Rock Candy

February 5, 2025 Update

The rock candy experiment was successful! 

Look at this beauty!

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Earlier this week as part of my candy course, I watched a video on how to make rock candy. Now, the method wasn't exactly new to me. I think most people are first introduced to this concept in grade school as a science experiment involving a supersaturated solution. But as I sat watching the demonstration, it occurred to me that despite knowing about this for the better part of my life, I'd never actually tried it myself. Clearly the time had come. Challenge accepted, Tony Morris!

The recipe called for more than three cups of sugar and I could see that the candy maker had syrup left in the pot after filling a jar, so I decided to cut the recipe in half as I was measuring out my ingredients. I probably made my life more difficult by doing that, but I also didn't want to create a lot of waste. I only had paper lollipop sticks on hand and imagined that would be unpleasant at best when eating the rock candy, so instead I used the blunt end of a bamboo BBQ skewer. I expected that I would only have enough syrup to produce one rock candy stick, but prepared a second just in case. Then I rigged up a few mason jars with post-it note "lids" to hold the syrup. Finally, I went into my handy tool kit -- a gift from my father when I first went off to university -- and pulled a clamp to suspend the skewer in the solution. Probably not what he was imagining when he gave it to me, but here we are. Armed with a thermometer, I prepared the solution.

Now, dissolving an obnoxious quantity of sugar into a very small amount of water is no easy task, but if you take your time, adding a little as you go, you eventually get it done. I was surprised by just how thick the syrup was. The sweet and sour bar mix I made a few months ago for a Halloween party couldn't hold a candle to this. I decided that green apple was the perfect colour-flavour combination and stirred the syrup to distribute the colour. Finally, I carefully poured the syrup into the jar, suspended the skewer in the syrup, and set it aside to do its thing for a few days. 

Within hours, I could see crystals forming, but it appeared that they were growing more rapidly than they should. On day three, I decided to open the jar and see what was happening. I certainly had crystallized sugar, but there would be no getting the candy stick out. What I had was a candy stalagmite. The texture would have made a great centre for a chocolate geode, but was definitely not what I was going for in this experiment.

As luck would have it, we then had a snow morning. And that meant take two for the rock candy. I thought I knew where things went wrong the first time, so I modified my technique a little and set up a clean jar ready to receive the sugar syrup. Immediately I could tell this batch had more promise. I left it  to cool without disturbing it. 

Twenty-four hours later, I could see a few crystals starting to form on the stick, much slower than the first batch. I took that as a good sign. 

Forty-eight hours later, the characteristic large square crystals were gathering on the stick. 

Seventy-two hours later, I posted this blog. I had hoped to have a final product by the time it went live, but sugar has a mind of its own and can't be rushed. 

When I finally do remove the rock candy from the mason jar, I'll update this post. I can't wait to try it!

Blueberry Gummies

Over Christmas, I gave some thought to how I could continue challenging myself to work on my chocolate and candy-making skills in the new year. As the great day for resolutions approached, I was compiling my annual list of intentions when an ad popped up in my Instagram feed. It was for an online chocolate course. I scrolled past it knowing there was no way that it could compete with the professional chocolatier program I'd done about five years ago. But then every time I went on Facebook or Instagram, the same ad was there, taunting me. Finally I gave in and followed the link to see what it was about. The Now You Know course was comparatively inexpensive to begin with and at the time discounted by 50%. Ambivalent about their chocolate course, I started browsing their other offerings and stumbled upon one dedicated to candy making. Bingo! I bought the course.

Now, I purchased the course knowing there would be nothing in it that I couldn't find for free on YouTube. But that wasn't the point. The point was the structure a course would provide, with lessons to work through on a weekly basis. 

The first lesson focused on jelly and gummy candies. The lesson consisted of a few videos where techniques were demonstrated by Tony Morris of ToMo Candy. The course resources included two recipes. When I was finished reviewing the materials, I made a mental note to acquire a new candy thermometer (since I'd had difficulties with mine while making cremes in December) and added gelatin to my shopping list so that I could experiment with his recipe. 

You see, I've tried making gummies a few times before. There are several recipes floating around online that have you add plain gelatin to flavoured Jell-O. There's even an episode of Pioneer Woman where she makes homemade gumdrops to give as part of a Christmas cookie platter.  Do these recipes work? Yes. Do the have the consistency of a gummy? Sort of? It's more like really firm jello (maybe I'm splitting hairs). They also have no shelf life whatsoever. They begin weeping the same way pâte de fruits do and quickly spoil (within 2-3 days at room temperature). Don't get me wrong -- it's a fun activity on a snow day, to be sure -- but that's about it. 

And so this week, armed with a new candy thermometer, some blueberry flavouring, and the largest box of gelatin I've ever seen (and gave me sticker shock at the cash when I bought it), I set about my task. I measured and prepared ingredients. Then, I boiled the sugar mixture 265F, the hardball stage. After adding my flavouring, I stirred in a few drops of food colouring. Next, I heated the bloomed gelatin in the microwave until it melted before adding it to the sugar. I transferred the mixture into a measuring cup to make it easier to pour and worked as quickly as I could to fill my molds. 

This is where I encountered a minor snag. I hadn't taken out and prepared enough silicone molds, and had to go back to my stash to grab another (twice!). There can be a great deal of variation in terms of the yield of a recipe as a result of many factors, including how big the cavities of a mold are. For this recipe, which was supposed to make 50 gummies, I prepared four molds totaling 68 cavities. When done, I had 81 pieces. I left them to set overnight and cleaned up the incredibly sticky mess left behind by utensils. 

The next morning, I unmolded the blueberry gummies and dropped them into a sour sugar mixture. It started out ok, but as sticky residue built on my fingers, it became more and more difficult to remove the gummies and drop them into the sugar. I washed my hands several times before finishing the task. I arranged the majority of them in an airtight container and popped a few into bags to share with product testers (friends who enjoy sour gummies). I also couldn't resist trying one myself. 

The result? The texture is much more like that of a commercially produced gummy and I'm hoping that they will have a longer shelf life as a result (since I believe there is less water activity in them). The sour sugar coating creates the perfect pucker and as that subsides, the blueberry flavour emerges as a second wave. It could be stronger, but it is definitely present. All in all, I'd say this was a successful experiment. I can see the wisdom, however, in pouring a slab and cutting it into pieces. I suspect it would save time compared to peeling 81 jellies out of their molds.

I can't wait to see what's next in my 2025 candy-making adventure. 

Malted Graham Sandwich Bar

Last week I blogged about the Moirs Malted Graham Sandwich Bar that both a friend and a cousin had remembered and mentioned in conversation. And this week, I'm presenting my take on that same candy bar. Why? Well, life is short and when my brain fixates on something, it's best to just go with it. 

So here we are.

Graham crackers, I thought, would be the easy part of this endeavour. I located a recipe that looked good and had solid reviews. I mixed up the dough, using Bourbon Madagascar vanilla and Newfoundland honey that I've been saving for a special occasion. I followed the recipe to the letter and even chilled the dough before and after rolling. I selected what I thought would be the perfect size square cutter and I spaced them generously on the cookie sheet. And you guessed it! By the time they finished baking, my graham squares were a full half inch larger than intended. Note to self, next time choose the smallest cutter size. 

Next I turned to the malted cream filling. After giving it some thought, I decided that a whipped ganache was the way to go. It was an interesting decision considering that I've never made whipped ganache before, but from what I knew about it, I thought it would produce a creamier texture for the filling and, by whipping it, it should turn lighter in colour. So I researched malted ganache recipes. Finding some made with white chocolate and some with milk, I wasn't quite sure how to proceed. But knowing that white chocolate is often sickly sweet, I decided to try something new yet again and made the ganache with two parts white chocolate and three parts milk chocolate. I dissolved the malt powder in the heated cream before pouring it over the chopped chocolate. After leaving it for 5 minutes, it whisked into a beautiful ganache. The malt flavour is a little light, so I might increase the powder if I make it again, but the flavour is so delicious that I'm wondering why malted milk truffles aren't a thing. 

The following day, after the ganache had fully set, I brought it back to room temperature and whipped it with a hand mixer. Sure enough, it became paler in colour the more I whipped it. I put the ganache in a piping bag and sat down to begin the process of matching graham crackers of a similar size and sandwiching them together with the whipped ganache. Then I put them in the fridge for a few minutes to set up. 

Next I tempered a lot of milk chocolate. More than I normally work with because I knew these chonky sandwiches would require a lot of chocolate. What I hadn't quite sorted out was how to dip them. I had a large fork used for dipping Oreo cookies that I thought would work, but the chocolate was a little too thick. While many recipes will instruct you to thin out the chocolate with Crisco or paraffin wax, in the chocolatier world, the viscosity of chocolate is more commonly altered using additional cocoa butter. That's not something I've ever tried and I also didn't have any on hand. And I couldn't bring myself to add a lesser quality ingredient to my expensive couverture chocolate!

And so I decided to try a technique I've seen while watching Hercules Candy on YouTube. "Quick Steve," as he is called, uses a puddle method for tempering chocolate and coating items, like snack clubs (pretzels coated in peanut butter enrobed in chocolate and rolled in crushed potato chips) or turtle pops (marshmallows covered in caramel coated in chocolate and rolled in pecans). I grabbed a few latex gloves from my pandemic allotment and thought it couldn't be that hard to fill one's hand with chocolate and coat a cookie sandwich.

I was wrong. 

This is not as easy as Quick Steve makes it look. I guess, like everything, it takes time to develop the technique, the coordination, the feel (and he's had a lifetime of practice). I did the best I could coating them, but it was messy as all heck. I also struggled to get good coverage on the edges. My kingdom for an enrobing machine!

Seriously, though, the hand coating worked better than the fork and I imagine if I did a few hundred of these, I'd get it down to a science. On a few I added a decorative swirl with my finger. And then I popped everything into the fridge to crystallize. 

The end result?

That's one delicious sandwich. I can understand why people still talk about them. I'd probably make a few tweaks if I made them again -- a smaller cookie cutter, a chocolate with a higher fluidity, a little more malt in the whipped ganache -- but I'm not angry at it. 

I'll be very curious to see how these store. One potential issue is the graham cracker absorbing moisture from the whipped ganache and softening as a result. If that does happen, then some sort of barrier, like a thin coat of chocolate on the graham cracker before sandwiching, might be necessary. Time will also tell if these will survive a freeze-thaw cycle. I've had a few requests to bring these home next month, and the whipped ganache won't be stable enough to sit for a month, I suspect. So into the freezer go a few of these for sure. 

Hopefully the recipients will enjoy them and savour a memory from childhood while they're at it. 

So much power in such a small sandwich.

Postscript: On day four, my boyfriend tried one and the graham crackers were completely softened, not unlike a wagon wheel. He still thought they were good. I personally have no idea if the original was crispy or firm when biting into it, or if it was softer and chewier. But maybe softer and chewier is ok? Someone who had the real deal will have to let me know! 

Chocolate Memories

When I started my professional chocolatier program several years ago, there was a great deal of discussion about fine chocolate in contrast to commercial chocolate, as well as the development of taste and preferences. As I planned to host a chocolate tasting, I remember posting on Facebook and inviting my friends to tell me their favourite chocolate of all time. Not surprisingly, the vast majority of posts were about commercial chocolate. Interestingly, though, many were memories of discontinued candy bars from childhood. It was a fascinating discussion. 

While I recognized some of the candy bars referenced, there were several that were new to me, so I searched for pictures and descriptions of many of them online. One that stood out was a comment about a 4 Flavours bar. 

My research revealed that it was a Neilson creation, sort of like a Caramilk bar, but with four different fillings -- vanilla, caramel, chocolate, and bordeaux. Having no idea what "bordeaux" referred to, I researched that as well and discovered it was a butterscotch flavour. Fascinated by this, I ordered a chocolate bar mold and began planning how to recreate the experience for my friend for Christmas. I was thrilled with the results (but it will probably be a very long time before I do it again, given the work associated with making all of those fillings and keeping them at the right working temperature). 

More recently I've had discussions about a particular chocolate-coated graham cracker candy bar -- first with a friend at work and then again with a cousin on Facebook (completely unrelated and in a time span of about 2 months). 

What was this mysterious treat? Described as two graham squares with a mocha-coloured, cream-type filling in the centre, covered in chocolate, and sold two pieces in one package, it was reportedly delicious. But try as I might, my googling didn't lead to any images of such a bar. And, frankly, this seemed strange to me. Until we figured out the actual name of the bar.

Graham Bar? Graham Square? Graham Sandwich? Graham Sandwich!

Malted Graham Sandwich Bar to be exact. They were manufactured at the Moirs chocolate factory in Dartmouth, which closed in 2007. I found the full product name in the appendix of a master's thesis on Moirs advertising (Thank you Holly Hanes!). Sadly, the thesis didn't have any images associated with this bar and, given that it seems to have been a regional product, it isn't all that surprising that none of us have yet found photographs of one or its packaging online. 

Now, as someone who never saw or tasted a Graham Sandwich, there are a lot of unknowns. I don't have a good sense of how big they were or how thick the cream between the two graham crackers was.  I'm not sure if they were perfect squares or rectangles. And I certainly don't know how malty the malted filling was or what sort of texture and consistency it had (beyond the description that it was a cream). Nevertheless, the flavour combination sounds divine and my interest has been piqued! 

The truth is, I can't help but wonder if this should be my next retro candy bar re-creation.

What do you think? Should I make a modern, hand-crafted version of the Malted Graham Sandwich Bar? 

Leave a comment below! And if you remember this sweet treat, then please share your memories of it. 

Are Chocolate Crystals Aligning?

If you know anything about the chemistry of chocolate, then you understand the metaphor. For the past month, it's seemed like strong beta 5 crystals have been forming in my life.

I first learned how to make molded chocolates when I was in Girl Guides, when I would have been maybe 10 or 11 years old. One of our leaders brought us to the Salvation Army Citadel, melted Wilton candy melts, and showed us how to paint the shells, fill them with dulce de leche or peanut butter, and then cap them. I loved it. I knew the secret of how they got the caramel in the Caramilk bar! (At least theoretically, anyway. The depositing machines they use in mass production have eliminated a few steps.)

Not long after, I started making chocolates at home by myself. The place to buy chocolate molds and candy melts back then was a local religious book and bible shop, strangely enough. You could also get candy melts at a local bulk store. I don't know if I used my allowance or if my parents indulged me and purchased everything for me; either way, I had the basics. And I remember vividly the night that I made dulce de leche by simmering a can of sweetened condensed milk for two hours. I sat in the kitchen at our breakfast table reading a book and "watching" the pot the entire time. And sure enough, like magic, when I opened it the most delicious filling awaited (we ate some of it on ice cream, some of it on its own with a spoon).

A few years after that, while in junior high school, I had a bit of an entrepreneurial streak -- not surprising, considering Trooper Ron (my dad) is an entrepreneur. Always a crafty type, I made Christmas ornaments to sell, both at the local flea market on a Sunday during the holiday season and by special order (a teacher took samples into the staff room for her colleagues to see). To differentiate myself at the flea market and secure a table, which was surprisingly difficult back in its heyday, I also sold hand-made chocolates.

Of course, with broad interests, I moved on to other things. Music became more important as I prepared to audition for music school and then a path emerged leading me into grad school and academia. Over the years, I've maintained my love of crafting, making chocolates, and baking, but I didn't really have time to devote to them in the way that I would have liked.

After moving to Sydney, I had the opportunity to take cake decorating courses at the local Michaels. That was my first taste of learning "professional" decorating techniques. And, not surprisingly, I loved it. I was also good at it -- especially making flowers from gum paste (my most recent project was a Beauty and the Beast cake for a local library fundraiser). I also became addicted to Pinterest and started trying out the various recipes I found there. I even made a giant peanut butter cup for a friend for her birthday (still the most epic dessert I've made). The more I did, the more I wondered how my life would be different if I'd gone into culinary arts instead of music. I also started joking to friends and family that if this PhD thing didn't work out, I was going to move home and open a bakery.

Then about a year ago, I started looking into the possibility of retraining to be a pastry chef and/or baker. Not ready to make a leap, I sought out part-time programs. That's when I stumbled upon an online professional chocolatier program in British Columbia. After several months of deliberation and physiotherapy and chiropractic adjustments to combat back issues caused by my desk job, I had a December that really made me question what I wanted out of life. Home for the holidays with my family, I began seriously considering how to choreograph a move home. Could chocolate be the answer? I talked to a few close friends, who were very supportive of the idea, I mentioned it to my mother, who couldn't see a reason not to do it, and I even chatted with a fellow I'd met on a dating site, but never in person (he was incredibly encouraging). And on December 20th, throwing caution to the wind and my credit card at an online payment system, I registered for the January 2018 start. That's when chocolate crystals started to align.

I woke up the next morning and opened the virtual advent calendar a friend had given me for Christmas. I clicked on the bulb marked "21" and that day's game opened -- a memory game based on a box of chocolates. My task was to match the bonbons as quickly as possible. A sign from the universe?

I chatted with a friend via facebook and mentioned that my first task when I got back to Sydney would be to find someone with a marble counter or pastry board that I could use for the tempering assignment. To my surprise, she told me she had a board I could use.

Friends from across the country and around the world showed support for the idea when I posted it online.

When I returned from Sydney and opened my Christmas presents from one of my best friends, I found a new marble pastry board was already in my apartment waiting for me.

As I began the program last week, I started having ideas for flavour combinations and decorating techniques. The creative part of the program that I was nervous about was coming to me easily. And I even woke up one morning with the name for my business.

Generally, since signing up for this program, I've had bright and positive days, except for some questioning by a friend on Sunday, which kicked me back a few notches (that sort of questioning can be difficult to hear but is productive if it causes you to really think about what you're doing and why). And then yesterday when I opened my new calendar from Telus to write in my assignment due dates, there in front of me was a message from my favourite hippo: Dreaming big.

I'm not sure where all of this will lead, but I feel like I'm getting some very strong signals from the universe.

And that the precious beta 5 chocolate crystals of my life are starting to align.

Random Acts of Craftiness 2

Apparently March is National Craft Month. At least that's what Amazon tells me. But I'm not sure if that's because it really is craft month or because I purchased some craft supplies and I'm now being targeted by them as a result. Either way, it's been a good month to craft! I made chalkboard wine glasses for a silent auction that is being held today -- St. Patrick's Day, spent some time painting, and used my Silhouette Cameo to cut vinyl lettering for my cake tote (it now says "Ginger Snaps").

I also made some progress on my 2016 Random Acts of Craftiness resolution. Since my last update, I've made items for two more individuals on the list and so I'm now two-thirds of the way through the challenge.

My friend Nora received a set of four handmade cards. I had some leftover paper from a birthday present I made in February. I decided to use my Cameo and a new punch that I purchased in the States in October when I visited Neil. I'm pretty happy with the results.

I think my favourite is the feather, but I also love the LOVE.

For my friend Jenny, I stitched a journal with covers made from a Purity crackers box. Jenny and I met in Alberta and had some fun Newfoundland adventures together there -- I remember eating cold plates with her before attending a Buddy Wasisname concert. I figured she'd like a little piece of home!

And the recipient of this installment's bonus was Leanne, who received the peppermint version of the mints I made during RAC 1. I still don't think they're all that great, but the peppermint ones taste better than the cherry ones. And at least I used up my leftover gum paste. (Sorry, Leanne!)

So that's the second RAC update. Stay tuned for the next installment!

Random Acts of Craftiness 1

On New Year's Eve, as I thought about what I wanted 2016 to be, I decided I wanted to devote more time to crafting. To ensure that I would actually meet that goal, I posted on my facebook timeline that I would make something for the first 6 people who responded to the post. At some point during the year, without any notice, they would receive the handmade item. I referred to this as Random Acts of Craftiness (RAC) -- although, it admittedly isn't all that random since the individuals signed up for it (the random part is what they receive and when they receive it).

It's now the end of February and I'm one-third of the way through the 2016 edition of RAC. In January, using my Silhouette Cameo and some leftover paper, I made a set of bookmarks for Cindy, who I met through A Seasonal Bookclub. I combined a few different cutting designs and layered them for the final result. I will admit I sort of didn't want to give these away -- they totally are my colours -- but I can always make more. 

During January and into February, it seemed to me that a lot of people had taken up painting as a hobby. An individual in my office was registered in a class at the Cape Breton Centre for Craft and Design, a friend in Alberta was attending classes, a friend in PEI posted a photo from a class that she'd taken. Clearly I had missed the memo! I've always wanted to paint, but admit that my art classes as a child tended to focus on drawing. The only time I had actually painted something was back when I did the first RAC in 2009. One of the recipients was my friend Amanda who had told me once that she gave her friends canvases and invited them to paint art for her apartment. As a result, I bought a small canvas and painted her a dark, moody piece.

Anyway, around the time that everyone was painting, I stumbled upon a painting video on YouTube in which a gal painted a sunset. It reminded me of the great artwork that a friend in St. John's creates -- sunsets with inukshuks in silhouette. The combination of video and memory inspired me to go out to Michaels and buy a few canvases and some acrylic paint. As much as I wanted to paint an inukshuk, I felt like that would be cultural appropriation, so I went with a tree. The result, a small 5x7 painting, was mailed to Sarah in February.

Again, it was a little hard to let this go. Not because I think it's a fantastic work of art -- it clearly isn't -- but because I really liked the colours. I decided to paint a similar one for myself a few nights ago (but the one Sarah received is way better).

So, those are the first 2 of 6 Random Acts of Craftiness. And plans are in the works for the next two. But there's also a bonus! A few individuals were "late" to the RAC sign-up and wanted to be part of it, but weren't among the first 6 to comment. I decided to add these individuals to RAC  Bonus. Consequently, Carla was selected to sample a Pinterest experiment -- homemade candy "mints."

I had seen these on Pinterest for the past few months and was curious about how they would turn out. I had all the supplies, so one evening I sat down and tried it out, making two batches -- one cherry, one orange. Verdict? Not worth the time, energy, or investment. I really don't like them. They are hard, crunchy candies, but there's something missing (maybe they aren't sweet enough?). I think the orange tasted better than the cherry, but I wouldn't make them again. Carla: sorry you got stuck with what I consider to be a fail, but thanks for playing!

So that's the first RAC update. I'm starting to think I should make this an annual event.