Boozy Truffle Making class
The boozy truffle making class took place at the rear of a stunning basement bar, at the Crowne Plaza London – The City. As we descended down the spiral staircase, it felt like we were entering an illicit speak easy. A unique venue, Latin American inspired with stunning art deco features, velvet chairs, tropical feature wallpaper and a beautiful forest inspired outdoor area with discreet arched booths. The intimate venue was a perfect backdrop for the event contributing to the fun relaxed atmosphere.
We were a small group but our gracious hosts joined in the experience as well. Our tables was already laid out with all the necessary equipment and a few tasting samples which although tempting we all managed to resist. Our chocolatier Bethany from MyChocolate was engaging, she started with a brief history lesson describing the process from bean to bar, testing our knowledge in a fun and informative way.
We embarked on a sensory chocolate journey discovering the steps to distinguish flavours, richness and quality through sight, touch, smell, taste and sound (the ‘snap’). The interactive session included blind tasting two chocolate samples to distinguish flavor notes and quality. Thankfully my senses and taste buds did not fail me. We sampled raw cocoa nibs and 100% pure chocolate. I adore dark chocolate but 75% is my uppermost limit. Evan (the bar manager seated at our table) has quite a discerning palate and I picked up some useful tips on how to tolerate the bitterness and appreciate the subtle flavour notes.
After a skilful truffle making demonstration it was then over to us. Guests are asked about any intolerance before hand, and we were given the option to use coconut milk rather than fresh cream.
Working in pairs makes this easier and a lot of fun particularly if you are doing this as a team building exercise, as it can get quite competitive. It’s not as easy as it looks, as you have to work quickly to keep the ganache malleable. We could not resist nibbling at the ganache especially as we added a shot of dark rum to the mixture, but they say all good chefs taste their food. Our table unanimously agreed that using coconut milk definitely produced an intense rich dark ganache, less sweet with far more flavor depth.
After a slow start my partner and I managed to pipe 24 almost uniform truffles while other pairs went quite abstract. Then came the roll, coat, dipping and decorating with a choice of white chocolate flakes, strawberry curls, coconut and honeycomb. Our table looked quite chaotic by the end, but the messiness is part of the fun (aprons and paper towels provided).
The evening culminated in pairing of our decadent morsels with a beautifully experimental cocktail created by the team at Leaf and Cane: Jamaican rum, Cognac, Chocolate liquor infused with sea salt, lemon peel and chili. We took a bite of truffle and then a sip of the cocktail to allow the flavours to play delightfully on the palate. The rum cocktail had a toffee, smokey flavor and a pleasant kick of spice, a beautiful pairing to our rich coconut truffle.
An enjoyable boozy chocolatey evening hosted by Mychocolate, Umesh and the welcoming team at the Crowne Plaza – The City. And the best thing is we got to bag and take away our hand made goodies. The only question is to share or not to share!
Address: The Leaf and Cane Bar, Crowne Plaza London – The City.
19 New Bridge St, London EC4V 6DB
Websites: http://www.cplondoncityhotel.co.uk https://www.mychocolate.co.uk
Written By: Eboni Addoh
