We have major soft spots for chocolate. Milk chocolate or white chocolate has always been both of our favourites, but with age comes sophistication of the palette we suppose as we've started to embrace dark chocolate as well. As simple as a chocolate bar may seem, there is actually a lot to learn before creating that perfect taste and texture. Last weekend, we had the chance to explore the world of chocolate!
This past Sunday we tried out one of Chocolate Tales’ chocolate making
class. They have workshops at many different locations such as (The St. Lawrence Market, The Mad Bean, Swansea Town Hall, and more). We headed over to the St. Lawrence market
location. Each class runs for about 90 minutes give or take, but doors
usually open 30 minutes before the class start. I would recommend
getting there early so you can get a good seat and be able to sit with
whoever you’re going with!
It was our first time at the Miele Market Kitchen in the St. Lawrence market so when we first walked in, we were surprised at how spacious the area was. All the tables were set up neatly with tools and ingredients. We were also greeted with a hot cup of rich hot chocolate, perfect for the chilly weather that’s slowly kicking in!
The classic chocolate workshop gives you a sneak peak into all of the aspects of chocolate making such as truffles. You can also sign up for classes that go into more depth but for beginners, I would definitely suggest this one so you can get a good basic understanding of chocolate.
I have cooked & baked in the past with chocolate before and I am clearly not knowledgeable in chocolate since I would add in milk or water to thin out melted chocolate. That’s a big no-no as it ruins the chocolate. I learned in the class that to infuse other ingredient or flavours into chocolate, you need to add cream first as it acts as the separator between the chocolate particles to allow things to be added! That was definitely good to know for future baking purposes!
Since Halloween is coming up, each participant got a chocolate mould with various designs that we were able to decorate with white chocolate and then pour milk chocolate over. Learning how to decorate chocolate moulds will make quick gift ideas for kids parties or snacks at your next event!
We also had the chance to make truffles! Truffles are basically chocolate ganache reshaped. Ganache is chocolate (over 35%) mixed with cream. We got a bar of ganache to reshape into a ball (typical truffle form) or into shape with cutters. I know our first attempt at making truffles (below) is pretty messy!
At the end of the class, we were provided with adorable packaging options for our chocolates and truffles we made during the class. We had a great Sunday afternoon at this workshop and we recommend this to everyone who has a sweet tooth for chocolate! It would make a great group activity for a bridal party, a birthday gift, the options are endless.
Visit the Chocolate Tales website.
- We were invited to this event as media, thus tickets were complimentary but our opinions remain honest -
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