For some slightly obscure reason, I booked us in for a half day's chocolate making experience on my actual birthday, it being a miserable Monday and usually pouring with end of October rain. Typically, it was a gorgeous day so we weren't too sure when we rocked up in Chichester if it was still a good idea or not.
But it was really good! Very nice lady, three chocolate wheels literally pouring molten brown stuff (and white choc, above) and an overpowering smell of meltedness that pervaded the Salon du Chocolat.
Spent 3 hours making 40 hand decorated filled chocolates – and if you've ever wondered how the centres get into chocolates, the answer is no, they are not 'squirted or syringed in'. You have a mould like a shaped ice cube tray, decorate it with a paint brush, using the other colours of choice to your main choice – i.e. white and dark as I went for normal milk choc as my primary choice. Lightly add a layer of liquid choc, then the filling then a final layer of choice from the magic machines.
Few minutes in the freezer and out they pop – for me, little Christmas trees. Not that they will probably last that long…
Then it was on to making white truffles – this time dipped in anything from large cocoa nibs to hundreds and thousands, coconut shavings, nuts or truffle dust. Yum yum yum.
All the while helping yourself to the selection of Belgian chocolate buttons, washed down with cups of tea…
Wrap them all up at the end into two boxes and we were then en route home with the car starting to waft nicely with warm choc… An unusual morning but better than expected! x