and much chocolate was had by all ~

the baking with chocolate class was really fun.

we talked, we ate, we asked & answered questions, we told stories, we giggled, we whisked and sifted and stirred and emulsified and nibbled and compared & contrasted, sniffed, learned, and even tasted 3 kinds of salt!

what we made & had:
a gratuitous chocolate bar tasting, 2 different hot cocoas, cream infused with cocoa nibs, bittersweet chocolate pot de creme: 1 plain & 1 infused with Szechuan peppercorns, 2 brownies: 1 with natural cocoa, 1 with Dutched cocoa, and devil's food cake.

thank goodness it wasn't a breakfast class.

mmmmmmmchocolate.

Comments

[craig thornton]

sounds like a good time!!!! what was the overall favorite chocolate?

Hello Craig,

I can't say there was a favorite, per se. There were about a dozen different kinds of chocolate bars and the tasting was more about understanding the differences, even between chocolates that have the same percentage or name on them. ~ Shuna

[aran]

lovely... I wish I could have been there!

[Aaron]

No chocolate sauce!?!

Aaron,
You know when it came right down to it I wanted to teach recipes that really showed something about cocoa or chocolate and as much as that sauce is to die for it speaks little to the illumination of the whys and why nots of chocolate.

I guess you'll just have to bring over some ice cream soon! ~ Shuna

[kayenne]

your description makes me feel like i could be in chocolate heaven! Oh god! i can't imagine being there... i might not have left at all!

[Joseph Bayot]

What Scharffen Berger chocolate did you try?

Scharffen Berger 62% is always what I go for when I need a quick chocolate fix, but can't make it out to Vosges in the city.

Hello Joseph

We tried the 70% Scharffen Berger because it's the one i keep stocked in my house. We also used their natural cocoa powder for two applications to see how it compared to Dutched cocoa. Vosges-- do they sell other people's chocolates in their store in Chicago? ~ Shuna

[Tartelette]

I truly hope that one day you will stop in Charleston...it would be an honor to have you in town :) ...with chocolate!