My Chocolate Clusters Didn't Set Up

[pharlow]

I thought I'd start off with a fool-proof recipe for Chocolate Clusters that even a new candy maker couldn't screw up...but I did.

It said to use semi-sweet chocolate bark coating, but I missed that and used milk chocolate bark coating. The clusters didn't set up and I don't want to throw it out.

What can I do to fix it? These were supposed to be an item in a Christmas present!

Thanks for any help!

[Culprit]

You might try using a bit of eidble paraffin wax (about half a bar to twenty four ounces of chocolate - adjust to fit the amount of chocolate in your recipe)

[trulys]

pharlow,
did you try refriderating them? cause coating chocolate works the same if you use drk, mlk,or white cause all of them have a wax in them for them to set that's why they don't need to be tempered they are already stable. 2nd question did you add anything else other than the nuts to your chocolate?
trulys

[momoreg]

Your chocolate wasn't tempered, but a fridge will make the chocolate set. You will probably see some streaking on the surface of your chocolates. It may not be pretty, but they are still edible. If you want to learn to temper chocolate, just do a search here or on google. There is lots of info. out there.

[pharlow]

Thanks for all your replies and help! In response to the person who asked what was in the recipe besides choc. and peanuts, the recipe called for 6 oz choc coating, 2/3 c sweetened condensed milk, 1 t. vanilla, and 1 1/2 cups peanuts.

[momoreg]

Never mind what I said about tempering. I didn't realize you were using coating and condensed milk. You basically made a ganache, and this will never set up like chocolate. Did you want it to set up hard?

[pharlow]

Yes, that's what the recipe said it would do. It was a recipe from a candy cookbook. Is there any way to salvage this without giving spoons to my gift recipients?!

[Mezzaluna]

Use it to make filling for tartlets- that's all I can think of.

(There's dairy in the milk chocolate and the condensed milk. Isn't there also a lot more sugar in milk chocoate? That is considered a wet ingredient as well- maybe that thinned the texture.- Would this matter, Momoreg?)

[m brown]

You could roll your clusters into balls, chill and dip in either coating or tempered chocolate. They would make yummy "truffles".

[aguynamedrobert]

A traditional Cluster does not have cream or any type ingredient with water in it...it is just chocolate and whatever you want to add(nuts, candied fruit...etc)
...If you are using "chocolate Coating" then make sure it is a coating and not a normal chocolate. Coating you do not have to temper because much of the cocoabutter is replaced with vegetable fats that set at a certain temp...real chocolate you do have to temper because of the cocoabutter that is in it...

Basically there is too much water in your "Ganache" so it isn't setting up to where it holds its shape...I would suggest wrapping them and then puttin them in the fridge or freezer for 5-10 min and then trying to coat them in chocolate...tell us how everything goes...

Robert
www.chocolateguild.com