Discover the Best Chocolate Making Classes in Los Angeles
Chocolate, a product of the beans of the cacao tree, is as old as the ancient Olmecs of Southern Mexico. Many historians agree that in ancient Olmecian society, cacao was used to create a bitter ceremonial beverage. However, ancient Mayan chocolate belonged at nearly every meal in every household, where it was typically mixed with water, honey, or chilis to make a thick, frothy drink. And once the Europeans discovered cacao, the transformation into what we know now as chocolate began.
Once the Dutch discovered how to stabilize cacao, turning it into a cocoa powder so that it could be manipulated in a variety of ways, the scale of chocolate production began to pick up steam. Today, most of the world’s cacao beans are grown in West Africa, not its native Central and South America, and the world exploits its production, those who produce it, and the land it’s grown on. This is how chocolate is mass-produced and made widely available to the public.
This dark and sweet confection has given birth to chocolate competitions and a wide variety of chocolates from dark chocolate to milk chocolate to filled chocolate to enjoy. Institutions like the Fine Cacao and Chocolate Institute have turned up all around the world to study, educate, and improve the quality of chocolate. There is truly an art to working with this versatile ingredient, whether it be in culinary, agricultural or academic settings.
Why You Should Learn Chocolate Making in Los Angeles
The popularity of chocolate can easily drive you into a new social community that can include cacao growers, organizations advocating for fair-trade chocolate regulations, chocolatiers, chocolate enthusiasts, and even chocolate scientists. It’s uncanny how chocolate can connect people of so many backgrounds.
Chocolate making isn’t just for chocolate enthusiasts. Even people who don’t revere this yummy treat enjoy working with it because it can be challenging and other people in their life enjoy it. There’s a charm and sophistication that comes with working with chocolate that can lead to lots of delicious exploration. Making chocolate is a fun way to relax, and you’re left with something delicious left over at the end.
It’s not difficult for chocolate making to become a hobby. You may be surprised to learn that your new hobby has the potential to turn into a side hustle that pays for your next big purchase. And if you get really good at crafting chocolate desserts, your skill could even replace your full-time job or create the conditions you need to retire early.
In-Person Chocolate Making Classes in Los Angeles
There are culinary schools and studios in Los Angeles that offer chocolate making classes to individuals of all cooking levels. In West Los Angeles, Chef Eric’s Culinary Classroom teaches guests how to prepare culinary delights. Classes are designed for those looking to break into the culinary field and novice cooks who want to learn recreationally. Chef Eric closely mentors his students and has a professionally designed kitchen with high-end equipment.
In Chef Eric’s Decadent Desserts class, guests 15 and older will try their hand at making a milk chocolate cherry soufflé with crème anglaise, banana rum crepes with chocolate sauce, and traditional tiramisu. These desserts feature chocolate skills and a richness that dinner guests will swoon for.
Chef Eric’s also hosts a Heavenly Cupcakes workshop that’s for participants over the age of 15. In this workshop, guests create a full menu of cupcakes, including cream cheese frosted red velvet cupcakes and chocolate buttercream frosted devil’s food cupcakes. The class teaches participants how to bake, frost, and fill cupcakes.
Milk Bar is one of West LA’s top dessert wonderlands that has been applauded by Bon Appetit magazine. You’ll find locations in Washington D.C., Las Vegas, New York City, and Los Angeles. In addition to selling online and in-store, they also cater events and offer experiential baking classes.
Anyone who wants to put together professional-looking cakes should try this Milk Bar Birthday Cake Assembly class. In this course, participants will get to assemble and decorate a six-inch layered birthday cake and cake truffles to take home. Class learning objectives include cutting and stacking cake rounds and layering them with frosting, and also creating cake truffles using cake crumbs and frosting.
Virtual Chocolate Making Classes
There’s not much difference between online classes and in-person classes. Both can offer a lot of great information to advance your understanding and knowledge of chocolate and chocolate making. The most appreciated advantage of taking online chocolate making classes is that you can take classes on your schedule wherever you are in the world. Stop worrying about commuting to class, traffic stress, or rearranging your busy schedule.
In most online classes, participants need to have their own supplies to participate in chocolate making workshops, but there are online classes that send kits to participants to make the learning easily accessible and more uniform. Although a hands-on approach in an online chocolate making class refers to your hands, there are still ways that your instructor can help students that need help. Clear verbal communication is vital in an online setting.
Learning to make Chocolate Truffles is fun and easy. In this all-inclusive class, students as young as 12 years old are learning how to make no-bake vegetarian chocolate truffles. There are three chocolate truffle varieties featured in this class, honey fig, Oreo coconut, and cinnamon coconut. The class also covers simple chocolate making techniques.
A French Macaron Step-by-Step Class can really stretch the culinary skills of cooks ages 16 and older. Participants will learn how to amp up their cookie-making knowledge with these delicate macarons. Students will also learn the secret of getting perfect macarons every time. And by the end of the class, students will have made their own batch of macarons to share or not to share. This class also features a different and unique macaron in every workshop.
In this Virtual Cook Along: Tropical Fruit Dessert Workshop, adult participants will learn how to select ripe tropical fruits like passion fruit, make a caramel sauce, and prepare a cake batter. The menu for this intensive and hands-on two-hour class includes caramelized pineapple sundaes with spiced rum caramel sauce and passion fruit cupcakes with passion fruit curd filling and coconut frosting. By the end of the class, students will be able to get a little taste of the tropics without leaving their kitchen.
Private Group Chocolate Making Classes in Los Angeles
If your business is looking for a fun-filled team-building event, CourseHorse can deliver private group chocolate making classes to you. When you’re looking to source a fun and relaxing team-building activity that allows stress-free bonding between colleagues in a neutral setting, consider a chocolate making class. Cooking classes are low-stress and eliminate competition, giving your team the chance to learn more about each other and how they approach life skills in a relaxed environment.
This one-hour Virtual Truffle Making Workshop is created especially as a team-building exercise. Participants don’t need any prior kitchen experience to enjoy this workshop which accommodates up to 250 participants. To ensure your entire team can participate in this virtual event, the materials needed for making chocolate truffles are mailed to each participant prior to the date of the class. Team members are responsible for providing kitchen utensils like spoons, mixing bowls, and a saucepan. The expert instructor will guide everyone through making a chocolate ganache, truffle filling, and dark chocolate truffles.
This chocolatey 90-minute Virtual Cooking Workshop includes baking two different types of cookies using the creaming method: gooey chocolate chip cookies and lemon crinkle cookies. This cooking workshop accommodates up to 100 participants and the class materials will be shipped to each participant before the date of the event so that all team members will be ready for some sweet chocolate fun together.
Booking private group courses through CourseHorse is fast and easy. There are no booking fees, and registration is not required, booking confirmation arrives within 24 hours, and multiple platforms are supported. You can even change your group size after booking if you need to. CourseHorse makes it easy to have a great event while giving you the flexibility you need. If you don’t see the private class you’re interested in listed publicly, 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 provides.
