Chocolates are that one dessert which never go out of style. The taste, texture and charm make people crave for it no matter what the occasion is. Diwali is gone and Hyderabadis are now prepping for the upcoming festivals of Thanksgiving and Christmas, and what’s a celebration without some chocolate!
Since the demand for handmade and homemade food has been growing over the past year, most chefs and bakers from the city have been experimenting with new flavours as they make chocolates. We speak to chefs and city-based chocolatiers, who tell us what’s in store for the festive season. Rajan Kuttan, head chef at Ofen Bakery, takes us through the process of making these handmade beauties.
“The main ingredients used to make handmade chocolates are cocoa and cocoa butter, which we use for consistency. We mix them well, and then add in sugar. Here, we use four parts chocolate compound and one part pure chocolate mix, which makes them taste even better.”
Ofen sells four types of handmade chocolates — dark, semi-sweet, milk, and white chocolate. “We use moulds like rocks, and filling, to give them the desired shape, taste and texture. When we use the mould, we use nuts and resins in the chocolates and when it comes to soft filling, we use flavours like rum truffle, hazelnut, nutella, cranberry, mint, and matcha. This festive season, rum, milk and cinnamon chocolates are in high demand. Rum chocolates are usually our bestsellers, we make them only when someone places an order,” Rajan tells us.
Roast - The Caffeine Capital, too, has been minting out handmade chocolates for a good while now. Hyderabadis have been loving the chocolates made with love at this place. Their bestsellers include ruby chocolate bar, cacao bonbon, strawberry bonbon, chocolate salted caramel macaroon, pistachio rose macaroon, vanilla macaroon, white chocolate passion fruit and the ruby framboise macaroon, among the many other favourites.
We ask the manager, Yul Merritt, what makes their handmade chocolates so special. He shares, “It’s the creamy and smooth texture of all our chocolates that make them a hit among the people in the city. While making them, they’re spread flat on a sheet, to ensure there are no bubbles in the mixture.”
On the other hand, D Sheba, a home baker from Bowenpally, is all set to try out some nutty flavours this season. “I always wanted to make chocolates and gift them to my loved ones.
That’s how I started experimenting with chocolates by adding various kinds of nuts. So our chocolates come in different flavours like almond, cashew, and walnut. I also have chocolates filled with dried berries. Sometimes I put in mixed berries in the filling and sometimes, if the customer specifically wants something different, I customise it accordingly. This Christmas, I plan on launching chocolate hampers that will have all that a customer asks for.”