Creating chocolate works of art
The scent of the foraged ingredients fills Charlotte’s kitchen, underscored by the creamy fragrance of chocolate. The room is dominated by a large stainless steel workspace in the middle. All the work surfaces are kept spotlessly clean so they do not contaminate the chocolate. It takes three days to make a batch of filled chocolates. This includes one day to make the shells, another to fill them and the last to seal them. The trays in which they are made are first polished to perfection with a clean cloth. Any marks would be visible on the final chocolates. Clad in a white shirt and apron and indoor shoes, Charlotte prepares 20 trays at a time, with 24 moulds each. “That’s 480 to polish – it takes up to 30 minutes,” she says. The trays are filled with melted, tempered chocolate. This is specially prepared to ensure a smooth and glossy finish, and she buys it ready made. As soon as the trays are filled, the chocolate is tipped out again. Only a thin layer is left inside the tray, to make a fine casing for the filling. The chocolate that has been poured out goes to make brownies, which are sold in a nearby café. Using chocolate that is sourced ethically, Charlotte always makes four different flavours. These depend on the season and what she can forage. A box contains three of each flavour, so she makes sure they look distinct. Some are decorated with white chocolate squiggles, others milk chocolate squiggles. Another set may have gold or silver leaves added while the fourth set is left plain. The squiggles are piped into the shell moulds before the thin chocolate layer is added. The real gold and silver leaves are added afterwards. These precious metals come in thin sheets. “I like to keep it simple, but I also want my chocolates to look exquisite,” she says.
Piping the ganache
Covered with clean paper, the trays are left overnight on the worktop. They will be filled the next day with the ganache. Before making the ganache, Charlotte heads outside to forage for ingredients. This ensures their freshness. Because of this need for fresh flavours, she only makes one flavour at a time. The leaves or flowers are washed then cut up to release the flavours. Then they are immersed in the double cream that makes up the ganache. The mixture is heated to the sterilising temperature of approximately 90°C, just below boiling point. It is then left for two hours to cool. In the meantime, she weighs out chocolate into a bowl. The cream is warmed again slightly to enable it to melt with the chocolate. It is then poured through a sieve into the bowl over the chocolate. “I make sure all the chocolate is covered and then leave it for a minute or two,” she says. The contents of the bowl are then stirred. Slowly the cream starts to mix as the chocolate starts to melt. Charlotte loves this stage. “You get a gorgeous, glossy silky ganache.” At this point, she checks the temperature again. At 30°C the mixture is ready to be piped into the prepared moulds. It is then covered with clean paper and left overnight to fully set. The next day Charlotte pours chocolate over the top of the filling to seal them. This cannot be done too early, as the filling can shrink as it sets and this cracks the outside shell. Once the seals have hardened, the chocolates are removed from their moulds. Using white gloves, Charlotte simply gives the moulds a tap and the chocolates fall into her hand. They are then boxed up.
Satisfying work
Charlotte admits that chocolate making takes hard work, but it is something she loves. “It’s gorgeous stuff and delicious to taste. I get a lot of satisfaction making the chocolates.” One of the hardest parts is deciding which is her favourite flavour. “It changes with the season and my mood, but if I had to pick one it would be Scots pine ganache,” she says. Packaging the chocolates is the final task before they can be sold. “I love boxing them up. They are made with such care and attention. I sell a lot at markets and it’s lovely when you give someone some chocolate and their face melts with pleasure. That’s amazing. It brightens up my day.”
Contact
www.charlotteflowerchocolates.com