Chocolate Work

One cannot help but to discover rich aromas, tastes and textures when delving into the world of chocolate. Coupled with some artistic talent, this discovery becomes all the more a savory experience.

We have only scratched the surface of what being a chocolatier is all about, but we are already finding that people are making a similar comment when this medium is added to our cakes: Is It Really … Chocolate?

Discover with us the whimsical, the realistic and the inspiring world of chocolate.

Chocolate mice

The mice are all chocolate; the smaller ones have almond ears and the larger ones have ears made of Trader Joe's chocolate crisps.

Mice have spoiled many a dinner party by their presence, but these ones tend to do just the opposite. Made from dark, milk or white chocolate, our mice are a welcome sight at any event, particularly ones that include chocolate enthusiasts.

While the artistic claim for this creation is not ours, we nonetheless have continued with this fanciful delight made of Hershey’s chocolate kisses, a chocolate-covered maraschino with the stem (important to leave this on) and two almonds as the ears. Fairly quick to put together, the mice tend to multiply, but they also tend to disappear quickly.

Chocolate globe

The globe for the desk cake was hollow and all edible, made with colored candy melts and completely accurate geographically. Tempered chocolate was considered for this piece, but it would not have held up under the heat at the County Fair. (7/2010)

This cake won Best of Show at the 2010 County Fair of Marin, just north of San Francisco. The desk and the many elements that topped it were all edible, except for the glasses, which had a small wire to help hold their shape. The desk was the main cake, made with a wood-grained frosting. The books were also cake; the pages and pictures on the desk were all made with edible paper and printed with edible ink. The picture frame was made with poured sugar. (7/2010)

This 6-inch globe with its sugar stand is entirely edible. (The displayed pencil is real and is only there to show relative size). The globe is hollow, made of colored candy melts, and accurately depicts the earth as it now looks. Everything was meticulously painted with colored candy melts, the Hawaiian Islands, the Sahara Desert of Africa and even the Polar regions of Earth. Tempered chocolate was considered for this piece but could never have held up under the warmth of the summer County Fair. The globe was made to enhance the theme of the award-winning cake for 2009.

A gift of comfort

This 8-inch round chocolate cake covered with chocolate butter cream was only enhanced when an opened Bible made of rich dark chocolate adorned its top.

The flowers were butter cream, as well.

This cake was presented as a gift of comfort, and it proved to be a delightful, savory experience for its recipients.