Monday, December 17, 2012

"Emergency" chocolates

Each Christmas, I make a batch of "emergency" gifts. You know, the sort that you have on standby when unexpected, but generous visitors pop in. They're also useful in a non-emergency capacity - a little festive treat certainly seems to go down well with work colleagues. Most years I have stuck to biscuits - gingerbread in 2010 and lemon myrtle shortbread in 2011. In 2012, I decided to try my hand at chocolate. Proper fancy, filled, tempered chocolate. Eeeek!


Let me rewind a little. Last month, my beloved and I attended a fantastic chocolate workshop. For those living in Melbourne, I can't recommend Sissy's Gourmet Delights more highly. The class was great fun, very interactive and just a tad messy! We learnt all about the importance of tempering  chocolate (it's all about the shine, baby!), decorating and making delicious ganache fillings. I walked away with a bag of chocolate making loot - Belgian chocolate moulds, a digital thermometer, a scraper, piping bags and a few bits and pieces for decorating.
  
Fast forward to the week before Christmas and my emergency gifts have been created. 
Behold: orange ganache-filled "blushing" chocolates and dark choc, hazelnut roses (accented by little white choc smears). Not too shabby for an amateur, in my humble opinion! 


6 comments:

  1. if you happen to be driving through Mordialloc, please, drop a bag at my doorstep, too. :) They look amazing!!!

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    1. Hehehe!! Thanks, Laura. I only hope they taste amazing too (I packaged them all up and only tried one).

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  2. Damn you for not working with me anymore >_<!

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    1. You could always seek to join me...then there's be choccies all round ;)

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  3. Smart idea :D
    But remember to keep some for you!!

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

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  4. Hi Georgia! Just came across your blog! Wondering are emergency chocolates on this years Christmas list? They looked perfect last year!! We are still running classes and hopefully inspiring more chocoholics like yourself - Have a wonderful Christmas.

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