I decided to give myself a bit of a challenge, this week.
Flush with the (relative) success of enrobing some pretty nice looking cubes of ganache, topped with gold transfer sheets, and upon presenting these bonbons to my grateful students, who could not quite believe I had actually made them, I thought I would notch it up a bit, this week.
I am venturing outside the relative safety of the ganache cube. In mathematical terms, I am going off the grid. [Read more…]
It is amazing to me how the right tool for the job can make a heap o’ difference to the outcome. And that tool doesn’t have to be super-fancy or expensive – just well thought out, sturdy and adaptable. These are exactly the qualities (among many others) that my partner possesses.
So it is no surprise that this post is dedicated to him and the new toy he made for me: a brand new, custom built chocolate dipping “Cheatar”. I really don’t know the proper name for it, and don’t think this does it justice, but essentially, this is what it is: [Read more…]
I am very lucky. I got the opportunity last week, in the hectic run-up to Valentine’s Day, to spend a day at Cocoa Nymph, Rachel Sawatzky’s gem of a boutique chocolate shoppe, on Vancouver’s west side.
But, I was not there as a customer – oh no – I had the chance to go “backstage” and actually BE a chocolate apprentice for the day. For those of you who have been following this blog, and my trials and tribulations involving enrobing, this day was a chance to “get it right”.
My intrepid photographer partner and I set off last Friday morning, and arrive just before opening hour. [Read more…]
I have been neglecting the white chocolate. While I have been ganaching, enrobing and molding large quantities of the bittersweet and the milk, the white keeps getting pushed farther and farther back into the chocolate cupboard.
And it’s not like it is the white chocolate’s fault. It’s awfully good stuff of its kind. There I go, again. Expecting it to be dark. Well, it’s not. And this week, I am going to celebrate the fact that it is pale, because it makes a perfect canvas for tinting and its mild sweet flavor makes it perfect for combining with other flavours. [Read more…]
Okay, it is January, early days in the calendar, almost a new Lunar New Year, and the ideal time to bite the bullet, get back on the horse, face the music, any of those clichés will do. I am peeking around the corner, peering into my kitchen, realizing I have to get back in there and have another go at enrobing.
I am still terrible at it. It makes me use language worthy of the saltiest sailor. It makes me verklempt. But I really want to get better at it – at least competent enough that I can make a decent palette shaped bon bon, suitable for decorating with a transfer sheet. [Read more…]