Clemence Arnaud14 October 2026
3 min read
True Delight In A Chocolate Box
Twenty-five pralines, nine flavours and one ribbon: this is how a box comes together on a Thursday morning in the atelier.
The shells are painted on Monday with cocoa butter tinted gold, ruby and ivory, then left to set in the cool room overnight. On Tuesday we temper the chocolate on marble and cast the shells, turning each mould by hand so the walls stay thin.
The Fillings Wait A Day
Ganache needs a night to settle before it is piped. We make it on Tuesday afternoon, cover it and leave it at seventeen degrees; by Wednesday it holds a ribbon and pipes clean into the shells.
A praline is three days of patience for three seconds of pleasure. We would not have it any other way.
Clemence Arnaud
Capping, Resting, Boxing
Thursday is for capping: a thin layer of chocolate seals each praline before it rests one more night. Then come the boxes, tissue and the ribbon, tied the way Marcel tied the first one in 1979.
- Pieces25 pralines
- DaysFour, from shell to ribbon
- KeepsTwo weeks at 16 to 18 degrees
Clemence Arnaud
Head Chocolatier at Truffella since 2016; she keeps the recipe book and draws every new bonbon before it is moulded.
I had no idea it took four days. It makes the box taste even better.
Thank you, Nadia: come and watch the capping on a Thursday.
Is the ruby ganache made the same way? It always seems lighter.