Forum Activity for @Clay

Paris

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Greger, Seby:Actually, I don't remember having hot chocolate at A l'Etoile d'Or - maybe you were misremembering my comments about la Charlotte du l'Isle. In any event I posted a blog article about my trip . Greger, you may find the article useful in helping plan your trip. Some of you may recognize the picture of my daughter Alex in front of Maison Steiger from the dedication page of my book.Although I have not been there, Michel Chaudun comes highly recommended. You probably also want to think about which store to go to if a company has more than one. For example, you could go to the La Maison du Chocolat store on the Rue Fauborg St Honore because it's close to Cluizel, JP Hevin, and Angelina. However, the main LMdC store is on the Boulevard Madeleine off the Place Madeleine, near Fauchon, Hediard, and Marquie de Sevigny. Rough, I know, having to make such difficult choices!Finally - Seby are you sure you have the address for A l'Etoile d'Or correct? When I visited them they were at 30, rue Fontaine near the Place Blanche metro stop. Also, so much of the store is about Ms Acabo that it's hard to believe that there could be two locations.

Paris

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Hi Greger,Clay Gordon had also mentioned that he had delicious hot chocolate at l'Etoile d'or. It has two locations: 9 rue Aligre or 94, Avenue Philippe Auguste.Also go to Angelina for a hot chocolate although it may be a bit touristy.

Paris

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Hi Greger,Paris, love it... One more to add to your list: Patchi Le Chocolat, 72, Avenue Victor Hugo.Have a great time!Souheila

Paris

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Most welcome. What I also did when I was in Paris was just to walk and look at the stores and found so many small chocolatiers on the way and I went into as many as I could and just bought a piece or two of chocolate to savor.I hope you have an excellent time eating your way through Paris!

Paris

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Thanks for the advice Seby Singh

Paris

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

The macarons at Pierre Herme are worth just a trip to Paris. Have as many as you can.Chocolate stores:Christian Constant at 37, rue AssasPatrick Roger at 108, blvd St. GermainLa Maison du Chocolat at 225, rue du Faubourg St. HonoreMichael Chaudun at 149 Rue de l'UniversiteJosephine Vannier at 4, rue du Pas de la MuleMichel Cluizel at 201, rue St. Honore

Paris

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

I am going to Paris and I would like to know if someone could recomend some good shops where I can buy choclate. Has someone tasted the cookies from Piere Hermes?Best regards,Greger
updated by @Greger N: 04/17/15 00:54:05

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

I will try to freeze them next time. Thanks for the tip.

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

Jennifer:

I know several people who use the mold. Part of their success (they say) is in getting things cold enough. You can't let these sit out at room temperature. They refrigerate and/or freeze before removing the centers.

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

I have this mold and I have not been successful at making ganache centers. The centers stick inside and won't release properly. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestion on what I'm doing wrong or how to do it properly. Thanks so much!!

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

Omar, both ganaches are great tasting. The butter ganache is a little trickier to make, as I found out when making a third batch. The butter had cooled too much, and the ganache started to separate - but I was able to save it. I never have a problem when making a classic cream ganache. Best, Catherine

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

It definitely helps. Thanks!!

If you buy the guitar later down the road, would you switch back to the regular cream ganache, as this one might be easier to cut because it is not as firm as the butter one?

What flavour do you prefer, the butter or the cream ganache?

Regards,

Omar

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

Filling the molds is the easiest thing. I pipe the ganache with a disposable bag as soon as it is ready, it is in the mid 80s by then. I did a passion fruit honey ganache where one uses tempered melted milk chocolate. Because it crystallizes quickly you don't want to delay. I then use an offset spatula to ensure the ganache fills all the space.

I decided to try these molds as a substitute for hand cutting slabs into little squares, as an amateur I really don't want to spring for a guitar. I am happy with the results. The ganache is firm but very smooth and has great mouth feel.

I use a simple Foodsaver vacuum with its little plastic bags (bought it at Costco). I place the chocolates in small cardboard boxes on top of food safe pads. I use the Greweling technique of placing the vacuumed boxes first in the fridge for 24 hours, then in the freezer and same timing/steps on return trip, and opening the vacuum after 1/2 day at room temps, with no bloom problem.

Hope that helps! Best, Catherine

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

Hi Catherine,

Thanks a lot for your feedback. Do you find filling the silicone molds with the butter ganache hard? Isn't too thick? What is the temperature of the butter ganache when you fill the molds?

What type of machine do you use to vacuum pack your truffles? Chamber vacuum?

Thanks,

Omar

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

Omar, I realize this discussion is several months old, but I got the silicone molds (12g, 88 cavities) from Chef Rubber. After trying a regular ganache and having to freeze it to unmold properly, I decided to work with a butter ganache instead. It crystallizes fast (under 30 minutes) and there is no need to freeze the mold. It unmolds easily at room temperature. There is no need to spray anything to help the unmolding either, it detaches easily from the walls of the mold. Not having to freeze the mold is good because I like to dip the centers/add a transfer; and then vacuum pack them, refrigerate and then freeze till I need them. I am hesitant to freeze anything twice, so this works better for me.

I had never done a butter ganache before and found good recipes in the Greweling book, chapter six. Hope this helps! Catherine

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

Our truffle centers arefirm (refrigerated). If they are soft, then they tend to stick to the scoop. The scoop also has a scraper, which, when you click it, runs the scraper around the inside of the scoop thereby releasing the scooped truffle center.

If your centers are very soft or warm when scooping, tap the scoop in cornstarch between centers. Just be sure to tap the cornstarch out after, or you'll get too much on the truffle center. This works great for very soft centers, and only adds about 2 seconds per truffle.

It's really that easy: just scoop, scoop, click. Roughly10 seconds per scooped center will get you 360 centers per hour- more than double what you are doing now. Honestly, if it's taking you longer than 6-7 seconds to simply drag a small scoop through some cold ganache, you need to evaluate either the recipe, the temperature of the ganache, or the person who's (not) performing the work.

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

Hi Brad,

I'm curious as to how you get that kind of speed. We are a small chocolate shop and use what seems to be roughly the same technique, but I can only scoop and roll roughly 150 per hour. Any tips? Also what consistency is your truffle centre.

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

Hi Omar,

the whole operation is simple: first fill the mold with you ganache, let set in fridge.

de-mold and then coat with tempered chocolate either by hand or by machine..

that's the easy way. it can get pretty funky as you can create combinations: E.g. fill the bottom press an hazelnut (or anything, let your creativity do the work) then put the top part and complete the filling.

Or fill the bottom part with let's say coffee ganache, let set. put the top part of the mold, fill with cream ganache. set/de-mold/coat with chocolate and you will have a de-constructed cappucino truffle! (if you make millions of $$$ on this recipe don't forget about me!!!)

Those in the pics are made with chocoflex...

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

Hi Nino,

Thanks for the info. I have also read that with this mold users don't need to pre-coat the truffles. Do you pre-coat your truffles before the final enrobbing or can this step be avoided?

Thanks,

Omar

updated by @chocochoco: 09/09/15 03:18:49

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

I still haven't tried this mold yet, but I did find a smaller silicone chocolate mold at a local store this year - one of the Silkomart line, seen here - http://www.thebakerskitchen.net/Cubo-silicone-candy-mold.aspx

My preference is to use the mold to make a chocolate shell, then fill it with a warm ganache and let it set. I have generally used poly molds for this, and I thought the silicon worked better than I expected. The sides and angles were much smoother and crisper than I expected. Fewer imperfections than the poly molds, although I only made a few batches with the silicone. The silicone require freezing even more than the poly to pop the truffles out, but that might have been because of the deep cube shape (only one available in the store at the time).

Don't know how similar Silkomart is to the Chocoflex, but the Chocoflex still seems to hold the promise of a 3-d shell (eliminating the need for a second shell-covering step, which adds time.

updated by @Chris2: 01/19/15 07:42:11

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

The molds you are referring to are flexible silicon. The idea is not to roll them into perfect spheres. Instead they're closer to a demi-sphere mold shape.

They are used by piping the molds full, letting the center crystallize, then freezing the entire thing, mold and centers. Once frozen, you remove the centers and box them. This way it doesn't matter if they get scuffed because they are going to be enrobed later. When you need them, you remove them from the freezer, let them thaw, and enrobe.

This is presented as an alternative to freezing finished product. In this regard they're pretty attractive in certain production situations where high volume is needed in a short period of time.

:: Clay

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

16 grams is pretty big! Once it's dipped in chocolate and rolled ina coating you're going to have a truffle the size of a golf ball.

Right now, we've standardized on a 12 gram truffle center, and when dipped and coated is significantly larger than those of our peers.

I've never tried the molds you mention, but when I look at the link, it shows the mold as having a flat bottom, and not being round like the Chocoflex. this means that a person will still have to roll it round by hand. If that's the case, the mold won't be effective for round truffles, in my opinion.

Cheers.

Brad

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

Hi Omar,

when i bought them, i asked Pavoni to send me some recipes, and they did send 3 or 4.

Usually i let them set at fridge temperature, freezing is risky due to condensatio, but possible

A guide on how to adjust the recipes would be great, but unfortunately you will have to do a bit of testing on your own..

Cheers

Nino

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

Hi Antonio,

Do you have to freeze the truffles in the mold or just let them set before demolding?

Does the mold include or come with a ganache truffle recipe that would work or a guide on how to adjust it?

Thanks,

Omar

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

Hi All!I have been using those chocoflex for a couple of years, bought them in Italy after Stefano Laghi (Master Chocolatier, developer of chocoflex) was talking about during a sugar workshop.Is a very quick method to prepare 100's of truffles all the same size (important if you want to sell by piece..), you just need to play around with recipes as the classic 2/1 ganache won't work. i've started from the recipe that Maestro Laghi gives and then play around trying to keep the fat/chocolate content in balance.I find that the truffle are a good size (at least for my market) considering that the weight is ca 10gr.+ 2/4gr. for the coating.would i buy more? yesShould Pavoni sell them a bit cheaper? definitely YES!!

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

Hi Brad,

Thanks for your reply. As you said, the Chocoflex mold seems to be a bit small for ganache truffle. What do you think about this silicone truffle mold from Chef Rubber? The cavities are bigger (16gr/0.6oz). Link follows:

http://www.shopchefrubber.com/product.php?productid=14869&cat=1440&page=1

Do you think this type of mold would stream/speed up your ganache truffle production?

Thanks a lot,

Omar

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

We ordered 5 to start with, and just ordered another 5. We don't use them for our ganache truffle centers, because I find the spheres a bit small. We do however use them for other purposes, such as creme caramel truffle centers, where the caramel is very soft, and requires refrigeration to harden to the point where it can be dipped.

In all honesty, I've found that the average $10 per hour employee when given a scale, can accurately hand scoop and rollabout 240 truffles per hour - more or less negating the need to use the molds.

Conversely, the advantage of the molds is that the centers are almost perfectly round. (there's usually a little rib around the middle, and also a dip at the top where the mold is filled.)

Hope that helps.

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

Hello,

I would appreciate if some of you kindly share your experience with the Chocoflex spherical truffle mold.

Is it worth buying it? Does really stream/speed up your truffle production?

Do you have to freeze the truffles before demolding?

How the mold compares to this one from Chef Rubber? Link follows:

http://www.shopchefrubber.com/product.php?productid=14870&cat=1...

Thanks,

Omar

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

Hello Clay,

Have you used this mold for ganache truffles? Is it worth?

Thanks.

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

Hello Andy,

Are you still using this mold? Has really helped you streaming/speeding up the truffle production?

Did you have to adjust your ganache recipe or did you keep using the same one?

Thanks!

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

Short answer - nope! You'll never get the ganache back out.

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

Hi Patty,

Did you have the opportunity to try both molds?

Which one did you like the most?

Thanks!

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

Hi Lana,

Is it possible to use the Chocolate World's or Chef Rubber's polycarbonate truffle mold to fill the cavities straight with ganache as it is done with the Chocoflex spherical truffle silicone mold?

Thnaks!

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

Another great idea and time saver, thanks!

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

lovely idea! Thanks. I BUY DIRECTLY FROM THE iMPORTER OF vALRHONA. Oops caps were on-sorry.My colleague/friend also does textured truffles but she has a diff method. She puts a bunch in a bowl that has some choc in it and whirls the bowl around and then mixes them around with her gloved hand and as the choc gets thicker and they all bump around each other they get texture and that pointy look. Kind of hard to explain. She does not roll them in anything afterwards tho.

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

Thanks Ilana -BTW, do you purchase your Valrhona shells from the company itself or a distributor?It sounds as though you are dipping each round truffle individually, yes? That's how I've been doing it for a few years now, but not with the shells, just hand rolled ganache and then dipping (twice) to avoid cracks.The new technique I learned has been a real time saver. But it requires that you re-think how you want your round truffles to look. For myself, I've decided that my hand-dipped chocolates (cut on the guitar) will be the ones I decorate with either transfer sheets, etc., and the round truffles will be more textured.What I learned is this - Once you have all of your round truffles closed and are ready to dip, wearing your food handler's gloves, dip the palm of one of your gloved hands into the bowl of chocolate (or tempering machine), so that you have a nice thin coating. You then grab about 5 truffles with the other hand, place them in between both palms and roll the truffles until they are completely covered with chocolate. You then let them roll out of your hand (from your palm down along your fingers) onto a tray, rack, bowl of chopped nuts, etc, wherever you want them to go next. Allowing them to roll out of your hand as opposed to using a dipping fork, creates texture on the truffle, and my experience was that it did a good job at taking the focus off of the closed hole in the side of the truffle.We did a few truffles - textured only with dark or milk chocolate, one rolled in sugar, one rolled in chopped almonds, and being able to roll 5 truffles in 5 seconds and be done with it, allowed us to do a couple hundred in about 20 minutes. The only trick is that if you are also going to be covering in sugar or nuts, you need a second person. It's hard to do yourself if you've got chocolate on your palms. (Although I was able to pull it off myself when in a jam, it required using my wrists, don't ask )Hopefully that gives you another option to consider to take the focus off of that pesky hole. With the rolled, textured method, you don't have to worry about where the hole will end up.Cheers, P-

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

thank you! very useful info and good news!

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

I also use the Valrhona shells. I am very happy with them. I often use one color shell for everything and then dip them in whatever suits the filling-white,milk or dark. Makes the truffle interesting IMO. I have gotten quite good at having the hole part placed bottom down after dipping but sometimes it doesn't work no matter what! Anyone have a nice method? I angle the hole part at a certain pont when lifting out of the chocolate and then it moves as I get rid of the extra chocolate, to just where it is convenient to place hole down.It is an obsession and when it doesn't work it is annoying!

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

Thank you Kerry and Lana -Yes, I think it's important to be able to visually gauge how much ganache is going into the mold thus avoiding air pockets, etc. as well.I interned with a Swedish Chocolatier in New York a few months back and was surprised to see that he was using Valrhona shells for his round truffles. (For some reason I thought he'd make them the classic hand-rolled way) But I have to say, they were so incredibly easy to work with and a real time saver, (which is important if you are renting kitchen space by the hour). And also important is having a consistent weight per piece. So, I was sold on the shells, and thought I'd try to make my own.I'll try both the Chocolate World and Chef Rubber molds and see which one works best.Thanks again!
updated by @Patty Medina: 09/10/15 13:49:28

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

Indeed there are -Chocolat-chocolat carries this chocolateworld one - http://www.chocolat-chocolat.com/home/chocolate-molds/chocolate-molds-chocolate-world/chocolate-molds-world-spheres-cones-cups/p16408423.html It's pretty big though. There is a smaller one - can't find it on their website but if you phone them it's CW5018B.

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

Hello Everyone -Can anyone tell me if there exists on the market a shell mold that's comparable to the ones used for "pre-made" shells being offered by some chocolate companies? It seems as though it should be an easy find, but I haven't had any luck as of yet.Thanks,Patty Medinamedinachocolatier.com

Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold

Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)

Anyone willing to share a caramel recipe that works in these moulds? I currently make a salted butter caramel (divine, but tends to "fudge" after a while even when enrobed). I pour these into a square red silicone mould which is easy as it's open faced, but not sure if I could manage to pipe the hot mix into the small opening of the sphere mould.For ganaches I'm thinking that the sphere mould would pay for itself pretty quickly versus the cost of shells, so I want to give them a try.