How About A Thread To Seriously Discuss Chocolate Making?!?
Sugar Work By sayhellojana Updated 5 Oct 2011 , 1:33am by SpatulaGoddess
Thats good news mkolmar, and its also good that you take food saftey seriously. Much better to be safe than sorry, always.
Well ladies, I'm packing my bags and heading out for a week! I have cookie dough prepared, rolled and frozen to take with me on the plane so all I have to do when I get there is slice and bake. I have truffles filled with homemade marshmallow and eggnog ganache packed up to. AND, I had a ton of marshmallow left over, so I added 2T cocoa powder and made chocolate marshmallows. Really, really good. Hundred times better than the store-bought ones. I've been snacking on them all day 
Have wonderful Holidays! I'm sure I'll pop in every now and then, but I really want to know what ya'll are making
Hello, again, all! We've been pretty busy here, so my response time has been quite limited over the past 2 months.
Now that I've read through all the posts, I would like to share a few comments.
- You can find some fabulous chocolate truffle recipes, along with others, directly on the Ghirardelli, Guittard, and Godiva websites.
- If you are seeking exotic candy or truffle recipes, try the blogs. Those recipes are tried and true, and almost always have a photo tutorial to go with them.
- I see my comments about marshmallows brought out all the addicts.
Marshmallows can be made using the gelatin method, or the egg white method. I prefer the egg white method - it sets up softer.
* Note to Fiddlesticks - I promise I will dig up my recipe and post it when I can, but it probably won't be until after the holidays.
- Marshmallows can also be made vegan. There are several vegan marshmallow recipes available on line. I have not made them, as I have never been asked to, so I cannot tell you how they taste.
- Chocolate Molds - although I have quite an assortment of craft store-type molds, I have switched over to bonbon molds only. My source is Kerekes in Brooklyn, NY. www.bakedeco.com
* Note to Paolacaracas - I remember seeing you at the chocolate sculpting event at FCI. You had asked the chef a question during the session. I was sitting 2 rows in front of Ron, on the end of the row.
- I looked at those shot glass molds. While I think they are clever, and that I would buy them for use with water, my concern is the vacuum that the cup will make, and that chocolate glasses would be difficult to remove from the mold without breakage. I am not saying they won't work, but I think that mold would be better suited for use with hot sugar.
- About the chocolate cayenne truffles - if anyone would like to try this, but do not like the heat, you can try ground ancho (very mild) or ground pasilla (just a tiny bit hot). Smoked paprika and cumin work well, too, if you're seeking a smoky, savory backnote of flavor.
- I saw someone mention StarChefs. I love that site! They have an entire section of recipes for Chocolate Lovers. The series is discontinued, but the recipes are still available there.
With all that now said, let me wish all of you shiny chocolates and Happy Holidays!
Theresa
playingwithsugar.....Nice to hear from you, Wondered where you had been.
Thanks for the note. I will take the recipe when ever you have time to post it .
If you happen to stop back I also wish you
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Good grief, I just noticed that almost 10 pages have gone by and I still haven't received any email notices on this thread (or any others for that matter.) Is anyone else having this issue?
sayhellojana.. Have a safe and enjoyable trip!
Bob..Im not getting any notices on any threads at all !
I just check in now and then ..
I was making truffles today-hand rolled. Same way as I always do, I roll ganache into a ball, chill then coat it in tempered chocolate. I let them harden then roll them a second time in chocolate then in cocoa powder. Never had a problem but for some reason today they all cracked after an hour or so and started leaking. Any ideas? I really don't want to remake everything but looks like I need to. I also made peanut butter cups using a mold, tempered chocolate, they unmolded beautifully. I just turned them over to wrap and the bottoms were slick with peanut oil! Love some help here too if anyone has any suggestions. I've never ever had this happen and I'm a little uncertain why it did.
Hi All-
This is a great thread! Thank you for sharing all of your recipes and ideas! Today I'm starting my truffles for Christmas, beginning with Gianduja Truffles. To make 2 pounds I use 12 ounces of Callebaut (54%) and 1 lb 4 ounces of praline paste. I often add hazelnuts to it, either 1 whole roasted hazelnut per truffle or add ground hazelnuts to the mix. These are the usual favorite!
Just popping back in to give you all a huge THANK YOU!
I melted the white chocolate at medium heat and maintained at med-low. It worked GREAT! I even melted the choc. chocolate at the temp too---no more steam burning my hands!
Thanks again! I really appreciate all of you taking the time to help a novice out.
I hope you all have a wonderful holiday!
Hi, Sorry to not get back to you sooner but the holidays got in the way! I posted the pictures of the chocolate sleigh and trees. THank you for the compliments. The mold for the 3D sleigh does not have a mark on it. There is a local supply store that sells them. I looked on ebay and there is a store called a treasure box and chocolate molds that sells it for 2.25.
Also, a trick I learned that has saved me the most time and the best tip ever is this:
Take a pancake griddle and place a bath hand towel over it. Turn it on low, just under 200 and place your chocolates on it. (I use merckens, not tempered chocolate) I usually heat my chocolates first in the microwave and then keep them warm on the griddle. I can leave them out all day and have all my colors available. I know a warmer works too but I don't have one. Don't place the bowls directly on the griddle as they will get too hot and burn your chocolates. This is the best tip I ever received! Hopefully it will help someone too.
Hope everyone had a great Christmas !
Thought I would share a few of my molded chocolates.
Those are really cute fiddlesticks. I love the little snowflake-type stars on top.
My eggnog truffles were a big hit, ran out before Christmas. I didn't have any molds or chocolate making supplies, but I made some hand rolled and dipped truffles and then rolled them in ground almonds. They weren't the prettiest, but they tasted good
I have a question about whipped chocolate ganache. I've made and whipped chocolate ganache before, but always served it right after whipping. Can I fill a truffle (molded) with it and leave at room temp for a while or will it liquify/unwhip itself? Can you fill a cake with it? (providing there is a good dam)
Wow fiddlesticks, those are awesome!! My molded chocolates NEVER look that good! 
sayhellojana.. Sorry I cant help with that question .I hope some one can .
Thanks Bob ! They were a big hit!
No worries. I'm just going to try if and if it fails, oh well, its just for a friend. trial and error, right?
I ended up making Chocolate mousse instead of chocolate ganache. BUT, I did use the leftover mousse to make a few molded truffles. Nothing special, but tasty.
Can we share ideas for packaging our homemade chocolates? I know that boxes are getting more and more expensive, and unless you are only boxing one batch or something up, it doesn't really make sense to spend so much on so little. I'm talking all types of boxes here - the Wilton ones from Michaels and the rectangular "chocolate box" boxes you can buy online. What do you ladies like to use to package chocolates?
My SIL had a great suggestion for packaging. I didn't use it this year because I really only brought platters to parties but it is great. She put chocolates into the mini loaf pans you buy at Michaels or whereever. They are only $1, on sale even less, and they are decorated and reuseable. Just cover with some cellophane and a bow and you're done. If you check now, you can probably get some on clearance for next year for like 30 cents. I did that last year and didn't get to use them this year so they'll stick around for next year.
Fo home I just use my Holiday platters but for my shiped boxes this yr I used those plastic divided containers you can buy for crafts/sewing( the clear ones) and I put each choc in a paper and put a variety of a choc,s in all the different sections. It worked real well as it held a lot ( the size I bought ) and kept the candy in place and they also had a craft/sewing box after its empty.so that gave another gift ! Everyone though it was a clever idea! You can buy then real cheap $1 ( the larger ones ) to all different sizes and $ Thats just what worked for me this yr !
I bought boxes online for my DH's clients. I ended up buying probably around 210 boxes that held 6 candies with the plastic inserts. I also used decorative plates and platters. I couldn't find the boxes I normally use which are from the dollar store. They are a box that is velvety with a bow and the others had winter scenes printed on them. I had found only about 5 of them this year, which is why I changed my game plan to using the other items instead. (which was fine because the boxes from the dollar store where larger, which means more baking and chocolate making than what I had time for.)
My mom's friend use to work for a florist so she knows how to make all those beautiful bows with different ribbons. She came over and did the ribbons on the boxes of chocolates for me. They looked wonderful, too bad I still have no idea how to make them look like hers 
. I just don't have the knack for it.
I plan on buying up clearance items for next years Christmas baking and chocolate making. Now if only I had more room to store them
I really like the ideas you all have listed. I have to get out to the store and start shopping for these items also.
If Im just giving candies to a few people ( friends , neighbors etc ) I will also use a clear cookie bag, the kind with the pleats that open and stand up and I will put a tissue paper or shredds in the bottom and then put a few choc,s in that and tie up with a ribbon or I also do the same with the plastic ice cream cups with lids that you can buy a large amount of and add a matching paper/shredd in side, My candies are always in a paper liner to and they look real pretty when you can see inside the container like that ! I also pick up what ever I see on sale like the Chinese take out containers, those work good also. I keep a variety of containers around.
I own and run my own dollar store: Dollar Discount. Its a franchise verses Dollar Wave and Dollar Tree who are corporate. As a franchise we are allowed to bring in anything we want.
We carry very cute tins shaped in trees, stars, bells, stockings, etc and they are great for 6-8 truffles. Three years ago I used the tree tins and put a star at the top of the tree with the name of the recipient.
We also carry the decorate boxes that come in all sizes (if you buy each size you can stack them). Last year, I got the boxes that had an ornament pattern and I added mini ornaments to the top. I put the name of the recipient on one of the ornaments. They were a hit!
This past year we got cute tins with a hinged top. They came in three sizes and I used the smallest size for 6-8 truffles. They were domed so transporting several of them required cardboard in between the layers.
All the tins and boxes are a buck a piece.
We also sell a TON of cello bags and I know a few of my customers put square cardboards on the bottom and place the chocolates on top. But I just cant handle that!
In trying to be green, I do not use paper cups for my truffles. In addition, my truffles are hand made verses mold made so they usually dont fit in the paper cups. And if cookies can go into a bare tin why cant truffles? I have used the shred in the past (with paper cups) and it seems to prevent my truffles from sitting flat resulting in a lot of tipped over truffles. 
I will admit it much easier for me to find my preferred packaging as I see EVERYTHING that comes into my store. And I have the perk of hording the items for a while and putting them back in the floor if something better comes in. 
Phoenix - LOL!
Thanks for all the good ideas! I just used platters this year but want to do individual presents next year and for other holidays. I will have to checkout dollar stores and craft stores. Maybe I'll find a nice holiday clearance
Oh gosh, is it already time to start worrying about Valentine's Day chocolates?
Phoenix--I'd be hording them too if I were you
and yes...it's time to start worrying about v-day chocolates.
I made cordial cherries the other day except I out the fondant to thick around the cherry, so now I know not to do that again.
Filled molded chocolates also with ganache, soft caramel and another few dozen with cappachino crunch, on top of all the others usual kind I've been making. Just a little bit more and I'm done for a while. I can't wait! I've eaten so much chocolate another few bites and my pants won't fit.
I love the dollar store. My favorite find are the tin pails at Easter time. I stock up on those and make sucker bouquets. I am envious of your job Phoenix, the finds you get. Although I would never have a pay check and my husband would probably leave me!! lol.
For Valentine's day these are my favorites! The kids freak over them and they are super easy. Just a little time to make them for 3 class rooms!!
I added some of these Christmas shapes in with all my candy packages!
282513, how do you swirl the colors? Like, literally swirl them in the molds or do you give them a quick swirl and pipe/drop the chocolate in? I think those are adorable treats
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