As documented in this blog, I gave up alcohol and chocolate for 2 weeks in a bid to give my voice a rest and semi detox. Of course my immediate response was to spend the weekend exclusively cooking with alcohol and chocolate (see Exhibit A – Banana, boozy, chocolate sponge). As Easter was coming up, I had the perfect excuse to make a new chocolate collection for Easter gifts, some people watch Netflix when they’re bored, I make chocolates. As my collegue Molificent says, I always like to add one ingredient too many, but it usually works. 

Firenze- Dark chocolate shell, orange gel, Cantucci biscotti crumbs and vin santo ganache, drizzled with orange coloured white chocolate.

Siciliana- Rosemary and Orange Ganache with a milk chocolate shell.

Affogato- Milk chocolate cup, amaretto get, espresso gel, vanilla cream, topped with chocolate shavings.   

I’m not going to bore you again with the basics of making chocolates (you can find that here). But I will fill you in on a few things I learnt this time around. 

• Making jelly from anything is easy, heated liquid/ sugar syrup mixed with gelatine for an intense flavour hit. To make a gel layer, fill a frozen chocolate mould, wait for 30 secs then pour out, for a perfect gel layer. 
• If you have over filled your chocolates and can’t get a chocolate layer on the base, turn it into a cup, dessert style chocolate, and streak with chocolate for a topping. 
• To colour white chocolate ONLY USE GEL COLOURING- anything else will act like water to chocolate and you will be left with a grainy mess. – water is chocolates enemy.
• Weird combinations do work, best time to experiment with flavours is in a chocolate as it is a burst of flavour in one bite. 
• And finally as always, a freezer is your best friend.