I spent over an hour trying to temper the chocolate and kept failing. In the end, Chef N came over to check and found that the bottom of my bowl (which I had put on the bain marie to keep the chocolate warm) was way too hot. Every time my nicely tempered chocolate goes back in the bowl, it warms up too much and loses its shine... Just a minor detail, but it made such a huge difference.
Anyway, Chef N was kind enough to talk me through the process of tempering the chocolate and making the chocolate box. I found I learned so much this way. With chocolate, it can be most frustrating if you do not know what to do next or how to tell if the chocolate is ready. Chef N's years of experience really helped -- he would tell me what to look for as I tempered the chocolate, and he would give me instructions on what to do next. Thanks to the chef, I managed to produce the following chocolate box:
I brushed some "gold dust" (a special kind of coloured cocoa butter) on the acetate sheet before pouring the tempered dark chocolate on it, that's why the lid looks shiny. I made the chocolate flower using a technique the chef showed us yesterday, and I piped on the decorations using a cornet (= a triangular piece of parchment paper, folded to resemble a cone; pronounced "cor-nay" in French).
For the side of the box, I piped the words "Le Cordon Bleu" in reverse (i.e. mirror writing) onto the acetate sheet before coating the white chocolate lettering with dark chocolate. It was fun!
I'm satisfied with this first-time effort. The most important thing is, I know what to do now.
Because Chef N talked me through the whole process this time, he asked me to make the same chocolate box again on Saturday morning (I had signed up for Saturday's Open Lab, which is a voluntary practice session in the pastry kitchen), this time on my own, just to see if I can do it without expert help. I agreed, and I'm looking forward to it.
So, stay tuned...
