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Mistakes are supposed to be eaten, especially when experimenting with candy and chocolate making. Let the good times roll! The purpose is, start off with a great attitude, and just have fun. Candy making isn’t too hard, and I know that you’ll pick it up very easily, and find out a brand new and fun hobby, with benefits! Wait till you see the fabulous treats that can be made. Who knows maybe, you will even start a little enterprise and earn a few dollars.
First a word of advice: Buy a good quality chocolate, not the dreadful waxy tasting stuff which is sold at really low prices. Each time that I’ve done a taste test, the test individual picks out the better chocolate. It makes a world of difference. My recommendation for a really good melting chocolate would be the Merckens Chocolate® brand. This brand can be bought in stores that sell cake and candy decorating supplies.
There are many methods to melt chocolate to a superbly smooth texture. We want the chocolate to be an excellent and even consistency since it needs to be poured right into a mold. The type of chocolate that is suggested is called a candy coating or perhaps a confectionary coating. This sort of chocolate will not require the careful melting procedures of “real” chocolate. Real chocolate needs to be tempered, that is an approach to heating and cooling the chocolate at exact temperatures to get it the best consistency. Confectionary coatings are available in Milk, Dark, White, Peanut Butter, Mint, and a variety of colors. Seek advice from your local Candy Making Supply store to find out what varieties they stock.
The microwave oven is a convenient technique to melt chocolate. It can be quick and simple, but make sure to use a microwave safe bowl. Do not overcook the chocolate, you ought to actually undercook it. Melt in 30 second intervals, and stir in between. The chocolate should be melted inside a microwave safe bowl, in a plastic microwave safe bag, or in microwave safe plastic bottles. The chocolate needs to be completely melted and smooth, with a nice shine to it. The chocolate can then be poured right into the mold.
The second melting method is to make use of a double boiler. The lower pan is required to be filled with water and the top pan is full of chocolate. Heat the bottom pan of water to a simmer, and then remove it from the heat. After that put the chocolate filled pan on the top of the water pan. Continue blending without beating, until smooth and fully melted.
Our third method will be the employment of a slow cooker or Crockpot. This is good for large quantities, something like three to 5 pounds. So, put some of the chocolate inside the Crockpot and set on a low heat. Please don’t use the upper settings, because the chocolate will burn. Stir the melting chocolate, occasionally while it’s melting. Add newer chocolate as the original chocolate is melting. It will take a good twenty to thirty minutes for 3 to five pounds of chocolate to melt.
Our final method will be to use a warming tray. Using this method is helpful because you can melt more than one color at a time. Place the chocolates in an oven-safe glass bowl and set them on the top of the warming plate. The temperature should be set on low to medium and stir when melting. As soon as melted keep the temperature on low. This will keep the various candy colors at the perfect melting temperature.
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Tags: candy making, candy making supplies, candy making supply, Merckens, Merckens chocolate
Posted in Desserts · March 19th, 2010 · Comments (0)
Cookies seem to be everyone’s favorite. In reality, they are the number one dessert eaten in the United States, some $4 billion per year. That is a lot of cookies. In fact over 95 % of households consume cookies each year. Cookies are actually classified into 6 different methods of preparation. They are: drop, molded, pressed, refrigerated, bar, and rolled. Although in the U.S. we don’t name a cookie by its preparation type; we do classify a cookie from the dominant ingredient that it possesses, such as; chocolate, peanut butter, nut, fruit, etc. Bakers are now even making cookies with rolled fondant icing. So wouldn’t it be nice to make your own?
A cookie is described as a thin, sweet, typically small cake. They can be prepared in countless shapes, flavors and textures and are usually categorized by the way in which there’re formed. Their dominant ingredient, such as nuts, fruit or chocolate chips, may also classify them. Whether or not gourmet, soft or bite-sized cookies, new categories are always cropping up; no one book could hold all the recipes for all of the various types. Observe that some cookie types are subtypes of others and there may be a fine line between certain categories of cookies; to provide an example identical dough can either be hand shaped into a ball or dropped from your spoon. There are also specialty and holiday cookies made up from all the categories.
Cake Decorating doesn’t need to be a sophisticated task. Cookies can instantaneously turn from simple to decorated, however it does take rehearsal and time. Below are some starter tips:
1. Select a recipe that creates little leavening and makes a level cookie rather than a puffy one. They decorate much more easily and look better.
2. Then, cut out and bake your cookies. Allow them to cool thoroughly on a wire cake rack before mixing the colours and frosting. Don’t mix too much in advance since the icing will crust or dry out. (Crusting is a skinny layer of icing that hardens lying on top. It may be tricky to get rid of. Should you stir even a small amount into the frosting, you may ruin it.)
3. When cookies have cooled, combine cookie icing – First separate icing into small bowls before coloring. You may require larger or smaller amounts depending on the color being used. Cover up immediately with a damp paper towel as they could dry quickly. Set aside some white just in case you have to correct a color.
4. For piping decorations, you can fill small parchment cones for each color, fixed using a decorating tip or use a squeeze bottle with the tip cut-off.
5. Fill parchment cone roughly half full. Set each one in a tall drinking glass for every of the colours you are using and keep within reach. First put a moist piece of paper towel in the bottom of each and then put your parchment cones within the glasses while the tips resting on the paper towel to maintain them from drying out and clogging the opening! If you are using buttercream, you actually need not do this.
6. You are now ready to decorate! Have fun and keep in mind to eat any of the mistakes!
Ready, Set, Go, find a store that sells cake decorations and start baking.
Tags: cake decorating supplies, cake decoration supply, cake decorations, candy making, rolled fondant
Posted in Desserts · March 17th, 2010 · Comments (0)