desserts

Food / desserts — No Comments
23
Nov 10

How To Mold Chocolate

Everyone loves chocolates shaped to look like things. The chocolate Easter bunny is one example that everyone knows. Even though these are available just about everywhere you look, there is also the possibility of using chocolate molds to make your very own novelty chocolates. In fact, if you have chocolate, chocolate candy molds, and a little bit of creativity, anyone, even the worst of cooks, can make a wide array of novelty chocolates using only a few simple steps.

Before anything else, you are going to need a chocolate mold in the shape of the finished product. There are hundreds of different molds available on the market, so you will have little trouble finding the right mold for what you want to do.

Molding chocolate is next up on our shopping list. This is because it is much easier to work with than regular chocolate, which needs to be tempered in order to achieve the proper look and texture that you would expect. So you will want to start with molding chocolate and build your skills a bit before you try to work with the real thing or buy yourself a chocolate tempering machine.

Melting your chocolate very slowly over low heat is the best way to prevent burning it. A microwave set to low is perfect for those who are using molding chocolate, but other varieties are better off melted using a double boiler. Even melting requires that you stir it occasionally.

Next you will need to add the chocolate to the mold; a spoon or a squeeze bottle can make this easier. You can very easily make a mess by overfilling the molds if you are not careful.

Now we come to the last and hardest step in the entire procedure. Before you try to remove the chocolate from the molds, you need to be sure that it has first thoroughly cooled. Not only will it release from the chocolate mold so much more easily, but it will also have the texture and gloss that we are looking for.

Food / desserts — No Comments
29
Oct 10

How to Make Ice Cream at Home | An Easy and Healthy Idea

When the warm weather comes around, kids and grown-ups think ice cream is a giant hit. Of course you can buy ice cream down at the local shops but their ice cream display would  just have a few flavors and a few have artificial this and that, that can not be good for you.

So instead of store purchased try making some at home with a simple ice cream maker. Ice-cream makers aren’t  expensive and are easy to get hold of these days. And it won’t take long before you start enjoying some ice cream because they’re really easy to use.

Using one of these makers isn’t particularly hard. The more expensive electronic ones are a lot better  because they’re simpler however you can nonetheless make ice cream with the manual versions.

The best part of home made ice cream is you know what you have put into it. You aren’t eating ice cream that is full of stuff you should not have like nasty additives. You are enjoying some nice tasting and fairly healthy ice cream because you know what you have put in the recipe. For many people with kids, this is very important because we need to guarantee our kids eat a balanced  wholesome diet. It seems that more and more kids are getting allergic to certain ingredients in sweets and ice cream.

Of course, the other huge benefit is that you can make ice-cream of any flavor you want. So experiment and design a flavor that can’t be found in any store. A few of the more uncommon flavors to try cherry blossom, green tea , even garlic! Don’t just accept a single flavor though mix it up by making flavor combos. Why not try out a cream cheese and raspberry flavored ice cream. All you do is use the base syrup and custard mix and then you add your ingredients to the mix. After that just freeze it, wait a short time so it does its thing and then enjoy!

Of course, you don’t need to come up with unusual flavors, you can stick with the good old favorites such as  vanilla ice cream or chocolate or strawberry. If you have kids you could also indulge them and make some from  their favorite flavors which they will really enjoy.

Home made ice cream with an ice cream maker is not difficult to make and can provide you and your family  with hours of fun. Imagine how impressed you family and friends would be when you show them that it is home made. Home made ice cream is yummy anytime especially at barbecues and parties.