Chocolate Course

My wife got given a chocolate "making" course for her birthday last year by a friend.

Although I agreed to go on it with her (well it was chocolate after all), I wasn't holding out much hope in it being any good.

This is not sheep poo

But we went to Stratfford on Avon on Saturday and had a really enjoyable morning making truffles. We made a ganache out of chocolate and cream then used pipping bags to make long chocolate poos on a tray, before cutting them up and making the ganache into balls.

Hot hands are not great for this!

 I'm always warm, great for working outside like I do, not so great for making chocolate balls. It just kept melting in my hands, meaning I had to keep washing them and dipping them in cold water about every third truffle, whereas my wife managed to roll all of hers without having to cool her hands once (but cold hands aren't so great when she jumps into bed at night).

Some of the finished truffles

 Once we made our truffle shapes we had to coat them. The instructor tempered some chocolate for us then we coated our truffles in this before dipping them in different finishes to make them stick. The finishes were caster sugar, coconut, coco powder, icing sugar. They all looked pretty good by the end.

All bagged up and ready to be given away eaten

When they were all wrapped up I can see why people make truffles for presents, but I'm not sure how many I would end up giving away!

This is the first day out we've had together without the baby since she's been born and although I had a few "where's the baby moments" it was nice to do the course, go shopping and watch a film like we used to. Still good to get home to her though!

Anyone else attended a course to be pleasantly surprised by how good it was?