A Home Chocolatier

Shreds of Chocolate I was inspired to start making chocolates at home by a visit to the London shop of Paul A Young the Artisan Chocolatier. My first attempt at making my own chocolates at home was to attempt to make peppermint fondants. These were made in a flexible mould with hollow cases from Green & Blacks 70% Dark Organic Chocolate.
I tempered the chocolate by using the method described by Paul A Young and a recipe by Charlotte Oates at Charlottes Lively Kitchen for the peppermint fondant filling.
Charlottes fondant filling was made with marshmallows and proved a very hot process as you had to kneed by hand the heated marshmallows. The result was a success but the amount of peppermint essence will have to be reduced next time as it was a little too strong!

Salted Caramel Chocolates What to make next?… Well, I decided to be quite ambitious and try recipes created by the artisan chocolatier Paul A Young. Paul has recipes for Sea Salted Caramel Chocolates and Gingerbread Caramel Chocolates in his book published by Lakeland.

I have now mastered the tempering process and find it quite therapeutic, its a very precise process involving careful attention to temperatures.

The Soft Caramel takes a little time to get right but is worth the effort. I lost at least two batches of caramel by having the heat a little too high. You have to watch the Caramel like a hawk! Once it has cooled it’s an easy process to pour the mixture into the moulds using the chocolate funnel I purchased from Lakeland.



Having tasted the Paul A Young versions of the Sea Salted Caramel Chocolates and Gingerbread Caramel Chocolates in his London shop, I can confirm home made versions of the Soft Caramel filled chocolates can be made with success…. They taste great!

A Home Chocolatier

First Steps in Making Chocolates at Home

Working with Soft Caramel