This was the first time I attended the chocolate demos hosted by Beyers Chocolates at the Coffee & Chocolate Festival.
ABOUT BEYERS CHOCOLATES
Beyers Chocolates was founded 30 years ago by Belgian-born, Kees Beyers. They manufacture their own range of confectionery, including local favourites like Sweetie Pie, Amarula, and Dream Bear, and also supply an extensive range of sub-brands and private label products to airlines and the hospitality industry, which makes them the largest independent manufacturer of boxed chocolates in South Africa.
THE CHOCOLATE DEMO AT THE COFFEE & CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL CAPE TOWN 2017
During the Chocolate Demo, the Beyers team showcase a series of chocolate treats and desserts, offering tips, tricks and hacks for working with chocolate while preparing each dish. Here’s are a few snippets from the demo:
Chocolate tempering/Chocolate moulds
Piping
Pretzel Monsters
Understanding cocoa percentage
Caramel pots
Chocolate mousse
Here’s a full list of the recipes they shared with attendees*:
Tempering Chocolate
Ingredients
Dark, milk or white couverture chocolate
Method for stove
- Put a glass or metal bowl of chocolate on a pot full of simmering water, but be sure the bowl does not touch the water
- Slowly met two thirds of the chocolate until it reaches a temperature of 45-50⁰C, then remove the bowl from the pot
- Add the remaining third of the chocolate, stirring until all the chocolate has completely dissolved
- Check the temperature. This should be 32-33⁰C for dark chocolate, 30-32⁰C for milk chocolate and 28-30⁰ for white chocolate. If the temperature is too high, keep stirring the chocolate until it reaches the correct temperature.
Method for microwave
- Place the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl
- Melt it in short bursts (15 – 20 seconds at a time), stirring each time it stops, to evenly distribute heat
- Keep doing this until the chocolate has melted and has reached a temperature of 45-50⁰C
- Follow steps 3 and 4 above
Salted Caramel Pots with Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
300ml cream
400g milk chocolatengs
50g butter
6 tbsp caramel sauce
A few pinches of black sea salt (or Himalayan sea salt)
Method
- Heat the cream in a pot until it comes to a boil. Add the chocolate and butter and mix until incorporated
- Pour a tablespoon of caramel sauce into the bottom of six small ramekins and swirl it around a little to coat the bottom
- Distribute the chocolate mixture evenly between the ramekins, on top of the caramel sauce
- Place the ramekins in the fridge for a couple of hours or until fully set
- Once set, sprinkle a pinch of salt on the top of each dessert and serve
Superfood Chocolate Bark
Ingredients
Tempered dark chocolate
Dried fruit and nuts of your choice
Method
- Line a tray with a greaseproof paper
- Pour some tempered chocolate on the lined tray and use a palette knife to spread the chocolate as evenly as possible but not too thin
- Sprinkle the fruit and nuts on top of the chocolate before it sets
- Place the tray in the fridge
- After it has set, remove the tray and break the chocolate into medium to large pieces
- Enjoy!
Chocolate Dippers
Ingredients
Tempered dark chocolate
Tempered white chocolate
Mini marshmallows
Sprinkles
Lolly sticks
Method
- Pour some dark chocolate into a chocolate mould about halfway up. You can also use a ice cube tray.
- Into each mould, quickly add one lolly stick, two to three marshmallows and sprinkles
- Add a layer of white chocolate to each mould
- Place in the refrigerator until all the chocolate has set
Serving suggestion
You can use one type of chocolate for your dippers if you prefer. You can also use different sweet spices such as cinnamon or aniseed for a spicy option.
Coffee and Chocolate Martini
Ingredients
160ml Kahlua
90ml chocolate liqueur
60ml vodka
60ml low fat or full cream milk
Method
- Place all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker and add a few blocks of ice
- Give it a good shake to mix all the ingredients
- Pour into two martini glasses and serve immediately
Serving suggestion
Coat the rim of each glass with chocolate or dip the glasses into cocoa powder, ground coffee or sugar. To impress, decorate the inside of each glass with chocolate sauce.
Chocolate Pretzel Monsters
Ingredients
150g pretzel sticks (broken)
200g white chocolate (melted)
Dark chocolate
Green or purple food colouring
Pre-made eyes
Method - Monsters
- Put the white chocolate in a bowl and start adding your colour, small quantities at a time and stir. Keep adding the colour until you are happy with the shade
- Stir in the broken pretzel sticks
- Scoop up a tablespoon of the mixture and place it on a greaseproof lined tray and then add two eyes. Keep doing this until the mixture is finished
- Place in the fridge until completely set
Method - Eyes
- Place some white chocolate into a small piping bag
- Pipe small white dots onto a tray of greaseproof paper
- Allow to set
- Put dark chocolate into a small piping bag and pipe smaller dots in the centre of the white chocolate dots
- Allow to set
Chocolate Mousse
Ingredients
110g milk
425g dark chocolate, chopped
900g whipped cream
Method - Monsters
- Bring the milk to boil
- Pour the hot milk over the chocolate and mix until the chocolate has melted
- Cool the mixture down to 50⁰C
- When cooled, fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture until well combined
- Spoon into cups or bowls and place in the fridge to set
Please note
Make sure the chocolate mixture has cooled when you add the whipped cream. If it is too cold it will separate, too warm and wit won’t be smooth.
Layered Chocolate Dessert
Ingredients
Chocolate mousse
Crushed Oreos/chocolate biscuits
Whipped cream
Mason jars/glass tumblers
Method - Monsters
- Scoop or pipe a layer of chocolate mousse into the bottom of the Mason jars or tumblers
- Gently spoon in a layer of crushed biscuits
- Scoop or pipe a layer of whipped cream
- Follow with another layer of chocolate mousse and another layer of crushed biscuits
- Serve immediately or leave in the fridge until ready to serve
Serving suggestions
Decorate with chopped chocolate. You can also top the dessert with whipped cream or start with any ingredient when creating the layers.
Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows
Ingredients
A bag of marshmallows
Tempered chocolate
Sosatie sticks
Sprinkles
Method - Monsters
- Insert a sosatie stick into the middle of one marshmallow and repeat until you have three marshmallows on each stick
- Dip the sticks into the tempered chocolate, making sure all the sides of the marshmallows are covered with chocolate
- Gently shake each stick to get rid of any excess chocolate
- Before the chocolate sets, decorate the marshmallow sticks with sprinkles
- Leave upright in a cup or container until completely set
Serving suggestions
You can replace the sprinkles with nuts or smarties.
Toasted Marshmallow Hot Chocolate
Ingredients
150 ml milk
150 ml cream
50g milk chocolate
100g dark chocolate
Mini marshmallows
For decoration
For the decoration:
Digestive biscuits (roughly crushed)
Melted chocolate (milk,dark or white)
Method - Decoration
- Dip the rim of the mugs into the melted chocolate and shake off the excess
- Then dip the rim into the crushed biscuits, ensuring all the chocolate is coated with the biscuits
- Allow to set
Method - Hot chocolate
- Heat up the milk and the cream
- Add your chocolate and stir
- Pour the hot mixture into two mugs, leaving space at the top for the marshmallows
- Place a generous handful of marshmallows on the top of the hot chocolate mixture
- Using a kitchen blow torch, gently toast the marshmallows
- Serve immediately
Moulded Chocolates
Ingredients
Tempered chocolate of your choice
Sprinkles (nuts/fruit/sprinkles)
Chocolate moulds (silicone/plastic)
Method
- Using a spoon, scoop the chocolate into your mould until each cavity is full of chocolate
- Take a scraper and carefully scrape the top of the mould to get rid of excess chocolate
- Sprinkle your toppings on the chocolate while wet
- Refrigerate until set
- When set, turn the mould upside down over greaseproof paper and gently knock out the moulded chocolates
Please note
Silicone moulds are very pliable, so you can “pop” each chocolate once set, instead of knocking them out.
Chocolate Stout Float
Ingredients
Chocolate ice-cream
2 tbsp chocolate syrup
340ml bottle of chocolate milk stout
Whipped cream
Method
- Put three scoops of chocolate ice-cream into two separate glasses
- Add the chocolate syrup to the ice cream
- Tilt the glass ad slowly pour the stout into the glass
- Stir the float just a bit to incorporate the syrup
- Add whipped cream to the top of the float
- Enjoy!
Serving suggestions
Add a chocolate flake, chocolate sprinkles or drizzle chocolate syrup on top of the stout creation.
Chocolate Popsicle Sticks
Ingredients
2l of cream
2 tins condensed milk
10 ml vanilla paste
Cocoa powder
Tempered chocolate
Sprinkles
Ice lolly moulds
Method
- Whip the cream, condense milk, vanilla and cocoa powder together
- Pour into the moulds
- Place in the freezer until set
- Once set, drizzle the tempered chocolate onto the lollies or dip the lollies into the chocolate
- Decorate with sprinkles of your choice and place on a greaseproof lined tray and allow to set in the freezer
Sweetie Pie Cupcakes
Ingredients
Chocolate cupcakes
Tempered dark or milk chocolate
½ cup sugar
¼ cup water
2 egg whites
¼ tsp cream of tartar
Method
- In a saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Allow it to come to a boil and remove from the heat when there are no visible sugar crystals
- Add cream of tartar to the egg whites and use an electric mixer to whip until stiff
- Slowly add the hot mixture
- Into the eggs with the mixer on high speed
- Keep mixing until the consistency is thick, shiny and fluffy
- Pipe the mixture onto the chocolate cupcakes
- Carefully dip the cupcakes into the tempered chocolate, covering the whipped mixture
- Leave to set
Chocolate Dirt Pudding
Ingredients
Chocolate mousse
Crushed Oreos/chocolate biscuits
Sour worms
1 Mason jar or clear cup
[/recipe-ingredients ]
Method
- Nearly fill a mason jar or large clear cup with chocolate mousse
- Insert the worms into the mousse, so that two thirds of each worm stick out
- Carefully add the crushed Oreos or chocolate biscuits to the top
- Enjoy!
Strawberry Dream Bear Craft Milkshake
Ingredients
3 scoops of strawberry ice-cream
½ cup cold milk
2 tbsp strawberry syrup
2 strawberry Dream Bears
1 large glass mug
1 straw
Ingredients: Decorations (optional)
Candy floss
Melted chocolate
Sprinkles
Mini doughnuts
Whipped cream
Strawberries
Strawberry syrup
Method
- Blend ice-cream, milk, syrup and Dream Bears on the lowest speed in the blender
- If the mixture is too thick to drink through a straw, add a tablespoon of milk at a time until you reach the desired consistency
- Pour the mixture into a large glass mug
Method - For decorating
- Dip the rim of the glass mug into the melted chocolate. You may add some sprinkles to the chocolate
- Pour in the milkshake
- Add the doughnut to the top of the glass and insert your straw through it
- Place the strawberries and whipped cream on top of the milkshake
- Place the candy floss on top of the whipped cream
- Drizzle strawberry syrup on the top
*Disclaimer: Please note that all recipes are courtesy of Beyers Chocolates. Click here for more recipes from Beyers Chocolates.
Hanging With Leanne 