"Emergency" chocolates

Each Christmas, I make a batch of "emergency" gifts. You know, the sort that you have on standby when unexpected, but generous visitors pop in. They're also useful in a non-emergency capacity - a little festive treat certainly seems to go down well with work colleagues. Most years I have stuck to biscuits - gingerbread in 2010 and lemon myrtle shortbread in 2011. In 2012, I decided to try my hand at chocolate. Proper fancy, filled, tempered chocolate. Eeeek!

Let me rewind a little. Last month, my beloved and I attended a fantastic chocolate workshop. For those living in Melbourne, I can't recommend Sissy's Gourmet Delights more highly. The class was great fun, very interactive and just a tad messy! We learnt all about the importance of tempering  chocolate (it's all about the shine, baby!), decorating and making delicious ganache fillings. I walked away with a bag of chocolate making loot - Belgian chocolate moulds, a digital thermometer, a scraper, piping bags and a few bits and pieces for decorating.
  
Fast forward to the week before Christmas and my emergency gifts have been created. 
Behold: orange ganache-filled "blushing" chocolates and dark choc, hazelnut roses (accented by little white choc smears). Not too shabby for an amateur, in my humble opinion!