Wedding chocolates, confectionery and sugared almonds

Your wedding day is a day to remember!
Chocolates ( food of love ) or sugared almonds will add that finishing touch to your special celebration.

Foiled wrapped wedding chocolate hearts
Chocolate size: 35mm x 33mm x 12 mm (approx.8gms.)
minimum order 120 chocolates - any colour combination  39c each incl. GST

Foiled wrapped wedding chocolate ingredients:
sugar, milk solids, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, emulsifiers (soya lecithin, 476), flavours. cocoa solids (27%), milk solids (24%)

PLEASE NOTE:
$5.00 charge will be added to each chocolate order to cover cost of esky & ice-pak to help prevent heat damage during transit.  * Cooler cost will not be calculated automaticly on shopping cart but will be added separately.

CARING FOR CHOCOLATES - scroll down page

Gold and silver dipped chocolate confetti

These silver and gold dipped chocolates are ideal for bomboniere and very popular for creating an interest as
edible table scatters.
NOTHING TO UNWRAP - EAT AS THEY ARE

Silver and gold dipped chocolates (large & small) shown as compared with 5 cent coin.

CARING FOR CHOCOLATES

Chocolate is a very "hardy" product, but in saying this one has to remember that it is a "perishable" product too.
The foiled heart chocolates at top of this page is REAL chocolate, ie a proper couverture, not a chocolate compound.

Australia has to be one of the most difficult climates when it comes to the storing chocolates.

Below are some helpful hints on the care of your chocolate.

* Store in a cool, dry and vertilated room. Recommended conditions are as follows:
Keep away from strong light
Temperature 14 - 22 degrees C
Humidity preferably less than 50%

PLEASE NOTE: Do not store in foam esky which chocolates are delivered.

Use air conditioning where possible and avoid fluctuations in temperature as these may cause condensation to the chocolate. Avoid ampness as the chocolate develops a sugar bloom when moisture collects on the surface of the chocolate. Chocolate stored in overly warm conditions will show fat bloom, which is caused when stable cocoa butter crystals melt, form as the unstable variety and then transform back to larger crystals that appear on the surface. Neither type of bloom renders the chocolate unstable. It just doesn't look as fresh.

Keep chocolate away from strong smelling goods such as soap, detergents, perfumes, onions etc. and avoid direct sunlight. Do not store in a space near a ceiling where hot air collects.

Keep in an area free of rodents, insects and beware of moths. Moths LOVE chocolate.

If you need to refrigerate your chocolates, place chocolates in an airtight container then wrap the container in a towel before placing in the fridge. When you wish to use the chocolates remove from fridge, leaving container wrapped in the towel, until it has warmed to room temperature. It will then be less likely that blooming will occur.

The Sugared Almond
The sugared almond, a small traditional sweet of mediterranean origin, is generally made up of an almond or chocolate core with a sugar coating. The ancient Romans used it in the form of a simple almond covered in honey. They served it during long banquets or at the most exclusive and important weddings. Since then the sweet almond has been a good omen, a promise of sure happiness.

Wedding Bomboniere
Bombonniere is an Italian expression and the closest translation is sweet favors. It's charming gift idea for the wedding guests, traditional at Italian and Greek weddings and becoming very popular at Australian weddings. It consists of five sugared almonds, usually enclosed in a lace doily. You can also add a small token such as a bell, butterfly, photo frame, wine flute, small teddy bear or anything else that appeals to you ... even chocolate fudge. The five sugared almonds represent health, wealth, happiness, good luck and fertility. These gifts are usually given to all the ladies at the wedding, either at the end of the celebrations or placed on the tables near their place cards. It's a lovely, inexpensive way of saying 'thank you' to your guests for coming - and they receive a memento of your wedding to take home. When ordering bomboniere, always estimate for more rather than less. Once you have calculated the number of guests you are catering for, allow at least five spares. You may wish to keep a few bomboniere pieces for yourself as a memento, and you will appreciate having a special store of gifts to present to helpers like your hair and make-up artist, dressmaker and florist. Depending on your reception decoration theme and table settings, you may prefer to hand out your bomboniere gifts with (or instead of ) your wedding cake. Traditionally it is your bridesmaids' duty to hand out the cake bags following the speeches. It's a good opportunity for them to get around and make sure everyone's having a fabulous time. You'll be too busy dancing with your hubby, dad, father-in-law, uncle and the list goes on.
If you're celebrating with a cocktail party, have the bomboniere gifts (and the wedding cake bags) laid out on a table near the exit. It is best to ask your attendants to present these gifts on the table towards the end of the evening. As well as subtly letting your guests know it is time to think about leaving, it ensures your bridal party will be stationed near the exit to assist you in farewelling your guests.

Chocolate And Its Uses
Chocolate is a blend of cocoa solids and cocoa butter to which varying quantities of vegetable fats, milk and sugar have been added. The quantity of added fat determines the hardness or softness of the chocolate.
A block of chocolate can de finely or coursely grated, chopped, slivered and curled for decorating or coating the sides and tops of cakes. Melted chocolate is malleable; it dries to a smooth, glossy film. It flavours and provides texture, as well as setting quality, to icings and fillings. Melted chocolate has many other uses: it can be poured over cakes or fruits or marzipan and nuts can be dipped in it. Chocolate leaves are made by coating real leaves. Chocolate curls, know as caraque, are a widely used decoration. Melted chocolate can also be set in a thin sheet, then cut into shapes, for example squares, triangles or shapes using cutters. The melted chocolate can also be piped in many ways.
Milk Cocolate and Plain Chocolate
Milh chocolate has added milk products and is paler and softer in texture than plain chocolate which is darker and more brittle. The quantity of added sugar determines the sweetness. Milk chocolate contains more sugar than plain chocolate which is available as bitter, semi-sweet or plain.
Chocolate Flavoured Cake Covering
This is not true chocolate. In this product the cocoa butter is replaced by other fats which ake it more malleable. The resulting flavour is poor and the texture waxy. It is useful for inexpensive, everyday cakes but it should not be applied when a good result is required.
White Chocolate
White chocolate is made from cocoa butter, sugar and milk and does not contain any of the cocoa solids or non-fat parts of the cocoa bean.
Storing Chocolate Decorations
Store chocolate decorations in a cool, dry atmoshere for the shortest possible time, and no longer than seven to ten days. The chocolate will sweat if it is kept in a warm room. On very hot days keep the chocolate in the refrigerator but bring it to room temperature before melting it.
Chocolate Icing and Decorations
Use a hard, plain dessert chocolate for the best flavour and texture. Do not be disappointed by its appearance; it will not have the same high gloss as commercial chocolates. Avoid handling the chocolate once it has set as fingermarks will readily show and the chocolate surface will become dull.
Chopping Chocolate
Break the chocolate into pieces and place the chocolate on a chopping board. Use a sharp knife with a long blade and hold the tip of the knife on the board with one hand. Pivot the blade, bring it up and down with the other hand. Scrape the chocolate back to the centre of the board and continue until the pieces are even and quite small.
Grating Chocolate
Place the grater on a piece of greaseproof paper on a large plate or chopping board. Rub the block of chocolate on the coarse side of the grater. Use long, even strokes and keep your hands as cool as possible.
Chocolate Slivers
Hold your hands under cold running water, then dry them. Hold the chocolate in the palm of the hand and shave off thin pieces of chocolate with a potato peeler, letting them fall onto a chilled plate or a sheet of greaseproof paper.
Melting Chocolate
Break up or roughly chop the chocolate and place it in a basin that fits over a saucepan. Place about 5cm/2ins of water in the pan and bring to the boil, then remove the pan from the heat and stand the basin over it. Leave for a few minutes, then stir the chocolate until it has melted and is smooth and glossy. If you leave the pan on the heat, the chocolate will overheat and white streaks may appear in it when it sets again.

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