I couldn't resist...a few quick bonbons!

I know, I'm supposed to be relaxing, not baking. But, I couldn't help myself. After arriving in LA I went on a search for bonbon molds, which turns out are expensive ($60 a tray?!?!) and difficult to find. After eventually giving in and ordering online I happened to wander by Le Cordon Bleu (another cooking school) and noticed they had a small supply store, and of course, they had bonbon molds! Oh well... I ended up talking to the woman there and she pointed out silicon molds and when I said I was hesitant to try them because of how flexible they are (aka difficult to scrape clean) she said a pastry chef at the school had just started to use them, and really liked them. Granted, she said, its more difficult, but if you can get it right the results are beautiful. Not to mention, the average silicon chocolate mold is around $15, MUCH cheaper! So, I bought one and headed to whole foods to pick up a few valrhona bars. I decided on making a classic dark chocolate bonbon with a dark chocolate ganache, so no sugar added. I also wanted to test my at home tempering skills, slightly afraid outside of a professional kitchen my skills would dissipate. I opted against trying to find a recipe for the ganache and just did it by eye, adding a bit more cream than I normally would since there was no sugar/extra flavor, and if done well results in that "melt in your mouth" texture.

Filling the molds was slightly harder than filling the standard polycarbonate variety, but not significantly, so I was optimistic. The ganache turned out wonderfully, smooth and the perfect texture, crystalizing within minutes (the sign of a great ganache), AND my first out of school tempering attempt was a great success!

Now, covering and finishing bonbon's is the most difficult part, and with silicone it was even harder. Because the molds move, it makes it really hard to get a clean scrape on the bottom. So while that aspect wasn't perfect they un-molded almost immediately, and had a great shine. Normally, bonbons would take several hours, these took 45 minutes from start to finish, and they could have gone faster if I needed. And while it may take some practice, I can see the benefit to silicone. But for now, I think I'll stick with my trusty polycarbonate, the benefit of which is a true showing of your chocolate skills. Unlike silicone, if you incorrectly temper, they won't release.

Now that FCI isn't paying for all my supplies/ingredients when I was left with extra ganache, instead of throwing in the compost bin I rolled a few quick truffles, trying to use up every last ounce of my chocolate!

I seriously cannot get enough of making chocolates, I absolutely love it. Perhaps I should work at a chocolatier...