the Local / TRY THIS
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appétit!
OUR ASSOCIATE EDITOR TRIES HER HAND AT THE ART OF CHOCOLATE MAKING b y M E G A N AY S C U E
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onfession: There was a point in time when I was hooked on YouTube videos about making chocolate. I’d watch anything—how to perfect chocolate bonbons at home, recreating viral chocolate trends like chocolate spheres with cake inside… You name it, I’ve watched it. I collected the necessary supplies like fillings, numerous molds, and of course chocolate, ready to create magic. They sat on top of my fridge for months. When I learned about a chocolate-making class at Tasty Image in Tequesta, I signed up without hesitation. I arrived on a Saturday, walking through the doors of the tiny shop with excitement, and was greeted by a cacophony of cocoa treats on display that made my mouth water. I fought the urge to sample
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every morsel and made my way to the back of the store, where owner Derri Cerbone carefully explained the process to six chocolate enthusiasts before the hands-on learning began. We started with dark chocolate nonpareils, essentially small chocolate buttons with one side coated in colorful sprinkles. Each student took a turn holding a warm funnel of melty chocolate over a tray of sprinkles, raising the wooden stick inside holding back the flow and quickly returning it to drop dollops of chocolate into rainbow beds. By the end of my row, I already felt like a professional chocolatier. We moved on to tuxedo marshmallows—simple treats that look oh so fancy. After coating the marshmallow in white chocolate and allowing it to harden, we were instructed to dip the sides into dark chocolate at an angle to create the coat. This part was a bit tricky because you have to move fast or you’ll melt the white chocolate beneath, and you have to be precise. With a wooden stick and some extra dark chocolate, I added a bowtie and buttons to finish off my dapper confection. Next Cerbone began placing pretzels on the conveyor of a chocolate enrobing machine, which has a steady flow of chocolate to cover anything placed beneath. I felt like I was in an episode of I Love Lucy, everyone scrambling to get the chocolate-covered pretzels off the belt before they fell. (We only dropped three by the end of it.) Now it was time for the best part: eating. We put everything together in chocolate bowls, filled them with some ice cream from the shop, and topped it off with our newly made treats. My sweet tooth was more than satisfied! We wrapped our tuxedoed marshmallow friends and took them home to snack on later. (I also grabbed some delicious truffles on my way out.) tastyimagechocolate.com; classes offered Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4 p.m. and Saturdays at noon, 2 p.m., and 4 p.m.; $25 v From top: chocolatecovered pretzels; cute tuxedoed marshmallows; funneling the melted chocolate to create my nonpareils.
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3/11/20 7:30 AM