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Hello. And thank you for watching my video. And yes, alcohol extends the shelf life of your truffles. But you need to use one with a high i.e 60% + alcohol content. Shelf life can be a complex subject! For a quick fix, I'd recommend that you make a trial batch, store it in conditions you think would be typical and then test for flavour and what the truffle looks like over time. Record your findings over a number of weeks. As soon as you think the flavour and look and feel changes where you no longer like the truffles, then that is your shelf life. Of course look out for mould too - there's nothing worse! I hope that helps. Nenette

I'm afraid this is not something I have experience of. My background as a chocolatier via chartered accountancy means I have missed out on advanced patisserie training. Can I suggest you have a go and let us all know how it turns out?

Thank you!!

Thank you for watching my new contribution! No, you're not missing anything. I'll add this really good point to a future video. While you're waiting for your temper test to set, the rest of your chocolate will be cooling and setting too! So you will need to gently heat the contents of your bowl, stirring the chocolate as you go, to keep it at its working temperature. It's a bit of a juggling act. Invest in an infrared temperature guage as this will help take the guesswork away. I hope that helps . Nenette

Thank you so much for watching my latest video. And I'm overjoyed to know that you're persevering regardless of ambient temperature challenges! I think I understand your question. I find that the nearer you get to the working temperature, the harder it is to get the seeds to melt. Especially at around 31 degrees C. There is an element of luck involved at this level of detail! If you're struggling to get those last seeds to melt, I suggest you apply a little warm air with the help of your hot air gun (hairdryer?!) to gently pick up the temperature by a degree or so only so to enable you to persuade those last seeds to melt. Don't overdo the heat, or you'll have to start all over again.... I hope that helps. Let me know if I've missed the point! Nenette

@@NenetteChocolates Nono, you answered me perfectly, thank you! 😊 I will raise a temperature of the chocolate a little bit by using a hairdryer and see if this will give the little bits chance to melt properly. I might invest in the hot air gun in the future though.

​@kikitauer it took me several years before I upgraded from Babyliss to Black and Decker!! Hairdryers are just as good.

I'm so pleased it worked!

Yes, absolutely. I'm pleased the video was helpful for you. Thank you for your question too - I'm about to publish further 'episodes' to address questions just like yours that people have asked. Always good to know if I can help further. Nenette

Don't tar us all with the same brush! 'Brit' for we're not al the same...I hope you got what you needed from my video even if I took too long :)

You're welcome!! I'm so pleased this worked for you. And matcha ganache sounds exciting too. Nenette

@@NenetteChocolates I’m forever your debt miss Nenette ❤️ it’s for my mothers birthday cake ☺️ white chocolate matcha ganache I recommend it if you like the taste of matcha ❤️

​@@isychia4947it sounds excellent. And happy birthday to your mum too

I'm pleased to have been of help! Nenette

Hi Jeff. How very frustrating for you. Let's take a look and see if we can resolve this. First of all, can I check the quantities of ingredients you're using. The ratio I use is 125g chocolate and 75ml of cream. This is generally enough to make around 20 truffles. Next, and sorry if I'm repeating myself, shall we walk through the steps: first heat the chocolate and, separately, the cream gently so that they cream is around 35 degrees C and the chocolate is just melted. Then add the cream to the chocolate - little by little. Don't pour it all in at once. At first the chocolate will 'seize' as it hates being mixed with liquid! Just keep adding the cream a little at a time and the mixture will soften, look a little 'greasy' and then it should all come together with a glossy, shiny ganache. If, at this stage - perhaps because the measurements at the start might have been a little off - the ganache isn't glossy, then you can either go in with your electric whisk or, simply add a little more cream. The mix shouldn't be grainy. Still having problems - then drop me an email on info@nenettechocolates.co.uk and we can arrange a call or something. Nenette

One of my favourites too 😊

Honestly - I really do add the cream little by little!! And it really does the trick. They it!

Yes - I use professional chocolatiers' polycarbonate moulds. If you'd like to know more about how I use these, then take a look at my other videos too - specifically how to make chocolate truffles. Thank you for your feedback - I'm pleased I am able to help you.

@@NenetteChocolates thanks so much - just subscribed

Thank you so much for your kind words. I'm very pleased my tempering demonstration works for you. 😊

You're welcome

take a look at my other videos - you will see that I do just hat you're looking for :)

My pleasure - I hope my video helped

Hello. Thank you for getting in touch. This sounds really strange and I'm afraid it's not a problem I've encountered before. Except where I have inadvertently tried to temper chocolate that has gone beyond it's BBE date. White chocolate can be trickier than milk or dark to temper because it burns more easily than the others (that is, if you're melting it in a microwave oven). I therefore take the melting process at a slower pace. W2 should be fairly user-friendly and I'm very sorry but I am not able to suggest anything to address your particular problem. Just be certain that you have melted the chocolate fully (to 40-45 degrees C) and then tempered it down to a working temperature of 30 degrees C. If you are working with the chocolate i.e. making truffle shells and otherwise having a bowl of the tempered chocolate hanging around, so to speak, make sure that you are keeping on top of its temperature all the time and not letting it cool down. Check the temper before you use it initially and then make sure the temperature remains at 30 degrees as you work with the chocolate (use a hot air gun to blow warm air into the chocolate as you stir it) and that way, it shouldn't thicken. Also, if you're working in cool ambient temperature, this cooling and thickening will happen faster than otherwise. So just be aware of your working environment too. I hope this helps. Nenette

This was really helpful.. Thank you chef❤ Which white chocolate you would suggest to use specially for bonbons. As I am from India temperature is little on the warmer side so should I store white chocolate in refrigerator because I dont why i have been facing same issue all the time. I have been melting it at 20-30 sec intervals still it feels like burnt and thick in first 30 secs itself

Ah. This might explain things a little. Don't put your chocolate in the fridge as you'll then get a completely different problem called a sugar bloom. I'm not familiar with it but I'd recommend you investigate something called 'compound chocolate' which is formulated for warmer ambient temperatures. I'm sorry I can't be of more help with this.

Now it went down to 81F (27C)

Don't panic!! This takes practice and on the whole, chocolate is quite forgiving. Just take it slowly while you're getting the hang of things. A recap of the main things that will help you: first of all, melt your chocolate to around 45 degrees C regardless of what type of chocolate it is. Then rapidly reduce the temperature to the working temperature by stirring-in new chocolate callets (buttons!) . The working temperature you need to know is dark chocolate 32 degrees C, milk 31 degrees C and white 29 - 30 degrees C. Then before you use your tempered chocolate, test it as I show you on my videos by dipping the blade of a knife into the chocolate, tapping off the excess and letting it set - you're looking for it to set in 3-5 minutes and when you brush the surface with your fingers, there should be no finger marks left in your wake. If the worse comes to the worse, and things go pear-shaped, then let the whole batch of chocolate set and then have another go. Yes, you can re-use it. Good luck and keep me posted. Nenette

@@NenetteChocolatesYou are so cool, kind and professional! 😍 Thanks for cheering me up. 🥺 I will do that right now and get back to you when it’s done! Thanks a lot! 💕

Thank you for watching my video. The powder I use is called 'creative powder' and is easily found when you google it. Mona Lisa is a good make for you to look for. I hope this helps. And happy creative chocolate-making!

@@NenetteChocolates Your welcome & thank you for your quick response and great videos..Thanks again !

Great question. I take the lid off the bottle and then put the bottle into the microwave for a minute. I then remove the bottle and gently squeeze it to move the cocoa butter around inside (i.e. 'stirring it') before putting it back again for a further minute. Continue until the cocoa butter starts to melt and then you can put the lid back on and shake the bottle to distribute the melted cocoa butter throughout the contents. In doing so, this will melt the bits that may still be solid in the bottle. When the cocoa butter is all liquid and warmed throughout, pour out the amount you want to use and check the temperature with your temperature gun. Stir it on the work surface (I tend to pour it onto a sheet of greaseproof paper) until the temperature is around 30 degrees C before you start to use it or you will find that colour will just meld with the chocolate and your design will disappear. Good luck!

I'm so pleased that you enjoyed this video! And the other main advantage of savouring your chocolate like this is that it lasts so much longer too!

Thank you for watching my video and getting in touch. Let's assume we're talking about milk chocolate where the ideal working temperature is 30 - 31 degrees C. I would be looking to warm the chocolate again when it drops below this temperature. But this with the hot air gun - and not a full-re-temper. I would suggest you only need to re-temper the chocolate when it has set. You can 'rescue' chocolate that has started to set around the edges of the bowl with the hot air gun if you're quick about it! Generally my advice would be to 'look after your chocolate' and so keep a close eye on it when you're working with it to make sure that it is not cooling and setting.

@@NenetteChocolates I didn't know this information. Thank you very much. I make it by combining cocoa butter and cocoa. I don't use couverture, can I still layer it this way?

Hello. Thank you for watching my videos. I tend to buy my cocoa butter already coloured. It is of course perfectly possible to buy un-coloured cocoa butter and colour it yourself. If you would prefer to do this, you would first melt the cocoa butter (treat it like chocolate for this process) and add your liquid or powder colour. Then temper the cocoa butter in exactly the same way as you do chocolate - work the temperature down to around 30 degrees C. I hope this helps and have fun with your creations

Thank you very much, I think I'll follow your example and buy it in! I've enough to learn to be getting on with.!

Hello Gerard. Thank you for watching my videos. The delight about working with chocolate is that it works differently for different people. I too have worked with chocolate for years and trained with Callebaut at their academy and go back there each year to pick up all the latest information about their products and new techniques. The process you describe in your note is where you don't actually take the chocolate out of temper i.e. the pre-tempered chocolate is not taken above 36 degrees C. And of course this is an acceptable way of doing it too. The method I describe is for tempering chocolate that has been fully melted which might be easier for those new to the process to get to grips with. By the way the feeling the temperature of the bowl is just to see roughly the temperature of the chocolate. It of course doesn't form part of the tempering process.

Thanks for the sub!

I was only ever taught - by both reputable chocolate schools and all chocolatiers I have worked with over the years, to temper by adding further chocolate rather than cocoa butter. I can't therefore comment on the use of cocoa butter in the process but feel certain there is a chemical answer in there somewhere. The tempering process is about organising the beta 5 crystals in the chocolate - these form part of the fat molecules. Or cocoa butter. I'd stick to adding chocolate rather than cocoa butter but if you experiment with the latter, let me know how you get along.

Yes, but I'm not certain why you'd want to..?

Thank you for watching - and I'm delighted to know that you have a perfect ganache!

Thank you for watching all the way from Canada! There are plenty of recipes out there - online for example. The matter of shelf life is one that can't easily answered here as it needs more lengthy explanation. It would be a tutorial I'm afraid! In the meantime, I'd suggest you make your fillings and test them after certain lengths of time. When they no longer look or taste as good as you'd like them to be, that is your shelf life.