The Complete Photo Guide to Candy Making is your go-to handbook for all things confectionery. From the author that brought you The Complete Photo Guide to Cake Decorating and The Complete Photo Guide to Cookie Decorating, this book shows you how to make the perfect candies, chocolates, chews, and caramels. For each technique, there is an overview of the tools and materials used and complete instructions with photos. This book is organized in a way that provides easy access to information with step-by-step directions and 650 full-color photos to clear up absolutely any points of confusion. More than 80 tried-and-true recipes allow the reader to try the techniques in each section. Whether you are looking to make gooey caramel for your pecan patties, or trying to mold the perfect chocolate truffle, author Autumn Carpenter will take you through every type of candy, with an introductory section on the basic tools, ingredients, and methods involved, including: Chocolates, Brittles, Fudges, Caramels, Marshmallow, even decorations and candy clay!

Based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Autumn Carpenter is a nationally known confectionery artist, author, and demonstrator. She has published several books, including The Complete Photo Guide to Cake Decorating, The Complete Photo Guide to Cookie Decorating, and Decorating Cakes, Cupcakes, and Cookies with Kids. She demonstrates annually at the I.C.E.S. (International Cake Exploration Societe) and travels across the United States, sharing the craft of cake decorating and other confectionery arts. Autumn is co-owner of Country Kitchen SweetArt, a retail cake and candy supply store that has been in her family for over 45 years. The business caters to walk-in store sales, catalog sales, and an online store, shopcountrykitchen.com. Autumn has developed her own line of useful tools and equipment for cake decorating and cookie decorating, and sells them online and in many cake and candy supply stores throughout the United States and in several other countries. Her cakes and products have been featured in numerous publications and magazines, including American Cake Decorating and Cake Central.

Autumn Carpenter’s passion for decorating started at a very young age. As a child, Autumn would spend time at the home of her grandmother, hall of Fame sugar artist Mildred brand. Later, her mother, Vi Whittington, became the owner of a retail cake and candy supply shop. Her grandmother provided many recipes, while her mother instilled a work ethic and a passion for the art and served as the best teacher and mentor that Autumn has ever had.

Autumn Carpenter has demonstrated cake decorating and candy-making techniques throughout the country. She has also served as a judge in cake-decorating competitions. She has been a member, teacher, and demonstrator at the International Cake Exploration Society (ICES) for 20 years.

Autumn is co-owner of Country Kitchen SweetArt, a retail cake and candy supply store. Country Kitchen SweetArt has been owned and operated within Autumn’s family for more than 45 years. The business caters to walk-in store sales, catalog sales, and online sales at www.shopcountrykitchen.com.

Autumn has developed her own line of useful tools and equipment for cake and cookie decorating. Her cakes and products have been featured in numerous publications and magazines including American Cake Decorating and Cake Central. Her products can be found online as well as in many cake and candy supply stores throughout the United States and in several other countries. Autumn’s other websites include www.autumncarpenter.com and www.cookiedecorating.com.

IntroductIon 7

Basics 8

Candy Packaging and Storage 18

All about Chocolate 20

Melting Chocolate and Candy Coating 26

Tempering Chocolate 32

Molding Chocolate 34

Working with Cooked Candies

and Sugar Stages 48

dIpped treats, Barks,

and clusters 54

General Dipping Instructions 56

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries 58

Crackers and Sandwich Cookies 60

Dipped Pretzels 64

Adding Decorations to Dipped Treats 66

Crunchy Barks 70

Layered Barks 74

Tiger Barks 76

Clusters 78

Fudge 82

Easy Fudge 84

Fudge with Marshmallows

or Marshmallow Cream 90

Traditional Cooked Fudge 94

Fudge Bites 98

caramels 100

Basic Caramel Instructions 102

Buttery Caramels 103

Soft Caramels 104

Caramel with Nuts 106

Chocolate Caramels 107

Caramel Pecan Patties 110

Crispy Caramel Bars 112

Caramel Chocolate Pretzels 113

Caramel-Chocolate Apples 114

toFFees, BrIttles,

and Hard candy 116

Toffee 118

Brittle 120

Hard Candy 122

candy centers 130

All about Fondant 132

Candy Centers Using Fondant 136

Other Candy Centers 142

truFFles and ganacHe centers 146

Whipped Truffles 148

Modified Whipped Truffle Recipes 152

Alternative Finishing Methods

for Whipped Truffles 156

Ganache Centers 160

Modified Ganache Center Recipes 164

Alternative Finishing Methods

for Ganache Centers 172

marsHmallow, dIvInIty,

and mInts 176

Marshmallow Cream 178

Marshmallow 179

Candies with Marshmallow Centers 186

Divinity 188

Mints 190

mIscellaneous candIes 200

Southern Pralines 202

Marzipan 204

Gummy Candy 208

Mendiants 210

Sugared and Spicy Nuts 211

Invert Sugar 212

Gianduja 213

Saltwater Taffy 214

Maple Candy 216

Sugared Citrus Peels 217

glossary 218

resources 220

acknowledgments 220

about the author 221

Index 222