, which brand do you recommend as best? Guittard, Peters, Merckens or Renaissance?? Any help or advice?? Thanks so much!

I use Felchlin. It's a swiss chocolate that was recently rated the best tasting by the people that sponsor the international pastry competitions ( my mind is blank at the moment as to the name)

It's wonderful for decorative work.

Thanks Txkat, where do you buy it?

I get it from swiss chalet foods out of Miami, but her is a list of their distributors.
http://www.felchlin.com/e/frames/distributors.html

Hi Txkat, thanks so much for sharing!! What a great website, can't wait to order some!

I have made it using a high quality chocolate chip, and it is delicious and inexpensive. Unless you can charge a premium for this item, it may be too expensive for an ingredient.

If you are thinking of wrapping a cake, I recently tried the Cake Bible chocolate fondant recipe and it is fabulous. The taste is terrific. I used a blend of Dutch and regular cocoa. It was nice and dark.

Thanks JoAnnB, if you don't mind me asking... what brand chocolate chip do you use? And also, for some wierd reason the local grocery stores (VA)don't carry Dutch Processed cocoa, only regular. I used to live in CA and was able to find it no problem, any thoughts? TIA

Do you have a Penzy's Spice store nearby? They dont' have a lot of stores, but they cary a good variety of cocoas. I really liked the stuff I got. You can order online.

http://www.penzeys.com

The have great spices of all kinds too!

I've had good luck with Ghiradelli. My mom swears by Guitard for her fudge. Also like Trader Joe's Pound Plus Belgian chocolates. All of them are very affordable with good flavor.

I find that I like a bittersweet chocolate better than semi sweet or milk chocolate, has a richer taste that's more chocolate and is not overly sweet.

HI Czyadgrl, nope they don't have one here in VA, the closest one is in PA!! But the good news is that we are moving to Jacksonville FL (military family) and they have one there!!! yahoooooo! Very excited, thanks for sharing all this info!

One more question regarding Chocolate.... which one is BEST for dipping cherries or strawberries? One that will harden?
Thanks so much!!!

Hello Ladies - are you talking about Chocolate for molding or for ingredients in recipes here? And, what do you think about Gharadelli chocolate found at Costco? Thanks for your responses.

We first started talking about chocolate for baking and then I asked which one is best for candy coating... no responses though.
I personally LOVE Ghirardelli, I use the chips in my CCC and my chocolate cakes!
So again, does anybody know which chocolate is BEST for dipping strawberries?
Thanks again everybody!

Callebaut is my personal favorite for most things, then there's Valhrona -- the King of all Chocolates!! Very expensive but WELL worth it!!

Thanks so much, just wondering, do this chocolates get hard? Good for covering fruits? Thanks again!

For dipping strawberries I use a product called "Dolci Frutta" which is a "hard chocolate shell." It melts up just like regular chocolate, you can then dip the strawberries and lay them on their side on wax paper and in a few they dry hard. Perfect for my strawberry basket cake and the taste is awesome. I find it at the fruit section of finer grocery stores for about $2 for an 8 oz container. They come in little round wafers like the chocolate melts, but like I said they dry into a hard shell rather than stay pliable. Delicious!!!

Thanks for sharing!!!! Will look for it!