Time Flies!!

WOW!! My last post was in March and Dove Chocolate Discoveries had an amazing special on the tempering unit. Now it is already September, I haven't posted in 6 months and guess what? The tempering unit is back on special!!

This little machine really packs a punch when it comes to making chocolates. Tempering 1.5 pounds at a time will make a huge batch of truffles, or about 2 dozen chocolates. What an amazing gift to give a friend. Not only would you be sharing a SWEET gift, but you made it too! Your friends will love you, and your chocolates too!

Here is the gist of the special.....
If you purchase the Candy-Land Bundle for $54.00 you have the option to purchase the tempering unit for $100.00 for a savings of $213.00. The Candy-Land bundle includes 1-1/2 pounds of either dark or milk chocolate (your choice), 1-pound of white chocolate and the beautiful new transfer sheets designed for the winter season. Give a unique and personal gift no one will ever forget....CHOCOLATE!

An Added Bonus!!

Pre-Order your unit by August 31, 2010 and I will give you an additional 10% savings!

Please call me 303-898-1380 or drop me a note ChocolateDreamer01@gmail.com with your order.

NOW....back to our regularly scheduled BLOG!

You can Temper Chocolate Too!!

In my last post I showed you how to make chocolate bowls and tempering your chocolate with a Choco-Vision machine. Wouldn't you LOVE to make chocolate easily?? Now you can!!

For the month of March you can purchase the ChocoVision tempering machine (valued at $399) PLUS $68.00 worth of chocolate and candy making supplies for only $154.00. This is such a SWEET deal that I will be ordering an additional machine for myself. Let's make some candy together!

Chocolate Bowls

I was recently asked to do a demonstration with local artist Mary Scrimgeour , and the chosen pieces were my chocolate bowls. I learned early on that these bowls were very easy to make and could be made with a variety of looks. Anyone can make these bowls, and with a little practice you too will be a chocolate artist!

I always use high quality chocolate whenever I am molding with chocolate. This keeps frustrations at bay and brings enjoyment to the project. I also use a Choco-Vision Tempering unit so I can focus on what I'm creating, not how to make the medium. To begin I temper enough chocolate for the number of bowls I am planning on making. I do short runs so I am not needing more that 2 pounds of chocolate at a time. For this demonstration I tempered about 3/4 of a pound of white chocolate and had left over tempered milk chocolate from a previous bowl making session.

Once the chocolate is tempered, as indicated by the green light on the tempering unit, stop the machine and remove the baffle. Spread the chocolate evenly in the bowl. With a pastry bag you will put a simple design on the surface of the chocolate. Here I have just made simple circles.

With a bamboo skewer or any other similar utensil, draw through the circles to stretch the edges. Drawing it from the center to the outer edges and then from the outer edges to the center makes for a very nice design.

After this just dip the bottom of the balloon into the chocolate. To add a bit of interest to the design you can slightly twist the balloon.

After dipping the balloon gently set it on a pan or cookie sheet that is covered with parchment paper. The chocolate needs to just barely touch the paper. If you press the balloon down on the paper you may have a hole in the bottom of the bowl.

Move the balloon to the refidgerator to set up. This will take about 15 to 20 minutes depending on the tempurature in the air and the refridgerator. If you are unsure, just give a bit of extra time to be safe. Once the chocolate is set it can be removed from the refridgerator to a counter. The next step is the most fun. Hold the top of the balloon with one hand and with the other make a small cut at the very top of the balloon.

The air will quickly escape and will pull away from the chocolate revealing the beauty of your creation!

Happy New Year!

Welcome 2010!!

This will be a perfect year to accomplish just a few things.

"Just a few things" you ask?

Yes, just a few.

With each new year we all try to set lofty goals to achieve during the year and by the end we look back and see that we only reached a few, and feel disappointment for not reaching them all. So, logic says...set just a few and celebrate!!

I have a few that I am looking at. The biggest one is to expand my horizons with chocolate. For those of you who do not know me, let me explain. Although I am a chocolatier and I know chocolate really well, I'm really bad in the kitchen. The story I love to tell that describes my talent in the kitchen has to do with pasta. I was having guests for dinner one night and I decided to serve spaghetti. It is a pretty easy recipe and it would serve a group of friends. The sauce was simmering and approaching that peak of perfection. I put a large pot on for the noodles and once it reached boiling the noodles were added as instructed. I went to my computer to catch up with a few friends and my senses returned to my cooking with the smell of something burning. I rushed to the kitchen to find the pot of noodles furiously boiling away and, to my amazement, flames were leaping out of the pot through the splashing water!

Really...I caught spaghetti on fire while it was boiling in a pot! I have burned everything imaginable and as a result I get a little intimidated when it comes to baking, or creating anything that takes too much time or effort. Any cook will tell you how disappointing it is to spend 2 hours preparing a dish only to have it go up in smoke.

In 2010 I am going to go beyond my kitchen fears and make a few amazing things! I don't know what I should make first. Will it be a cake? What about chocolate mousse from scratch? Oh, the possibilities are limitless! Through 2010 I will share this adventure with you. I will be publishing this adventure through stories and photos. You will witness my successes and laugh with me through my failures!

Now, to keep this all fair I will be needing a few recipes. When I go to my vast selection of cook books I look through them and feel overwhelmed and quickly slam the cupboard shut leaving those books in the dark. You, my sweet readers, are so much braver than I and can open a cookbook. I would like you to send me a recipe and I will prepare it to the best of my ability. Because this blog is about chocolate everything I attempt needs to have chocolate as at least one ingredient. It can be chocolate in any form: cocoa powder, semi-sweet, bitter, chips, chunks, etc. You can post your recipe here as a comment, or send them directly to me via my website.

So, here's to a few new goals! I raise my glass to you and pray that I don't burn too much this year!!