Amy's chocolates

[Guest guest]

Actually Ghirardelli (sp?) makes a perfectly nice dark chocolate. Many

chocolates, dark in particular don't have anything I can't devour in them. I

think the higher priced are even better. They don't cover their chocolate up

with anything. LOL I don't do much with chocolates or sweet things for that

matter except go to Sweet Life (You go to Jimbos), but I think I will spend

the money on a plane ticket and come to visit as a professional taste

tester. By the way Sweet Life has wonderful Venus Nipples (and they look

just like their name). <giggle>

 

But, I must say that your recipes give me pause. Yummers. But all the big

words will drive me to the dictionary...couverture? Tempering? I have one of

those although not many see it. <grinning> As far as getting a

thermometer...what makes you think we don't eat it before it ever gets to a

cool enough stage? Having a thermometer certainly isn't going to control

what happens to the chocolate in my house.

 

Circumspect linda (and getting fat)

 

" Amy " <sandpiperhiker

 

>

> Hmm, I didn't have a particular one in mind, but I love to make many.

> Chocolate Strawberry Mousse cake: a thin brownie-like cake set into a

> springform, set strawberries on top, fill in with a dark dense

> chocolate mousse, top with another cake, repeat. Cover the whole

> thing in ganache and top with more strawberries. Pavlovas are easy -

> a crisp almond meringue topped with fruit, whipped cream and passion

> fruit syrup. I have a really moist dark chocolate cake that gets

> topped with a macadamia-caramel-toasted coconut glaze... or creme

> brulee served on spoons and topped with banana (yes, I have a torch

> for the " brulee " part). You saw my last apple pie. Chocolate Marquise

> (and variations, usually raspberry), which is rather like the smooth

> insides of truffles, but you slice it like a cake... Fig and Pistachio

> Frangipane tart: fresh figs baked on a pistachio frangipane. Roasted

> Clementine & Chocolate Tart: sliced clementines in a chocolate cream.

> Bananas baked phyllo, with dates, pecans & maple-lime syrup. Italian

> zuccoto. Caramel Rum Delirium ice cream cake. Most anything you'd

> like, really.

>

> I meant that if you use regular store chocolate you can make a

> passable truffle quite easily. If you get fancy and use couverture,

> you need to be more circumspect with tempering, and not overheating

> etc.; it's fussier. The simplest truffles consist of making a ganache

> (heavy on the chocolate, light on the cream), chilling it,

> scooping/forming it into little balls, and rolling in cocoa. Pretty

> easy huh? (Ganache is simply chocolate melted with cream, sometimes a

> little butter is added for softer insides. (It can work with soymilk,

> too, Linda, but I haven't tried any vegan chocolates so I don't know

> how they react.)

>

>

> > however I thought it was a cool experience low simmering the

> > sugar/butter/milk mixture until it became syrupy. Probably the

> > coolest dessert technique I've tried. I see the chefs do it on the

> > tv but never have tried anything like that mahself.

>

>

> Welcome to candy making! :-) Now go get yourself on those cheap

> grocery-store candy thermometers and you can control what happens to

> that syrup when it cools... :-)