All articles
Everything on Sweet Workbench, organised by topic.
Sugar Technique
- How to Calibrate a Candy Thermometer — Check a candy thermometer in boiling water with its sensing area immersed but clear of the pan.
- Caramel Sauce Troubleshooting by Symptom — Troubleshoot caramel sauce by its cooled symptom: graininess points to unwanted sugar crystallization, an oily layer to separation, and thin or thick…
- Chocolate Tempering Methods for a Home Kitchen — Seeding is usually the most manageable chocolate tempering method at home: melt part of the chocolate according to its maker's curve, add still-tempered…
- Dark, Milk, and White Chocolate Melt Differently — Dark chocolate generally tolerates a little more heat than milk or white chocolate, which have lower melting points and scorch more readily.
- Can You Fix Seized Chocolate? Choose the Next Use — Seized chocolate can often be smoothed with enough measured water-based liquid, but it becomes a sauce, icing, or filling rather than tempered coating…
- Can You Make Fudge Without a Candy Thermometer? — Yes, fudge can be made without a candy thermometer when a tested recipe supplies a cold-water soft-ball test or uses a separate melt-and-chill method.
- How Humidity Affects Candy Making — Humidity can soften candy after cooking because concentrated sugar begins absorbing water from the air as it cools.
- Melt Chocolate Gently: Heat Control and Recovery — To melt chocolate without burning it, chop it evenly and use a completely dry bowl.
- How to Prevent Unwanted Sugar Crystallization — Prevent unwanted sugar crystallization with clean tools, fully dissolved sugar, a crystal-free pan wall, and no stirring after the recipe's stated stop…
- Sugar Stages Explained for Home Candy Making — Candy sugar stages describe how a small syrup sample behaves after cooling: thread, soft ball, firm ball, hard ball, soft crack, and hard crack.
- Toffee vs Brittle: Method, Texture, and Use — Toffee is usually a butter-rich cooked sugar candy, while brittle is usually a sugar-syrup candy with nuts mixed through it and often baking soda for a…
- How to Use a Candy Thermometer Correctly and Safely — A candy thermometer must cover the recipe's temperature range and be used within its model's handling limits.
- How to Wash Down Sugar Crystals on a Pan — To wash down sugar crystals, follow the tested recipe's timing and use either a clean pastry brush dampened with water or a covered-steam step.
- Wet Caramel vs Dry Caramel: Choose the Method — Wet caramel dissolves sugar in water before the water boils away and the sugar browns.
Easy Treats
- How to Make and Store Caramel Apples — Make caramel apples with sound fruit washed under plain running water and dried completely.
- How to Make Homemade Gummies Consistently — For consistent homemade gummies, keep one tested formula intact.
- How to Make Marshmallows With a Controlled Syrup — To make marshmallows, soften unflavored gelatin in cool water, cook sugar and corn syrup to exactly 240°F, and slowly pour the hot syrup into the gelatin…
- How to Make Soft Caramels That Cut Cleanly — For soft caramels that cut cleanly, use a tested formula and cook it to its exact endpoint.
- Small-Batch Chocolate Bark With Balanced Toppings — Make small-batch chocolate bark with 300 g finely chopped chocolate and no more than 60 g dry toppings.
- How to Store Chocolate Bark — Store chocolate bark made only with dry, shelf-stable toppings in an airtight, odor-free container in a cool, dry, dark place, with parchment between layers.