ISO: ISO: Can someone tell me what I did wrong when trying to make a bittersweet chocolate glaze??

In Search Of:
D

deb-in-mi

Well-known member
I was trying to make the glaze to dip heart-shaped pound cake pieces in but the chocolate ended up becoming grainy and too thick (not grainy tasting though).

I started off with bittersweet chocolate and tried adding a bit of butter and corn syrup to it. But didn't get as thin as I wanted it. So I tried adding half and half (didn't have any heavy whipping cream). The result was a mess!

Would appreciate any input,

Deb

 
Did the liquid make it seize up?

Usually you have to add the liquid at the beginning. Adding cold liquid to melted chocolate causes it to seize, or get thick and grainy and unusable. I'm not sure if there is a remedy for seized chocolate, or if you have to start over.

 
Maybe this will help - it's a remedy for a broken ganache, but should work for the glaze...

REPAIRING A BROKEN OR GRAINY GANACHE

If your ganache looks broken or feels grainy, there is still hope for it. To repair a broken ganache, divide it in half. Warm one half over a double boiler to a temperature of 130°F. The fat will melt and pool at this temperature, making the mixture thinner. Cool the remaining ganache to 60°F by stirring it over a bowl of ice. The fat in this portion will begin to solidify, causing the ganache to thicken.
When both halves have reached the desired temperatures, slowly stream the hot ganache into the cold and stir to combine. You can use a food processor for this step by placing the cool ganache into the bowl of the food processor, turning on the machine, and streaming in the warm ganache. The mixture will not fall below 90°F during this procedure, so there is no risk of creating a grainy texture. Combining the two portions of ganache in this way averages the temperature into the optimal working range, and the fat droplets will be suspended evenly in the water.

From THE SECRETS OF BAKING by Sherry Yard

 
did you use chips or bar chocolate? I use Ghirardelli and follow the instructions on

the package for nuking. once melted, I add some room temp butter til I get what I'm looking for. I had probs when I tried to do the same thing with Ghirardelli chips instead of the bar.

try again, it's always worth it smileys/smile.gif

 
You might have overcooked it or gotten it too hot, Deb

Then adding cold ingredients might have compounded the problem. I always melt chocolate over water so the pan is not directly on the heat. It takes longer but I don't usually have trouble if I do it that way.

 
I have two burners that go very, very low (on/off at spaced intervals)..

(darn - I can't think of the term for those burners:) - and I always melt chocolate on the lowest setting with no problem. Must be the addition of very cold 1/2 and 1/2. Thanks for your input!

Deb

 
Thank you rvb,Shaun, Meryl, Marilyn, Randi, and CathyZ...

I learned tons from all of you! Much appreciated!

Deb

 
I'd say it was probably the addition of the cold cream which

seized up your chocolate. You could try adding a tiny bit of warm water and see if you can't bring it back to where you'd like it to be.

Here's a blurb with a bit more info (see link).

Also, when melting chocolate I think it's preferable to use the double boiler method (vs microwave melting), making sure that the bottom of the bowl is not touching the hot water below it, and also making sure the bowl is fitting as snugly as possible around the rim of the saucepan or pot so that as little steam as possible is escaping. The steam and/or water droplets can cause your chocolate to seize. Then when you remove the bowl from the pot or saucepan be sure to immediately wipe the base of the bowl (a dry dishtowel works well) to remove all moisture.

Another thought, the type of chocolate you used could also make a difference. Bagged chocolate chips can sometimes be problematic because, as I understand it, they have something added which helps hinder their meltability. Not all brands of course, but some do.

http://www.fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/recipe.cgi?r=63849

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top