Archive for pecans

A lovely Pecan Brittle

Posted in candy, confections with tags , , , on September 18, 2010 by thebrokenganache

After doing some reading for the next school assignment I decided  to make some pecan brittle. It came out perfect, great consistency and flavor. I was so happy, that it wasn’t grainy. Unfortunately I had other things to do today so that was all I made – I do have somethings in mind for tomorrow so stay tuned.

Pecan Brittle Recipe

The recipe is adapted from Chocolate and Confections by Peter Greweling.

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1+1/2 cup pecans

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp butter

3/4 Tbsp vanilla extract

3/4 Tbsp baking soda

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Place sugar, water and corn syrup in a pot and bring to a boil then cover for 4 min. Remove the cover and cook to 240F without stirring. Now add pecans and cook to 320F stirring constantly. Remove from heat add vanilla, butter, salt and baking soda and blend thoroughly. Pour onto the parchment lined sheet pan and spread out. Once cool break and enjoy!

That’s it for now.

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Pecan Brittle

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Enough chocolates to open a shop

Posted in chocolates, confections with tags , , , , on September 12, 2010 by thebrokenganache

The morning started out great. We went to a really cute  farmers market and they had a wonderful selection of produce, fresh eggs, and an assortment of other goodies from local farmers. After that we went for a quick bite and then back home to start on the chocolates. I had some extra raspberry puree so I made a raspberry pate de fruit which I layered with a dark chocolate ganache. It was my first layered chocolate, and I was thrilled with the way they came out. I tempered some  dark chocolate  and we dipped them and the orange and Cointreau ganache that was drying overnight. Then I decided to re-make the Pina-Colada ganache that I made last week since I didn’t feel it had enough rum. Andy tempered some white chocolate and did a fantastic job of it. I’m quite pleased with the outcome – just the right blend of chocolate and rum!

After that I decided to make a salted pecan caramel (the pecans were Andy’s idea). As they were boiling away in the pot I decided to check my email. I noticed all these emails: Emergency! Emergency! I said to myself really? What *#$*!*@ Emergency could there be? Since I work at a magazine! So I went  into the office to take care of a few things.  Maybe it’s time to make a few changes. But what about my caramels? I couldn’t stop in mid process so I turned up the heat a little. Unfortunately I think thats what caused them to become a little too hard they cooked to fast . The taste is great  sweet and salty, At the last minute we decided to dip a few into dark chocolate which are quite tasty.

Thats it for now.

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All of today confections

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Raspberry Pate de fruit with a dark chocolate ganache

17 Comments »

Chocolate turtles a tasty treat

Posted in candy, chocolates, confections with tags , , , on August 31, 2010 by thebrokenganache

I remade the turtles tonight and everything went smoothly. The caramels came out just right at 245F and I was thrilled because I really didnt want to have to do this a 3rd night in a row. Which I would have if they didn’t come out. These taste great, but I would add a bit of muscovado sugar to it next time to get a slight hint of molasses. The little bit of sea salt I placed on top of the turtles just brought it all together! Sweet and salty how could you go wrong! Heres the recipe if anybody wants to try – I hope you find them as tasty as I did.

The following recipe is adapted from Chocolates and Confections by Peter P. Geweling (it’s a wonderful book filled with amazing recipes –  every chocoholic should own it so go buy the book!)

Chocolate Turtle recipe:

1oz water

3oz granulated sugar

1/2  fresh vanilla bean (scrapped )

3.5oz sweetened condenced milk

3oz corn syrup

3 tbsp softened butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups toasted whole pecans

1/2 lb Valrhona 66% dark chocolate for tempering

Sea salt (just a few grains on top of the chocolate)

Steps:

Roast the pecans in the oven at 350F for 10-15 min or slightly browned.

Set aside and allow to cool.

Place the water, sugar, vanilla bean, condenced milk, butter and corn syrup in a pot and bring to a boil stirring constantly until your reach 245F.  Once it gets to 245F remove from heat, remove vanilla pod and add salt. Than pour into a large Pirex measuring cup and allow to cool to 150F. Meanwhile: Place the pecans in a group of 5 so they resemble a turtle! Once the carmel has cooled place a dollop of the carmel in the center of each of the pecans making sure to leave the edges exposed (those are the turtle’s feet). Allow to cool completely.

Now temper your chocolate – once done cover the caramel with the chocolate sprinkle a few grains of sea salt on top and your done.

Recipe notes:

Make sure you have a good candy thermometer and a large Pirex measuring cup or similar heat resistant glass bowl. Temperature is everything with this recipe so make sure you watch your temperatures and have everything ready to go – so your prepared.

Thats it for now!

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Chocolate turtles

11 Comments »

Back to candy!

Posted in candy, confections with tags , , , on August 26, 2010 by thebrokenganache

Now that the birthday celebrations are over, and the birthday boy received his cupcakes it’s time to get back to some candy. I decided to make a Texas pecan praline from the book Candy Making for Dummies by David Jones with some slight alterations. I used a dark muscobado sugar to blend with regular sugar and fresh vanilla bean. I don’t think they came out hard enough – they seem too soft to me and I don’t know why.  The flavor is amazing with the vanilla and a slight hint of molasses from the sugar were just the right touch. Now I just need to work on the consistency. Does anyone happen to know why they would turnout a little soft? I reached all the correct temperatures during the process.

I still haven’t decided on which chocolates to make over the weekend so if anyone has any suggestions I am quite open to it!

Thats it!

Texas Pecan Pralines

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Handmade Fondant and Southern Pecan Pralines

Posted in candy, confections, how to videos with tags , , , on July 31, 2010 by thebrokenganache

I had to run to J.Crew today to pick up a few things, and bring them some chocolates. They are all so nice over there, especially Doris. She knows exactly what I like and has everything waiting for me when I get there. When I got home I had to help a friend with her website for a new business. Once that was done it  was time to make some fondant. This time I did it by hand on a marble slab. I have really enjoyed working with my hands instead using a machine, lately. Like with temping chocolate. I have a tempering machine but I prefer doing it by hand. It just feels right for some reason, sort of  artisan crafty.  Mixing the fondant by  hand I really noticed the subtle changes  from a clear syrup to a thick creamy mass.  It’s something I didn’t pay much attention to when using the mixer, beacause all of a sudden it was done..

So now when my invertase arrives I can make cherry cordials. Invertase is a yeast-derived enzyme that breaks down the fondant once its dipped in chocolate. Thats what gives it a gooey center . I know I mentioned I was going to make nougat,  but  it felt like pecan pralines night. Even though I have never made them before the recipe looked good, quick and easy.  So that’s what I did.  They where pretty good, a little salty for me. Andy didn’t think so. Need a few taste testers to get their opinion.

Dose anyone know if you use kosher salt instead of table salt  do you need to change the portions in the recipe?

The videos of making the fondant and pecans are up!

Southern Pecan Pralines

10 Comments »

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