Discover the Best Chocolate Making Classes in NYC
Chocolate, a product of the beans of the cacao tree, is as old as the ancient Olmecs of Southern Mexico. In ancient Olmecian society, historians believe chocolate was taken as a bitter ceremonial beverage. Ancient Mayan chocolate, however, was consumed at nearly every meal whether by the wealthy and commoners. It was typically mixed with water, honey, or chilis into a thick and frothy beverage. And when the Europeans discovered cacao and Mayan chocolate, they began to experiment with it and transformed chocolate into the rich and tasty treat we recognize today.
Today, much of the world’s cacao is produced in West Africa, not its native Central and South America. But throughout the colonial period from the 1500s onward, chocolate was being imported from Central and South America and enjoyed mainly by members of the upper class who could afford it. It wasn’t long before Europeans started changing the recipe by adding spices like cinnamon and cane sugar to their chocolate, which was still consumed as a drink. But once the Dutch figured out how to make cocoa powder, chocolatiers began to spring up and display all of the wonderful ways in which chocolate could be transformed into more than just a beverage.
With the mass production of chocolate, almost everyone can enjoy it in a wide range of forms, flavors, and quality. It didn’t take long for working with chocolate to become a respected art form, and today you can find chocolate competitions, a wide variety of chocolates from dark chocolate to milk chocolate to raspberry chocolate, and even institutions dedicated to chocolate, like the Fine Cacao and Chocolate Institute.
Why You Should Learn Chocolate Making in NYC
If you love chocolate, then there are probably a million tasty reasons to learn chocolate making in NYC. But other than the obvious reason of being able to whip up the chocolate treat of your dreams to your specifications on a whim, harnessing the power of chocolate making could reshape your world and plug you into a new community. You’ll find cacao growers, organizations pushing hard for fair-trade chocolate regulations, chocolatiers, chocolate enthusiasts, and even chocolate scientists.
Learning how to make chocolate in all of its different forms can easily become a hobby or even an obsession. Its versatility allows it to be found in the humble chocolate chip cookie or an ornate five-foot-tall chocolate sculpture. How good you get at conjuring chocolate confections is up to you, but the journey is going to be bittersweet. Chocolate is for sharing, so the more you practice, the more you’ll have to share.
Any way you stir it, learning chocolate making is fun. Whether you enjoy eating it or not, learning the artistry of chocolate could turn into a small side hustle that pays for your next vacation, or possibly even replace your full-time job. Making chocolate is relaxing and comes with a tasty reward at the end. The chocolate road can be unpredictable at times, but the adventure is worth it.
In-Person Chocolate Making Classes & Schools in NYC
Chocolate is a popular and highly versatile food product. You’ll find it in a Mexican mole, cookies, beverages, and candy aisles. Its allure is strong and urging, so if you’re seriously interested in learning more about chocolate making, take an in-person chocolate making class at a culinary center in NYC. You’ll find a variety of courses that range from the cacao tree all the way to molding and design.
Home Cooking New York is located in SoHo, Manhattan, and it offers hands-on classes to home chefs of varied skill levels. Their classes include basic cooking skills like knife skills and how to cook vegetables, and cuisine-inspired classes like Thai and Indian cuisine. Class sizes are intimate and often include a sit-down meal at the end of each menu.
Baking Bootcamp is for students ages 16 and older, and there are no prior kitchen skills needed to participate in this four-week bootcamp. Although other topics are being learned in this dessert-making course like cakes, pies, and bread, chocolate and chocolate techniques will be covered. Chocolate making topics covered include understanding chocolate labels, making chocolate, chocolate ganache, pastry cream, and pate a choux dough.
NY Cake Academy, located in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, was formerly known as the Chocolate Gallery and founded by renowned cake decorator, Joan Mansour. Over the years it became New York Cake and Baking Distributor, a gourmet one-stop shop for baking supplies for the home baker and the professional. As they grew, they added wholesaling and learning opportunities to their lineup. People go to NY Cake Academy to learn how to bake, decorate cakes, and manipulate chocolate.
Candy Coating and Chocolate Molding is all about learning how to work with coating chocolate in silicone molds. Compound chocolate works well for making shapes suited to any special or ordinary occasion. In addition to crafting a variety of shapes with chocolate molds, participants will also learn how to customize their molding with fun add-ons like cocoa powder, sprinkles, and dazzling packaging. This course also covers the difference between coating chocolate and couverture chocolate and their proper uses.
Those who are feeling adventurous will enjoy Molded Couverture Chocolate. This class is for learners ages 12 and older and no prior kitchen skills are necessary to dive in. Class objectives include recognizing the difference between tempered and untempered chocolate, the three chocolate tempering methods, creating molded chocolate bars, and working with chocolate couverture.
Making Chocolate Truffles is a good first step into the world of chocolate making. In this chocolate truffle course, learners will cover a wide range of beginner chocolate techniques like tempering, making ganache, working with chocolate couverture, and using a balloon for a chocolate mold.
Raaka Chocolate makes delicious small-batch chocolate while building strong and healthy relationships with the global community and the planet in their Red Hook, Brooklyn location. Co-founder Ryan Cheney spent a year learning bean-to-bar chocolate making before teaming up with co-founder, musician, and gastronomist, Nate Hodge. Together they have been making micro-batch chocolates and sharing their passion for sustainable, ethical, and low-temperature chocolate making with anyone who comes through their doors.
In this three-hour Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Making, students of all skill levels ages 14 and older will learn the basics of bean-to-bar chocolate. Once participants have chosen their cacao beans, they’ll winnow, grind, and mill them before tempering the chocolate and pouring it into chocolate bar molds. During this class, there will also be a tasting of Raaka’s chocolates. At the end of class, everyone will have their own bag of mini dark chocolates to take home and share.
Hand-Churned Chocolate Ice Cream Making is for chocolate lovers and ice cream enthusiasts alike. This hands-on class teaches participants how to make unroasted double chocolate vegan ice cream churned with old-fashioned hand crank ice cream churns. Learners will even get to experience a tasting of Raaka’s chocolates before going home with two pints of their made-in-class vegan chocolate ice cream. This class is meant to be fun and educational, so participants will also learn the science behind homemade ice cream and the secret to Raaka’s in-house vegan ice cream base.
Virtual Chocolate Making Classes & Schools
Online classes are very similar to in-person classes and can impart a lot of great information to further your knowledge of chocolate making. The greatest advantage to taking online chocolate making classes is that your learning happens on your schedule in the setting that works for you. There’s no need to worry about commuting to class, beating the traffic, or trying to rearrange your busy schedule to make room for chocolate.
In most online classes, participants need to have their own supplies and materials to participate in the workshop, but some virtual classes send kits to students to make learning easier and more uniform. Although a hands-on approach in an online chocolate making class refers mainly to your hands, there are still a lot of ways for your instructor to help students that need assistance. Clear verbal communication is essential in an online setting.
Students will create three different chocolate truffles that do not require baking in this no-bake vegetarian Chocolate Truffles class. This is an all-inclusive class, so each class participant will have a kit delivered to them with all of the materials needed to make the truffles. Students will still need to provide kitchen equipment like bowls and spatulas. The class will be a live demonstration that should be followed along with for a full experience. Although these truffles aren’t vegan or gluten-free, participants can feel free to substitute the Oreos and the honey to fit their dietary restrictions.
A French Macaron Step-by-Step Class is a great way to stretch the culinary prowess of cooks ages 16 and older. Participants will level up their cookie-making with delicate macarons. Students will learn how to get the perfect macaron every time, and by the end of the class, students will have their own batch of delectable macarons to share or not to share. This class also features a different and unique macaron in every workshop.
It’s no secret that Cookie Decorating requires a steady hand and an artistic eye, and this course helps participants hone their cookie-decorating skills. This class covers techniques including flooding, marbling, and wet-on-wet cookie designs. Although this class is held online, students will be sent a kit containing the needed ingredients to participate in the class; however, basic kitchen equipment like mixing bowls and spatulas will need to be supplied by the participant.
Private Group Chocolate Making Classes in NYC
Does your organization need a fun filled team-building event? CourseHorse delivers chocolate making classes for private groups in NYC right to your organization. A chocolate making class makes for a great team-building event because it is a fun and relaxing activity that allows bonding between colleagues in a relaxed setting. Removing workplace-related competition allows your team to have a chance to learn more about one another and their approach to life skills like cooking and baking.
In this one-hour Virtual Truffle Making Workshop designed for team-building exercises, no prior kitchen skills are necessary. This workshop can hold up to 250 participants, and to ensure that your entire team can participate in this fun virtual event, the materials needed to make chocolate truffles are mailed to each participant before the date of the event. Workshop participants will be responsible for providing their kitchen utensils like a spatula, mixing bowls, and spoons. During the event, everyone will make a chocolate ganache, truffle filling, and dark chocolate truffles.
It’s easy to book private group courses through CourseHorse. You don’t have to concern yourself with booking fees and there is no registration required to book an event. The booking confirmation is sent within 24 hours, and multiple platforms are supported. It’s even possible to change your group size after booking if you need to. They make it simple to put on an engaging team-building event while giving you the flexibility you need.
If you don’t see the private class you’re interested in listed publicly, just reach out to CourseHorse using the contact form on the website to find out what options are available to you. Providing private online classes to organizations is something that CourseHorse can provide.
