What next??

Another weekend is looming and I don't know what to do now. I am waiting for my chocolate thermometer to arrive so I dont think I will try anymore chocolate things. Might attempt another reciepe with gelatine & see if I can make friends with it this time.

Caramel filled moulded chocolates

Yeah, these work! (and taste very good)


have had issues getting the final lot out of their moulds but at least these work. I need to work on the moulds as there is a nack to getting them filled but hollow. I also need to get some more normal chocolate moulds as all of mine are shaped but not necessarily the right shape and size for filled chocolates. Also need a chocolate thermometer. Lots of things to add to the old birthday list for this year!


Not sure what I will do next but am starting to flick through the book to get inspiration

Tempering chocolate - 1st problem

Am attempting caramel filled moulded chocolates and have encountered my first problem. To temper chocolate you need to first heat it to 44 degrees then cool it down to 32 degrees. My sugar thermometer only starts at 40 degrees so this could be interesting!

Is this a good idea??

We have had a bad week, Nathan has been ill so both Stu & I have had very little sleep and had to deal with a grumpy little man during the day.

Unsuprisingly I have not had any time to make any candy. I am beginning to wonder if it was a good idea to start this challenge as it will result in me knowing how to make all kinds of sweet goodness very easily. At the moment if I want a sweet treat I have to travel to the local supermarket and get something but now I will be able to whip something up without leaving the house! This will not help me loose the last of the baby weight I want to loose.

Never the less I have decided to continue on with my challenge and this weekend I will be attempting to make filled chocolates which means temporing chocolate which I have never done before, so wish me luck! If all goes well I will take them into the office on Monday, which is my 1st day back at work after my maternity leave.

And we have a little boy who is much better but I have caught what he had.

Giving up on gummy!

I know I said that I was going to attempt gummy bears again yesterday but motherhood got in the way. Stu is back at school so I had Nathan and boiling sugar water and an 8 month old crawler do not match.
I have decided to give up on the gummy bears and come back to them later. I am looking at trying a filled chocolate next which means tempering chocolate which is something I have not done before. I am just waiting on some new chocolate moulds that I have ordered.

As it is National Cupcake Week I have gone back to what I know best and have made a batch of chocolate cupcakes to take into work with me tomorrow for my penultimate keeping in touch day before I do back to work after my maternity leave.

Gummy Bears attempt 1

I thought the gummy bear recipe would be the easiest to start with so tried it yesterday afternoon.

Boy was I wrong!

It looked simple enough, I don't have a gummy bear mould so decided to use my pig mould instead (have seen a giant gummy bear mould that I fancy getting though) The recipe itself was really simple to make and I poured the mixture into the moulds and left it in the fridge. I did get excited when I saw it had started to set, but when I went to get one out I soon realised that it was just jelly rather than a gummy candy, it did taste god though

If it is possible for an inanimate object to have feelings I think that gelatin does not like me as I had the same problem with my marshmallows. But I will not be deterred, I am going to make another batch today with more gelatin in.

a jelly gummy pig

What and Why

While watching Julie and Julia last night my husband Stu suggested I set myself a cooking challenge

I have started to make my own candy (sweets) and have had good and bad results so far. Thought I would start with something simple and made marshmallows that did not set. My peanut butter fudge was much better and didn't last long!

I have bought myself Field Guide to Candy by Anita Chu which has recipes for every type of candy you can think of so I have decided to make every recipe in the book, which is 113 of them.

I am starting with the ones I like and that look the easiest which may be cheating but I don't care.

I have bought myself a sugar thermometer, a large pan and 2 wooden spoons so I am ready to go!