Thanks again **Jubes**
This is part one... What Not to do... part two will be later, perhaps in November when we are all getting ready for the holidays. I will post it in this thread when I know...
I learn my best lessons when I make mistakes. I tried several recipes, and just made a mess. Well, I did not just make a mess... I made a mess, but also managed to make edible chocolate bowls that were the hit of our
Summer Dinner for Ten Close Friends. Definitely, this is a fun deal. If this is your first time, allow yourself more than two days, so you can make mistakes and enjoy the process.
This recipe is the result of two recipes here on Zaar...
Chocolate Bowls and
Chocolate Bowls, reading about tempering chocolate online, and my dear friend, Giancarlo. Giancarlo is a chef of fine European pastries. I called him and told him what I was going to do, and asked him if he had any pointers, and oh yes, could I buy some of his chocolate. He said, “You expect me to tell you in five minutes what it took me thirty years to learn!??”
I blushed. “Well… no, just the big pitfalls…”
He confessed that if he could, he would be a just chocolatier. When I went to pick up the chocolate, he showed me all his molds, special transfers, and some of his chocolate sculptures. He also gave me a quick lesson on tempering chocolate.
Of course all this was soooo much information!
I have written a recipe for myself, that when next I attempt it… I will make the perfect chocolate bowls. If you should chose to use it… please check back for updates, as I know I will change it as my knowledge and skills increase. Here is a link to my recipe for
Chocolate Bowls
The weather needs to be good. Cool and dry. A chocolate thermometer is, in my opinion, a must. Microwaving is ok, but sounded way too tricky for me. Double boiler works well, but the water needs to be below a simmer… just HOT. Avoid steam at all costs, then there is blooming and seizing. I have a picture of mine blooming… it did not seize (curdle).
I started with “dipping chocolate”. That happened before I sought professional help. It is now in the pantry… Michael loves it, nibbles from time to time. The best chocolate, for making bowls, is dark… the higher percentage of cocoa the better. The chocolate chips are the easiest. I will, from now on, use 60% cocoa or higher, if I can get it.
Blow up the balloons… about 3”, the size of my fist, worked for me.
I spent a week on this, I wanted to get it right, or at least close. Truly, this made Michael crazy… I only worked on it when he was working, to minimize the trauma. I have a walking partner… she heard my daily saga of the chocolate and the balloons.
It is very important to have a chocolate thermometer... something that goes below 100 degrees! Place 2/3 of the chocolate in the top of a double boiler. Do not boil the water, or even have it on simmer, just keep it hot. Stir the chocolate every few minutes. The chocolate temperature needs to rise above 105 degrees, but keep in mind, it may burn at 200. Obviously, this is not the thermometer I needed.
When the chocolate has melted, remove from heat. Stir in remaining chocolate. Stir again, and when all has melted, return top of double boiler to bottom. Regulate heat to maintain a chocolate temperature of 88-90 degrees. Obviously I had no idea about all this and dipped my first balloon. The chocolate was not too hot, but just hot enough... after the balloon was well coated, it blew up into a million tiny pieces. I had just painted the kitchen floor, so you couldn't see the chocolate on the black squares, but there were all these tiny specks on the white squares. I even had it on the walls, and the door between the dining room and kitchen.
Spoon 1/2 teaspoon or less of chocolate onto the parchment, making sure you allow space for each bowl, this will form discs for the bowls to "land" on.
Dip the balloons, one at a time in the chocolate, covering as much as you want the bowl to be.
Place each on the individual discs.
When they are cool and hardened, make a tiny hole below the knot to SLOWLY release the air. This is another dangerous time... a few did not cooperate with this step and had to be eaten.
The balloons sat there overnight with the chocolate on them and the tops stretched flat from edge to edge. They did not want to release. In this experience, the balloons still stuck to the chocolate, and I was not able to "peel it away". What I finally did, was to make a tiny slit, just below the knot, and pour a tiny amount of tepid water into the balloon. The balloon suddenly, but cleanly, released. I made the repairs, with more warm, tempered chocolate.
This is what I did with the leftover chocolate...
Meanwhile, they decided to "bloom"... sigh
At this point, I decided they were not poison and I would just go with it. I set them aside in a cool dry place until I was ready to use them. They do not need to be refrigerated. I put mine in the guest bedroom on the dresser, away from Lizzie Borden (the cat).
This is how they looked the night of the party.
No one seemed to mind how ugly they were.
