Some recent chocolate adventures…
A batch of dark chocolate almond rochers – I tossed slivered almonds in Kirsch and icing sugar, toasted them until golden, and then dipped them in a tempered mix of dark Callebaut and Valrhona chocolate…
It doesn’t matter how many I make, they never seem to last more than a few days…
These music themed choccies were made for Chris’ birthday – they’re a 50/50 blend of Callebaut 811 (dark 54%) and 823 (milk)…
I’m always amazed that this particular chocolate mould exists – Big Boy plays the French Horn and Small Man the trumpet…
The leftover chocolate from the musical pieces went into a fruit and nut bark, filled with cranberries, ginger, candied peel and roasted skinned hazelnuts…
It makes a very nice after dinner nibble!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
WOW! I am going to find you dear :) Thanks and Love, nia
I’d love to share with you, Nia! :)
MMMM,..You are one creative woman & chocolate maker! :) I love those muscial instruments a lot! :) I also want a big bite or 4 from your ginger,cranberries candied peel and roasted skinned hazelnuts barks! MMMMMMMMMMMM,…Why do you live so far apart from me?
Sophie, you live in Belgium! That’s where all the chocolate comes from in the first place! :D
Beautifully photographed, and I bet it taste equally lovely. I wonder if I could do this with some of Mr Misky’s diabetic choccie. Hmmmmm…..
Misky, thank you! The almond rochers were really for the grown-ups, they were dipped in a very dark (over 70% cacao) blend, which is apparently lower in GI. Plus they’re full of nuts! :)
I have Lindt 85% dark chocolate so maybe I should try that. I’ll study your post again for instructions on how to do it properly. Melting, etc.
Misk, tempering is great, but you should be able to just melt the chocolate for the bark, let it cool a little and then add the inclusions. It won’t stay glossy, but it should be fine if kept in the fridge.
i can already feel my mouth watering looking at all this chocolate…lol
and i love using chocolate molds too…it’s such an easy and inexpensive way to decorate desserts!
Thanks for stopping by! :) I love chocolate moulds too – I have a larger Happy Birthday one as well which makes a great chocolate gift..
I always love your chocolate posts, Celia!
My mouth waters as I peruse your wonderful molded candies-
and I wander about the house afterwards looking for a hit of something chocolate!
Heidi, I don’t mean to do that to you! :) Wish I could send some over.. xx
That’s not a problem- I usually go for some low carb macadamia and dark chocolate that I have stashed about. :) I love to see how beautiful your molded chocolates come out!
:)
Hi Celia my son and DIL and family have been living in France for the last 2 years. Recently she sent me a photo of the window display of a Chocolaterie. I didn’t realise straight off but the window was filled with different coloured chocolate shoes, chocolate handbags and purses and beautiful chocolate flowers. Sooo Realistic! Sooo beautiful! Sooo expensive!
Works of art! I’m always amazed at how the experts paint and sometimes carve chocolate – I don’t know how anyone could ever bear to eat them!
Your chocolate making always inspires me, meant to tell you I booked into a choc course in Sydney run by Coco, I ran a post on them last year.
That’s fantastic, because it means you’ll be in town and we’ll get to see you! :)
Celia, these look amazing! I am so inspired by your chocolate making adventures, but must reign my indulgences in… Peter and I are going to need kaftans soon! LOL.
Thanks Lizzy! Birthday pressies have become very easy these days – everyone gets chocolate! :)
You are an amazing temperer. I wouldn’t dare make all that chocolate I would eat it. Would you like to play with some Amedei chocolate? Have you tried it. Let me know and I will get you some…..
http://www.mykitchenstories.com.au
Tania, most of it was given away! I have tried the Amedei chocolate, thank you…
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2011/04/13/a-chocolate-experiment/
Those musical chocs are a delight. We have several musos in the family so i shall look out for the mould.
Barbara, we’ve been feeding the music department at the boys’ school for years – it’s become a tradition! The chocolate moulds all came from Candyland Crafts in the US – the shipping is expensive, but the moulds were just $2 each!
http://www.candylandcrafts.com
Oh, this calls out to me so loudly! I must try making chocolate barks – I will have to think up some interesting combinations with peanuts I think – for the crunch your nuts have added. Hmm, raisin, cranberry and peanut perhaps! I’ll have sweet dreams tonight!
Caroline, chocolate bark is so easy, but it was the most popular of all the items I made!
Your chocolate always looks so shiny and professional Celia. Like Lizzy I am trying to reign in my indulgences this weekend too but this is tempting me to whip up something sweet :) Have a lovely weekend.
Thanks Jane! I’d happily trade you chocolate for a slice of your walnut tart.. :)
I love the look of these Celia. How wonderful to have homemade chocolates in your home and yes, I am sure they are eaten quickly and that you are very popular with your neighbours. I would love some of that bark – must be wonderful with the ginger in it xx
I’ll have to make some for you next time, Charlie! I think I gave you some of the almond rochers? :)
More gorgeous choccy treats, Celia! Do you have to tidy them up when you take them out of the moulds or do they just come out perfect like this?
Amanda, if the chocolate is tempered well, they come straight out of the moulds as they look in the photos. It took me a little practice to figure out how much to put in each mould – I used to overfill them a bit. Any rejects are eaten by hovering vultures. :)
Why did I read this before breakfast? Maybe starting the day on a sugar high isn’t all that bad?
Sorry hon. For what it’s worth, I often start the day with a straight shot of cacao.. :)
Celia! I don’t have a sweet tooth, but your chocolate posts always make me want to run out and eat a treat! Love the sound of that chocolate bark. I make a white chocolate one with almonds and cranberries at Christmas.
Sarah Kate, the white choccy bark sounds delish! :)
I really enjoy chocolate but I’ve never had a chocolate play day like this. My friend has heaps of moulds and I’ve got two huge chunks of chocolate in the pantry just begging.
They are all wonderful but the bark does call me the loudest. :)
It’s interesting how everyone likes the bark best – that’s what happened when I took all of these to Chris’ party as well. I must make it more often…
Celia,
Another chocolate challenge!
It’s taken me weeks to finally master Pete’s choc chip cookies; I made them yesterday as refrigerator biscuits and they were really good………almost no spreading!
Elaine, I’m so glad you’ve got them to work for you – they’re fiddly to make. I think they need to be really cold before baking, but they do spread anyway – just soooo much chocolate compared to flour.. :)
I noticed in short and sweet there is a dark chocolate chunk cookie with the same amount of dark chocolate as yours; and they look like small frisbies………Everyone keeps asking when am I going to make Pete’s cookies!
It’s like I said last week, the true art is in the making, not the ingredients themselves. You’ll now have a cookie which only you (and I) can make..hahaha
my dear celia, thank you once again for sharing with us your amazing choc creations! in the past following your guidelines i ‘d tried successfully your chocolate almond rochers. i ‘ve also tried your recipe of a chocolate with a fruit and nut bark, slightly variated, filled with cranberries, strained pitted cherries (after being used for the preparation of my cherry liqueur, kept in a glass jar into the fridge), roasted skinned almonds and pistachios. recently i baught these silicon mould beauties of hearts and flowers, links at http://www.silikomart.com/blog/products/sf-073-small-dahlia?from=5
http://www.silikomart.com/blog/products/cup-03-set-6-pezzi-pirottini
happy summer greetings and hugs from kos island! gina
Gina! How lovely to hear from you! Hope all is going well over in Greece! xxx
I love these posts as it gives me something to aim for :)
Aaah Tandy, that’s kind of you to say that..thank you.. :)
I just read your post on tempering, so I’ll try to do it properly. Wish me luck!
Thanks Misk! Good luck! :)
The details on (in?) your chocolate molds are so amazing and the fact that all the details show on your finished products even more amazing. That almond rochers will last for 1 day around me, I will be eating them for breakfast, lunch and dinner and not feel guilty because both dark chocolate and nuts are good for you.
Thanks Norma, that’s exactly my argument too! The nuts and dark chocolate are healthy! :)
I want some of those choccies at the end with the ginger etc….right up my street!
Sue, we can buy “naked ginger” here, which is crystallised but not coated in lots of sugar. It’s very nice in dark chocolate!
Your chocolate adventures always leave me in awe
Thanks Sally! You’ve very kind.. xx
I really like your kind of adventures. No tiring trip involved and very delicious.
Karen, you’ve just show us around Maine, so can I offer you a view of my own city, only in chocolate? :)
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2010/04/13/sydney-in-chocolate/
Celia, I certainly did enjoy the view of your city, both the photos and the chocolate version. That was so sweet of you to take me back to a post before I started blogging. Thank you so much.
Glad you enjoyed it! It’s a wonderful city and we’re so blessed to be able to live here!
I’m hearing the soundtrack from Chocolat playing in the background. Just beautiful. Maz
One of my favourite movies! :) Thanks Maz.. xx
Fruit and nut bark… truly it doesn’t get much better.
You almost make me want to try tempering again Celia… almost :-)
I could always make you some, Brydie.. :)
Oh wow Celia they look fantastic. I especially like the musical instruments.
Thanks Claire! Chris is a musoe, so he got themed choccies as a present! :)
I don’t think I’ve seen anyone produce such beautifully shiny tempered chocolate as you Celia – everything looks wonderful. Kirsh dipped slivered almonds sound wonderful.
I went on a mini chocolate making course a few weeks ago, but we didn’t do tempering because they by callebaut pre-tempered chocolate – I was very disappointed!
Choc, that is a wonderful compliment from you, as you see so much chocolate! Thank you! That is very disappointing about your course – how did they expect anyone to replicate what they’d learnt at home?
My partner Melanie recently attended a chocolate making course with a friend. She said she had a ball, a whole day of chocolate and laughs. Now she has the skills she is going to use them to make Christmas gifts.
Jason, she’ll never look back! :) We make all our Christmas and birthday chocolate gifts now.
Love the pictures and inspiration. Particularly like the instruments, I’ll have to check out getting the moulds. Could be a Christmas treat for the band I’m in or for when we celebrate our birthday or… the options just keep coming. Thanks.
You’re most welcome, Melanie, thanks for stopping by! The moulds are great, but if you’re not in the US, it’s worth ordering quite a few to make the shipping worthwhile. The Candyland Crafts catalogue is huge! :)
What pretty chocolates.. you are a true chocolatier (is that what they’re called)! I seem to overheat the stuff merciless.. yours look so dreamy and shiny, just as they should. My favorite is bark, but I’d never say no to a cello shaped chocolate;) (I know it’s likely a violin, but a girl can dream!) xo Smidge
Thanks Smidge! I tried to argue it was a cello as well, until someone pointed out the chin rest.. ;-)