I came to my parents' house after work because my brother is cooking dinner (hmm, I smell a new trend). beth and I ate all the rest of my trader joe's chocolate almonds on saturday, and I have been craving more, so I decided to flex my culinary might and make my own (I got the pastry gene in this family). my sister just so happened to buy a tub of sea salted roasted almonds yesterday, which I cracked right open and spread out on a silpat-lined sheet pan. then I got to tempering the chocolate - melting it slowly over a double boiler and beating it until glassy and smooth - except my double boiler, the simmering pot of sauce my brother had going on the stove, was too hot, and so the chocolate seized.
I tried every trick I know.
I added butter. I streamed in hot water. I streamed in vegetable oil. I whisked in some heavy cream.
it should have looked like this:
...but this was my, um, result.
what a MESS. I have tempered chocolate easily a hundred times, never with such a disastrous outcome. it looks like chocolate applesauce. how embarrassing.
I wound up just hand-dipping the almonds into this (very, very tasty, if ugly) mess and enjoying them as such. no style points, to be sure, but my, were they delicious.
my pride and confidence in my pastry talents has been challenged. keep your eyes peeled for a masterpiece of redemption sometime in the near future...
No comments:
Post a Comment