On Wednesday the 30th of June, Heidi-Mari and I did the Molding and Fillings Lindt Chocolate Class. By now we feel like part of the Lindt Chocolate family in Cape Town. :-)
The beauty of it all is we are now really beginning to understand the process behind chocolate. Not everything Scott and Dimo explains is all new anymore. After every class we come home and experiment a little more, become more confident, have more success.
This class about Moldings and Fillings was the most enjoyable class for me we did over the past 8 months. The previous classes were a stretch for me, though not at all for Heidi-Mari. She has a natural feeling for chocolate and interesting her hands are just the right temperature.
Not the case for me! Every time after I handle the piping bag, the chocolate melts and the mixture becomes too runny - hands too hot!
I loved the creativity of this class and the end product is absolutely breathtaking!
I’m always drooling over these, almost too beautiful to eat chocolates, and could not imagine it is actually possible to make these in an every day home kitchen.
Scott did an excellent job, explaining everything in detail from the buying and taking care of the molds,
through the intensive process of tempering chocolate,
making mouth watering garnaches,
coating and filling the molds, to the storage and shelf-live of the chocolate.
In September we did a class on tempering chocolate, but we struggled to master this delicate process of making professional chocolate. Doing it all over again with this class, we could pay attention more closely, ask relevant questions and when it was our turn to temper our own, it came out perfect.
I absolutely love messing around with the chocolate - must be why I enjoyed this class so much. This is a messy class!
You cannot do it without having chocolate all over the place! We even created chocolate rain while coating the molds.
During our Truffle class we learned a few ganaches, and with this class some more. We can now distinguish between the inside of a truffle and the inside of mold-filled chocolates and know how to make the difference consistencies.
But the best of all was the painting of the moulds before we coated them.
Oh, there are countless ways to paint/decorate these beautiful molds!
We obviously went home with quite an amount of chocolates and the men and Danika, marveled at our chocolate creations!
As I was watching them as they hovered over the chocolate boxes, undecided which one of these luscious chocolates they must choose, it struck me how Christo and I, day after day have the privilege to mold each of these precious children and fill them consciously and unconsciously with things we do together, feelings we create in them and thoughts we kindle in them. What a responsibility!
Do we know what mold we are molding them into?
Can we distinguish the molds of the world and society, from the molds Christ would like us to mold them into?
Are we just using the same mold we were molded into, and since we turned out more or less okay, we think the mold is okay for our children too?
Or do we seek the Lord constantly about which mold we should use, even though it sometimes are uncomfortable and unknown molds to work with.
Then there are the fillings…
We filled our chocolate moulds with a Vanilla ganache, a praline chocolate ganache, an Amarula chocolate ganache and a fruity mango ganache. For each of these ganaches we had to follow a specific recipe. The fruity mango ganache was more runny, and though not quite the consistency it should be, gave a very interesting look and taste.
Each child’s personality is like a filing: not one child is the same. I can tell you, there isn’t just 4 personality types, there are at least 8! Each of my children need a different filling, mixed in faith, to make them the person God intend them to be.
Do I seek the Lord on the recipe for each child’s filling, or am I just pushing through with one recipe and hope for the best. On the other hand a filling can easily turn out totally different from what it should be. Like the fruity mango ganache, we might actually think something went wrong while ‘mixing the filling’, and want to figuratively speaking, throw away the filling! And now I’m speaking for myself. The Lord doesn’t want a balanced, one size fit all child. He loves Out-of-the-Box Individualists, who can go and change the world for Him.
The piping of the filling into the mould is another challenge. You have to take great care of piping in just the right amount.
Do I take enough care in filling the little molds entrusted to me? Do I use compassion, sweet and kind words, encouragement, a soft heart, a positive learning atmosphere, praises, hope, forgiveness, unconditional love and you can add more, to fill their little molds?
I’m looking at my children and I see all kinds of different molds, decorated by God in a very special way, with mouth watering fillings inside each one of them.
They truly are going to give a special taste every where they go, IF I am willing to surrender their upbringing to the Lord.
How are you doing in molding and filling your children?
With much love
Linnie
3 comments:
Those chocolates are amazing! They look so good.
That was a lovely read, thankyou Linnie.
Love Dori-Anne :)
Such a lovely way you look at parenting Linnie. You chocolates look amazing and it seems
Like this course has been a very special
Mother daughter time.
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