Donna Wigle with some of her chocolate creations
I think almost EVERYONE would agree that a day beginning with a hands-on chocolate making demo couldn’t get much sweeter! It’s a day that begins with drizzly, gray skies, but clears to hot and sunny by the time Caprina and I visit Donna at Le Cafe Chocolat (which you will soon come to know as Jitterbug’s Chocolate Shoppe & Cafe). We head straight into the kitchen, eager to begin our chocolate journey.
Donna tells us that that she doesn’t have a particular history in the chocolate craft. It is pure passion that drives her; that and the delicious, got-to-have-it nature of chocolate. The delight in her craft is evident by the constant smile she wears as she explains the chocolate process to us. Donna has recently taken over Le Cafe Chocolat and is infusing the whole joint with a sense of fun, community, fresh flavours and homemade, locally-based foods. Her goal is to create chocolates that will be infused with homegrown herbs and made into a pure, whole food health supplement. Her philosophy? Why choke back some pasty factory farmed tablet when you could delight in your delicious daily thistle or evening primose oil enhanced chocolate?? I’ll eat to that!!
the process
Testing the chocolate molds
Step 1: Turn on the tempering machines; this brings the chocolate up to the right temperature while constantly turning it and creating a silky, stream of chocolate. Much of the art of chocolate making rests in the tempering. It must be exactly the right temperature in order for the setting to occur. Donna currently purchases her chocolate from Barry Callebaut. She would love to one day grow another 2 arms and be able to make her own from raw cacao beans, experimenting with terroir the same way as a wine maker might. But for now she is just a one woman team and using the best ingredients she can source.
Tip: When you see that hazy white film on a chocolate, it doesn’t mean that it is bad or stale. This is called “blooming” and occurs when the butter fat separates and comes to the surface of the chocolate. This is an undesirable effect although it doesn’t affect the flavour.
Step 2: While the tempering is underway, we have a look at the various molds that have been setting in the fridge. They have been brought out to reach room temperature and we test one to make sure it is set properly (photos above).
Step 3: Today we are making coconut curry ganache as a filling for our truffles. YUM! Donna mixes curry powder, cayenne, freshly grated clove and coconut extract into some warm milk. This way the milk is completely infused with these fresh flavours and will mix evenly into the tempered dark chocolate. Donna also makes milk chocolate ganache (very few people do), but she has found that it absorbs the flavour for more subtle extracts such as Earl Grey, which we also delight in trying (a personal favourite of Caprina’s).
Step 4: After the melted chocolate is mixed with the flavoured cream it is poured into the molds. While these trays are placed in the fridge to set Donna lays out an array of fillings and flavours for us to taste and smell. The most exciting are the effervescent chocolate granules. They pop on your tongue just like the old school exploding rock candy.
Step 5: Once the ganache has set in the chocolate molds it is time to seal them up. Donna runs the tray under the river of chocolate created in the tempering machines. This is the all important, make or break part of the process. If the chocolate isn’t the correct temperature or there was any additional moisture or liquid floating around the seal wouldn’t occur. Donna scrapes off the extra chocolate, creating a flat, finished surface and back in the fridge the chocolates go.
There is undeniable lure and lore of chocolate beyond the decadent sweet we enjoy. Chocolate has a long hisory and over the centuries many cultures have used the seeds from which chocolate is made – cacao (kah KOW) – in ritual and ceremony as well as a household curative. Whether you are enjoying chocolate for its unique taste and smell, as an uplifting antidote for the blues or a dietary health supplement, there is a unique magic created around this potent elixir. We are excited to enjoy Donna’s future exploits into the land of fine chocolate making and look forward to more of her custom creations.
This is a neighbourhood hot spot that shouldn’t be missed. Stop in for a morning coffee or Silk Road Tea and enjoy a tray of treats with a friend in the charming garden patio. There are light lunches available as well as ice cream and old fashioned floats and milkshakes for hot afternoons. Donna is sure to become a cornerstone of this rural community and will offering movie nights and garden BBQ’s in the future.
I know we’ll be back again and again and again! We’ll leave you will a small list of some of Donna’s favourite flavours currently on offer: Hot Aztec Chili, Earl Gray, Espresso, Lavender, Pender Island Mint, Coconut Curry, Hawaiin Red Eye (smoked almonds, honey cinnamon and espresso ganache)
Le Cafe Chocolat/Jitterbug’s Chocolate Shoppe & Cafe is located at: 6991 East Saanich Road, Phone: 250.652.1300.
