Chocolate shell

"Mike Bates" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...
: Hello all, I'm looking for a good recipe for hard
: chocolate, like when it
cools
: to room temperature it is close to as hard as a
: hersheys bar. I
have
: unsweetened chocolate to work with (and sugar, eggs,
: etc...)
I'm going
: to try layering this on top of creme brulee in place of
: the
sugar
: topping. Thanks in advance!
===========

I don't know off-hand how to make that but you can buy Magic
Shell in the ice cream condiment aisle at a lot of grocery
stores... I just saw that it comes in flavors other than
chocolate as well.

--
Cyndi <Remove a "b" to reply

Mike Bates said:

Hello all, I'm looking for a good recipe for hard
chocolate, like when it cools to room temperature it is
close to as hard as a hersheys bar. I have unsweetened
chocolate to work with (and sugar, eggs, etc...) I'm going
to try layering this on top of creme brulee in place of
the sugar topping. Thanks in advance!

You're getting into some very fussy chocolate handling. It
will need to be properly formulated, tempered and molded or
poured onto a cool but not cold surface. Adding eggs will
soften it. Granulated sugar doesn't dissolve well in
chocolate, often leaving it gritty.

The chocolate shell liquids are formulated with a fair
amount of wax in them to get that hard.

You'd be better off using a Hershey bar than to try to
duplicate it.

Pastorio

"Mike Bates" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hello all, I'm looking for a good recipe for hard
chocolate, like when it cools to room temperature it is
close to as hard as a hersheys bar. I have unsweetened
chocolate to work with (and sugar, eggs, etc...) I'm going
to try layering this on top of creme brulee in place of
the sugar topping. Thanks in advance!

I would have said just melt chocolate and let it harden
after you pour it where you want it, but since you're
working with unsweetened, my next suggestion is to make a
chocolate caramel and use that. Heat 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup
corn syrup, 1/4 cup water, 1 tsp salt, and 1tbp butter.
Bring to a boil and continue boiling until it is at the hard
crack stage. Stir in 1 1/2 ounces of unsweetened chocolate,
then 1 tsp vanilla and
1/2 tsp baking soda. Pour out onto a baking sheet, then
break apart and sprinkle over the desserts, or pour
directly over the desserts.

kimberly

In article <[email hidden]>,

(Mike Bates) said:

Hello all, I'm looking for a good recipe for hard
chocolate, like when it cools to room temperature it is
close to as hard as a hersheys bar. I have unsweetened
chocolate to work with (and sugar, eggs, etc...) I'm going
to try layering this on top of creme brulee in place of
the sugar topping. Thanks in advance!

I'm with Kimberly here. Buy a Hershey bar, melt it and pour
it on top. When it cools it will be at the exact hardness of
a Hershey bar. You can buy milk chocolate, dark chocolate,
white chocolate, or use a combination melted separately to
make designs.

--
Dan Abel Sonoma State University AIS [email hidden]

Mike Bates said:

Hello all, I'm looking for a good recipe for hard
chocolate, like when it cools to room temperature it is
close to as hard as a hersheys bar. I have unsweetened
chocolate to work with (and sugar, eggs, etc...) I'm going
to try layering this on top of creme brulee in place of
the sugar topping. Thanks in advance!

It would probably be easiest to use semi-sweet baker's
chocolate or a good quality bittersweet chocolate, melted
and then drizzled over the top of the Creme Brulee. I
wouldn't suggest a layer. That would make it to hard to eat.
When you try to break through the chocolate layer it will
probably plunge into the custard and cause it to slop over
the sides.

Foe an alternate topping for Creme Brule, I once had it
topped with honey and a little bud of saffron. It was
quite tasty.

at Wed, 05 May 2004 03:57:09 GMT in <602c3c01.0405041957.4ae295a0
@posting.google.com>, [email hidden] (Mike Bates) wrote :

Quoted message said:

Hello all, I'm looking for a good recipe for hard
chocolate,

Hard chocolate is exactly that, hardened chocolate. However,
in order for it to work properly, you need "couverture":
chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa butter. Not to
worry, because essentially all chocolate bars sold for
straight eating are couverture. However, the kind of
"baking" chocolate that comes in boxes wherein are smallish
paper-wrapped squares will *not* work well, nor will
chocolate chips. Both have lower cocoa butter. Indeed,
virtually all chocolate sold explicitly as baking chocolate
is pretty useless for anything, simply because it's mostly
really bad chocolate - the stuff made from the culls too
horrible even for Hershey's to accept for eating bars.
Ghirardelli makes bars they label as "baking chocolate",
however, which are excellent couverture chocolate - great
both for baking and for straight eating. That's also a good
test: if a chocolate isn't good eaten straight, it isn't
good for baking, either.

With couverture (e.g. bar chocolate), once you've melted it,
you need to temper it: pour about 1/2 of it out onto a
marble slab or other cool, non- porous surface, and spade it
around with a metal spatula until it just starts to
solidify. Then scrape it back into the melted chocolate,
stir, and it's ready to use, but you must use it
immediately.

...> I have

Quoted message said:

unsweetened chocolate to work with (and sugar, eggs,
etc...) I'm going to try layering this on top of creme
brulee in place of the sugar topping.

Resist the temptation to improvise. Chocolate is one of
those things for which makeshift solutions tend to work very
badly if at all. If you try to stir sugar into unsweetened
chocolate, expecting it to dissolve, you'll be in for a big
disappointment when you find out that it doesn't, leaving
you with a grainy mass. Meanwhile, adding most other
ingredients to chocolate merely makes it softer.
Forthermore, if your unsweetened chocolate is Baker's brand,
you might as well throw it away because it's absolutely
awful chocolate. If it were good unsweetened chocolate, such
as from Callebaut, Ghirardelli, Guittard, etc., you *could*
sweeten it using candymaking technique: dissolve some sugar
in water, boil vigourously until it reaches hard-crack
temperature (300-310F, 150-155C) and then *quickly* stir
with melted chocolate. But this takes skill and practice to
do correctly. It's easier to buy some bars of decent
chocolate (Ghirardelli is virtually ubiquitous, for
instance) and do the melt-and-temper approach.

--
Alex Rast [email hidden] (remove d., .7,
not, and .NOSPAM to reply)

Dan Abel said:

I'm with Kimberly here. Buy a Hershey bar, melt it and
pour it on top. When it cools it will be at the exact
hardness of a Hershey bar.

I did this years ago. The untempered chocolate will appear
dull and grey on the outside, and the mouthfeel will be a
bit off. I learned later that the dull greyness is the cocoa
butter which has separated from everything else. I imagine
that's what accounts for the mouthfeel too, that sort of
oily feeling on the tongue.

--Lia

Dave Smith <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Mike Bates said:

Hello all, I'm looking for a good recipe for hard
chocolate, like when it cools to room temperature it is
close to as hard as a hersheys bar. I have unsweetened
chocolate to work with (and sugar, eggs, etc...) I'm
going to try layering this on top of creme brulee in
place of the sugar topping. Thanks in advance!

It would probably be easiest to use semi-sweet baker's
chocolate or a good quality bittersweet chocolate, melted
and then drizzled over the top of the Creme Brulee. I
wouldn't suggest a layer. That would make it to hard to
eat. When you try to break through the chocolate layer it
will probably plunge into the custard and cause it to slop
over the sides.

Foe an alternate topping for Creme Brule, I once had it
topped with honey and a little bud of saffron. It was
quite tasty.

I was thinking more of a very thin layer of chocolate that
would crack easily (instead of breaking off in large chunks
like you said). In your suggestion for drizzling the
chocolate over the creme brulee, do you mean over the top of
the hardened sugar coating on top, or with no sugar coating?
My creme brulee tends to be fairly runny (kind of a loose
creamy custard) and I don't know if drizzling chocolate
directly on top would work.

That honey and saffron sounds good, I'll give that a shot
too.

"Julia Altshuler" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:6rdmc.29111$TD4.4186821@attbi_s01...

Quoted message said:

Dan Abel said:

I'm with Kimberly here. Buy a Hershey bar, melt it and
pour it on top. When it cools it will be at the exact
hardness of a Hershey bar.

I did this years ago. The untempered chocolate will appear
dull and grey on the outside, and the mouthfeel will be a
bit off. I learned later that the dull greyness is the
cocoa butter which has separated from everything else. I
imagine that's what accounts for the mouthfeel too, that
sort of oily feeling on the tongue.

--Lia

If he buys chocolate that is already tempered, as is most
good chocolate, and doesn't heat it past it's temper, it
will not need to be retempered. It sounds to me like you
overheated the chocolate.

kimberly

Mike Bates said:

I was thinking more of a very thin layer of chocolate that
would crack easily (instead of breaking off in large
chunks like you said). In your suggestion for drizzling
the chocolate over the creme brulee, do you mean over the
top of the hardened sugar coating on top, or with no sugar
coating?

I can't imagine burnt sugar and chocolate. I would go with
one or the other.

Quoted message said:

My creme brulee tends to be fairly runny (kind of a loose
creamy custard) and I don't know if drizzling chocolate
directly on top would work.

That honey and saffron sounds good, I'll give that a
shot too.

It was very good.

Nexis said:

If he buys chocolate that is already tempered, as is most
good chocolate, and doesn't heat it past its temper, it
will not need to be retempered. It sounds to me like you
overheated the chocolate.

I probably did. If the original poster melts the chocolate,
he probably will too. I suppose it's possible to soften the
chocolate enough to reform it without melting it to the
point of the cocoa butter separating, but that would take
some practice.

--Lia

"Julia Altshuler" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:63imc.30768$_41.2420497@attbi_s02...

Quoted message said:

Nexis said:

If he buys chocolate that is already tempered, as is
most good

chocolate,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

and doesn't heat it past its temper, it will not need to
be retempered.

It

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

sounds to me like you overheated the chocolate.

I probably did. If the original poster melts the
chocolate, he probably will too. I suppose it's possible
to soften the chocolate enough to reform it without
melting it to the point of the cocoa butter separating,
but that would take some practice.

--Lia

Nah, just a candy thermometer! :-) For dark chocolate, don't
exceed 91*f, and preferably not over 90*f. If you melt
slowly and don't don't *don't* use the microwave, it's very
easy to do.

kimberly

at Sat, 08 May 2004 00:33:36 GMT in
<[email hidden]>, [email hidden]
(Mike Bates) wrote :

Quoted message said:

Dave Smith <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Mike Bates said:

Hello all, I'm looking for a good recipe for hard
chocolate,... I'm going to try layering this on top of
creme brulee in place of the sugar topping. Thanks in
advance!

I wouldn't suggest a layer. That would make it to hard to
eat....

Foe an alternate topping for Creme Brule, I once had it
topped with honey and a little bud of saffron. It was
quite tasty.

I was thinking more of a very thin layer of chocolate that
would crack easily (instead of breaking off in large chunks
like you said)...

The easiest way to do this will be to mark circles on wax
paper or parchment of the same (inside) diameter as your
creme brulee ramekins. Then, after tempering your chocolate
(as per my other post), spread it thinly over the circles
using the same palette knife or spatula you used to spade
the chocolate around. Set the paper aside for the chocolate
to cool (it won't take long, not with a thin layer of
tempered chocolate). Then carefully peel back the paper from
the chocolate. Now set the chocolate discs inside your
ramekins, right on top of the creme brulee. It's best to use
tongs for this step because the heat of your hands can
easily melt a thin chocolate disc.

If you want the chocolate to stick to the sides of the
ramekin and thus prevent any disc-flipping as a result of
the wrong spoon position, simply set the ramekins in some
lukewarm water briefly just after inserting the discs. Make
sure the fit of the discs before heating is fairly snug.

--
Alex Rast [email hidden] (remove d., .7,
not, and .NOSPAM to reply)

In article
<[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Dave Smith <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Mike Bates said:

Hello all, I'm looking for a good recipe for hard
chocolate, like when it cools to room temperature it
is close to as hard as a hersheys bar. I have
unsweetened chocolate to work with (and sugar, eggs,
etc...) I'm going to try layering this on top of creme
brulee in place of the sugar topping. Thanks in
advance!

It would probably be easiest to use semi-sweet baker's
chocolate or a good quality bittersweet chocolate,
melted and then drizzled over the top of the Creme
Brulee. I wouldn't suggest a layer. That would make it
to hard to eat. When you try to break through the
chocolate layer it will probably plunge into the custard
and cause it to slop over the sides.

Foe an alternate topping for Creme Brule, I once had it
topped with honey and a little bud of saffron. It was
quite tasty.

I was thinking more of a very thin layer of chocolate that
would crack easily (instead of breaking off in large
chunks like you said). In your suggestion for drizzling
the chocolate over the creme brulee, do you mean over the
top of the hardened sugar coating on top, or with no sugar
coating? My creme brulee tends to be fairly runny (kind of
a loose creamy custard) and I don't know if drizzling
chocolate directly on top would work.

That honey and saffron sounds good, I'll give that a
shot too.

I missed the beginning of this thread as I was out of
town for a few days. I don't know where you live, Mike,
but if you're in the U.S., there's a product called
"Magic Shell" that's sold in the supermarkets (you'll
find it where the ice cream toppings are located -
usually the end of the ice cream aisle). It's used for
exactly the purpose you're talking about - putting a
coating on bananas, for example - and I think it would
work just great on your custard. I've never used it, but
I think it's got the same sort of consistency as the
shell on a chocolate- covered ice cream bar.
--
Donna A pessimist believes all women are bad. An optimist
hopes they are.

In article <63imc.30768$_41.2420497@attbi_s02>, Julia Altshuler

Quoted message said:

Nexis said:

If he buys chocolate that is already tempered, as is
most good chocolate, and doesn't heat it past its
temper, it will not need to be retempered. It sounds to
me like you overheated the chocolate.

I probably did. If the original poster melts the
chocolate, he probably will too. I suppose it's possible
to soften the chocolate enough to reform it without
melting it to the point of the cocoa butter separating,
but that would take some practice.

Worked first time for me. I use the microwave. I cook it for
15 seconds at a time, stirring and letting the temperature
even out. After the last time in the microwave, there should
still be chunks of chocolate. When the temperature evens
out, the chunks will be just melted.

To be honest, I don't know if this will work for creme
brulee. This chocolate will be too thick to pour well, and
it will solidify as soon as it hits anything cool. I liked
the suggestion to form circles on wax paper, cool, and then
transfer. The only thing I've done with melted chocolate is
to dip things in it, put on wax paper and cool. This works
really well with strawberries, and I especially like dark
chocolate.

--
Dan Abel Sonoma State University AIS [email hidden]

I've just recently added about 40 more chocolate links to my
site. chocolatarian.comchocolatarian.comOpen ↗ Altogether there are more
than 170 links. If you would like to add a link to a
favorite chocolate site that I don't have yet just say so
and I will check it out.

There is a page also for chocolate recipe links and a page
for low carb chocolate links.

Snoozy