Today I finished the peanut butter and sesame gianduja chocolates, which are the two fussiest ones to make. The sesame is a mix of milk chocolate and tahini (sesame paste) on a base of dark chocolate mixed with homemade sesame croquant (caramelized sugar + toasted sesame seeds). Delicious, but lots of steps and fairly time-consuming. [...]
Yesterday I finished nearly all the chocolate items I had slated for this weekend! I dipped all the dried apricots, candied ginger, and coconut almond fudge. I also cast four sets of chocolate molds, three of which came out fine and the fourth of which came out streaky and stuck to the sides of the [...]
I spent most of this morning constructing a project plan for Chocopalooza (the big chocolate run, Nov 16-20). I am optimizing for two things: First, the most efficient sequence of chocolate types. White chocolate comes first, then milk chocolate, then dark chocolate. This is because a little bit of dark chocolate in white chocolate will [...]
I cut and dipped all the caramels and the citrus peels, plus I made English toffee and started in on the chocolate-dipped apricots. I am not sure I bought enough of the apricots; I may need to go back next Sunday and buy another box. Here are some quick shots: Total it was about six [...]
I spent yesterday making candies in preparation for a chocolate-dipping frenzy today. I made: two batches of jasmine tea/orange blossom honey/vanilla bean caramels. These are my absolute favorite of everything I make, and they keep well, so I annually make double the amount and then squirrel them away to eat over the next month or [...]
