The 2025 Assortment

The time has come to unveil this year's four-piece assortment!

It includes:

Toffee Cup - Toffee pieces mixed into milk chocolate. It replaces the traditional nut cup.

Polar Bear Paw - Macademia nut "turtle" enrobed in white chocolate. It replaces the traditional salted caramel. 

Wild Blueberry Truffle - A silky dark chocolate truffle made with Newfoundland blueberries.

Sunbutter Swirl - Sunflower seed gianduja in a dark chocolate shell.

Each recipe made between 42 and 53 pieces, so I packaged 42 boxes of chocolates and have a few left over to enjoy over the holidays. 

I'm not going to lie, this year's production run was a bit of a challenge. It was glorious to make chocolate in my new kitchen, which has much more space. As a result, it's very easy to set up stations and move through the process seamlessly instead of moving between a kitchen, a dining room, and a living room. But it took longer than I care to admit for me to adjust to the power of my new microwave, which I use to melt chocolate when working in small batches. 

And two pieces didn't quite turn out as I'd imagined. I think the polar bear paw flavour is dead on. The toasted macademia nuts are absolutely delicious and a great variation on the "turtle" chocolate theme. My caramel, however, is just a shade firmer than I'd like. It's still good -- just not gooey. On the truffle front, it was a challenge to get a robust blueberry flavour, I suspect because the dark chocolate overpowered it. In the future, I would either use white chocolate for the ganache with a dark chocolate shell or I would pulverize freeze dried blueberries and roll the truffle in them to bolster the flavour. This sort of thing is bound to happen when developing recipes, so I'll make notes in my master recipe binder and try them again sometime. 

All of this is a matter of personal preference, of course. I've had several people tell me the polar bear paw was their favourite, while others appreciated that the truffle wasn't more fruit-forward. Chacun à son gout!

I had hoped for an update to my packaging this year, but that didn't quite work out as planned (a story for another blog). That will be a project for 2026. 

For now, I have a few more boxes of chocolate to deliver.

I Ran Out of Chocolate

This week, I made the final piece for the four-piece assortment -- a truffle. It required dark chocolate, for both the ganache and the shell. As I measured out 350g for the ganache, I was surprised that it took the entire bag of leftover chocolate pieces from the week before. I glanced at the callets left in my Cambro container and had a moment of concern before proceeding. I'd never run out of chocolate before. Surely I wouldn't this time...

I prepared the ganache and let it sit for about 90 minutes before scooping the truffles. Once the chocolate had crystallized a little more, I refined the shape into spheres. While they chilled in the fridge, I turned to tempering the chocolate for the hand-rolled shell. This is when panic set in.

I knew I'd need to coat all 50+ truffles twice. I also knew that the more chocolate you temper, the longer your working time is. I figured I'd need about 400-500g to accomplish the task. I had 350g. There was a good chance that I could make it work if I had to, but it meant that there was no room for error. If the chocolate wasn't perfectly tempered, I wouldn't have any chocolate remaining to fix it by seeding. I started contemplating workarounds and concluded that I could always add milk chocolate to the dark if necessary. It wouldn't be ideal, but it was an option in the worst case scenario.  I took a deep breath and told myself to be patient. 

And so I started. Heating and stirring, heating and stirring. When I thought I had the chocolate at the right temperature, I tested it with parchment paper. While waiting for the results, I continued stirring the chocolate. Uncertain if the first test was going to successfully set, I tested the chocolate a second time to confirm it was indeed in temper. It was was ready for coating. 

Armed with a pair of latex gloves, I put a small amount of chocolate on my fingers and rolled each truffle by hand. In the past, I've gotten impatient or tired going through this process, so I kept telling myself to keep it a small amount of chocolate and do 3 truffles before adding more chocolate. After the first coat was done, I repeated the process, this time doing 2 truffles at a time. As I progressed, my upper back started to hurt and I slowed down. By the time I was coating the last five truffles, the chocolate remaining in my bowl was rapidly solidifying. I was out of time.

I moved the two trays of truffles into the fridge for 5 minutes to help the crystallization process along. And after that, I popped them into paper cups so that they would be ready for packaging. 

While I managed to finish the fourth piece for this year's assortment, I still had a few more seasonal chocolate projects to complete. I had run out of chocolate -- not milk or white, but dark -- and on the day after all of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales ended. Of all the luck! I checked each supplier I could think of. All of them had raised their prices again and their offers of free shipping were just a memory. Not only would the price be exorbitant, but it would take at least a week or more to receive the shipment. 

As a final Hail Mary, I checked Costco. When I looked at their site last week, they only had milk chocolate callets available. Much to my surprise, the 811 formulation was suddenly available. I added it to my cart and checked the shipping estimate. It would arrive within a few days. Naturally, I checked out as quickly as possible. 

So production at the chocolate factory was temporarily paused. The weather on Thursday and Friday delayed the delivery, but UPS came through and a 5lb box of chocolate appeared on my front step on Saturday. 

Costco has saved Christmas! 

Chocolate Paradox

I planned on Wednesday night to produce the third piece for this year's assortment. I did not plan to engage in battle with the chocolate I was using. As Ella Fitzgerald sang in "But Not for Me," it all began so well... 

I had two brand new molds prepared for shelling with dark chocolate. I used the direct tempering method and tested the temper with a piece of parchment. Seeing the chocolate begin to solidify after two minutes, I decided to proceed. I filled, tapped, inverted, tapped, and scraped -- and was particularly pleased with how cleanly I had completed the task. But after the molds took a short rest in the refrigerator, I discovered something very strange: the chocolate in one tray was in perfect temper, shiny and set, while the chocolate in the other was covered in speckles -- a clear indication that it was not in temper. Strangely, though, the seemingly untempered shells could easily be released from the mold when normally they would stick. 

Somehow, the chocolate was both tempered and not tempered at the same time. 

Not only was I utterly baffled by the situation, but I became very annoyed with myself. As tempting as it was to proceed, I knew that I had to backtrack and re-shell the offending mold. If not, I would be reluctant to use those pieces in an assortment or to serve them to guests. 

Before proceeding, I paused to reflect on what had gone wrong. I was using the same chocolate, the same tools, the same method. Logically, I should have achieved the same results. And then it hit me: I was using a different microwave to melt the chocolate. And that microwave is more powerful than my old one (which is enjoying early retirement in Newfoundland now). 

I cursed. Aloud. And pulled each of the 21 shells from the mold. Then I tempered a new batch of chocolate and repeated the shelling procedure.

This little misstep was, thankfully, easily resolved because the issue was discovered before the chocolates had been filled. If it had been discovered after they were filled, then I would have had 21 "seconds" on my hands. While I'm sure no one would complain about having to help "dispose" of chocolate (especially since it would taste exactly the same), it would have been unfortunate given the exorbitant price of chocolate these days thanks to climate disasters, tariffs, and other factors. While I saved the chocolate, I lost about an hour of my Wednesday evening if you count the time spent troubleshooting, tempering, cooling, and verifying. 

I'm happy to say that the rest of the process went as expected. Actually, better than expected. I think this was the best capping job I've done to date! And I attribute that to a new tool -- a spatula from Temu of all places. I saw it online about a month ago while trying to find something to add to my cart so that I met the minimum order threshold for free shipping. It was only about $3 so I didn't have high expectations, but I did think having a second spatula could be helpful when working on two molds at once. WELL! This thing is incredible! It's more flexible than the other one I have and that somehow makes it easier to complete the capping process. Maybe it's the angle? Maybe it's better control? Whatever it is, I am going to have to get another the next time I place an order. 

That's three flavours down and one more to go before this year's assortment is unveiled!

Reopening the Chocolate Factory

It's that time of year again! After a six-month hiatus, this week I dusted off my tools and molds and began work on this year's assortment. 

The planning for the assortment began about two weeks ago, when I wrote a shortlist of possible flavour combinations. Having kept notes on inspiration throughout the year, it was easy for me to pull together eight options. More challenging was whittling that list down to four. As I've written before, my goal in preparing any assortment is to achieve a variety of flavours, textures, types of chocolate, and techniques. This means in practical terms that even though I may really want to make a particular item, I won't if it doesn't work in the context of the assortment. (For example, I wouldn't do two truffles in a four-piece box.) The keeping limit for each piece is also a factor. The pieces that have longer keeping limits -- like caramels and solid pieces -- can be produced in November, while those with shorter keeping limits -- like truffles -- aren't produced until early December to ensure freshness and safety. I usually aim to produce four different pieces in four weeks or less. 

Armed with my plan (to be revealed next month) and a vague idea for which would be molded and which would be hand rolled or dipped, about a week ago I went in search of appropriate molds. This task was complicated by the fact that I recently moved and all of my chocolatiering tools and materials  are still in files boxes. I removed the lids and quickly scanned through them, plucking one mold out of my collection. I also made a mental note that as a winter project, I will need to sort, organize, and inventory my molds before transferring them into a more permanent storage solution. 

Next I checked on my packaging and, in particular, the stickers I use to close boxes. Finding only one sheet remaining, I placed an order with Vistaprint to ensure I had enough, not yet knowing how many boxes I would target for production this year. (Unfortunately, when the new stickers arrived the quality was poor, so I had to reorder them. Fingers crossed the next set will be better!)

As for how many boxes I'll make this year, I haven't yet decided. For the last two years, I've increased my production with the intent of selling a few boxes. Both times, my plans were foiled -- first when poor weather led to a sudden change in travel plans and second when a postal strike shut down affordable shipping options. One does wonder if the universe is trying to tell me something. 🤔 For now, I will probably just make enough to give as gifts. 

My next task was to order chocolate. Now, I already have white, milk, and dark chocolate on hand thanks to a strategic purchase at the end of last year (made knowing the price of chocolate was going to rise again). But with a plan to riff on Greweling's Madagascar marbles as this year's truffle, I was going to require one more chocolate type. His recipe calls for dark chocolate and white chocolate ganache piped one on top of the other and I had the idea to use dark chocolate and either gold or ruby chocolate. Unfortunately, after checking all of my usual suppliers -- and a few new ones -- I came to the conclusion that I would have to rethink my plan. Callebaut's Ruby callets are currently retailing for $80/kg! The prices for Callebaut Gold aren't much better. As much as I would love to work with one of these, it doesn't seem like the right time or the right project given the cost. 

And so I went back to the drawing board and ultimately changed the truffle to a new flavour and technique. While reviewing how the four flavours would present together, I also decided to change one of the molds I had intended to use. With all of this firmly set in stone, I was able to prepare a production schedule and make a shopping list. 

And that means that, as of the date of this blog post, the chocolate factory has reopened for 2025.  

Note: Factory image produced with the assistance of Copilot.

2023 Christmas Assortment

Now that the majority of the boxes have been delivered, I can blog more specifically about this year's Christmas assortment!

For 2023, I made 30 four-flavour boxes, up from last year's 24. This was deliberate on my part, since I had planned to offer a few up for sale on Facebook for those who don't normally get to try my chocolates. Thanks to slightly larger batch sizes for two of the recipes, I also unexpectedly had enough pieces to pack 12 two-flavour boxes, half of which I also intended to sell. Unfortunately, my plan was foiled last week when my travel itinerary abruptly changed due to weather and I left for home two days early. I handed out the extra four-flavour boxes to individuals in the hall before leaving campus and tossed the six remaining two-flavour boxes into my carry-on to give out at our annual Crappy Craft Night. 

The four-flavour box included a salted caramel enrobed in dark chocolate, an orange cardamom truffle hand-rolled in dark chocolate, an apricot brandy praline with a dark chocolate shell, and a milk chocolate peanut butter meltaway. The salted caramel featured Sonoran sea salt, given to me by a friend who lives in Arizona. The orange cardamom truffle was prepared using whole cardamom pods, given to me by another friend earlier in the year. The peanut butter meltaway contained no special ingredients, but was a departure from the usual mint meltaway (and I think it would make a delicious filling in the future). But the really special creation this year was the apricot brandy praline.

A nod to my grandmother, who was known to keep a bottle of apricot brandy in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator, this praline has been in the works since January. It was then that I decided I would try a layered bonbon, initially thinking I would pair an apricot brandy ganache with a layer of marzipan, since I love the combination of apricots and almonds. In July, while in Newfoundland, I purchased a bottle of apricot brandy, since it doesn't appear to be available in any Nova Scotian liquor stores (in comparison, NLC had several different brands to choose from -- obviously Newfoundlanders like their apricot brandy). By the fall, my thinking had evolved and instead of pairing the ganache with marzipan, I decided to pair it with apricot jam to brighten and emphasize the apricot flavour. Featuring a dark chocolate shell decorated with copper edible luster dust, the final product had a dollop of apricot jam encased in apricot brandy ganache. And while I only got to try one of them before packaging, I think the jam was the right decision to create a burst of flavour. I was thrilled with the results -- a true homage to Honora. 

After filling 30 shells with apricot brandy ganache, I found myself with enough ganache to make another 20 truffles, and so I piped and rolled and hand-enrobed those as well. They were paired with the remaining peanut butter meltaways to create smaller treat boxes. While the truffles hit a little different than the pralines, due to the absence of the apricot jam, they still pack a flavour punch. 

I'm very pleased with how this year's assortment turned out. I think it's some of my best work, not only in terms of the flavours, but also in terms of the execution. This is the first year that I've nailed the temper of my chocolate for every piece that I produced. And I finally feel like I'm getting the hang of hand-rolling truffles. 

Hopefully those lucky enough to receive these boxes enjoyed them. Chocolate made in truly small batch quantities is qualitatively different from that which is mass-produced. And every piece is a labour of love. 

The best things really do come in small packages. 

Planning a Christmas Assortment Box

I've always made sweet treats to give to friends and family at Christmastime. It could be a s'mores chocolate bark with Teddy Grahams and mini marshmallows or Skor fudge, or some other confection. But after completing my professional chocolatier program in 2018, I began using Christmas as an opportunity to test new recipes and keep up my chocolate skills. First I would pick a few recipes to bring home to my parents, but this slowly transitioned into creating a small assortment for them. And since the smallest batch of chocolates I make tends to result in 20-25 pieces, I found myself filling about 20-24 boxes, reserving 6-7 to take home, and sharing what remained with friends and coworkers. Once I realized this was going to be "a thing," I ordered four-piece ballotin boxes and some personalized stickers to seal them. 

Last year's four-piece box included a cointreau dark chocolate truffle, a spiced molasses honeycomb toffee dipped in dark chocolate, a milk chocolate salted caramel, and a white chocolate fruit and nut cup with pistachios and dried cranberries. The assortment for 2021 featured a dark chocolate salted caramel, a milk chocolate orange truffle, a marzipan centre enrobed in dark chocolate, and a wintergreen meltaway. And the year before that, the boxes were filled with a sour cherry truffle, a fruit and nut cup with peanuts and raisins, a mint meltaway, and a dark chocolate salted caramel. 

You may see a pattern emerging here. There's always a truffle, because they are delicious and because I've been experimenting with efficient ways of forming, rolling, and enrobing. Sometimes I scoop and sometimes I pipe, but when it comes to enrobing them I've landed on hand rolling as my preferred method. Salted caramels are very popular and standard in most assortments, and they enable me to practice my skills using dipping forks. The remaining two pieces are more variable, but are usually designed to present variety in texture and/or type of chocolate (since my default tends to be dark chocolate). Importantly, across the four pieces, there are some with longer keeping limits, which allows me to produce some of the pieces throughout November, instead of having to produce everything over a day or two in December prior to packing. Some are less labour-intensive (like nut cups and meltaways) and some are more labour-intensive (like truffles and caramels). 

And so as I begin to plan for the 2023 assortment, I'm thinking about ideas for new flavours that have emerged from my chocolate study, as well as considerations of variety in chocolate, technique, shape, and finish, and practical concerns like keeping limits. I've been keeping notes throughout the year, which has led to more than four options, so decisions will have to be made -- like whether to maintain the traditional salted caramel or switch things up this year. And that decision will need to be made very soon, because production starts next week!

What is your favourite piece in a chocolate assortment?