Tempering chocolate:
When chocolate is melted the stable crystal structure which gave it its shine and snappy texture is lost. In order to reinstate this structure it is necessary to temper the chocolate. By raising and lowering the temperature this can be achieved.

Melt 200g of the chocolate in the microwave in short bursts of 40 seconds, stirring vigorously after each time it’s heated. Once it’s liquid it will feel quite warm, but the stirring will have prevented a hot spot from forming in the centre of the bowl.

After completely melting the chocolate we now need the chocolate to cool down. So by adding in the rest of the chocolate, 100g (broken into four large pieces) this will cool the melted chocolate and temper it. Once the melted chocolate feels cool to the touch it is tempered and ready to use. Remove the lumps if they’re not melted.

If the chocolate starts to thicken and set whilst you are working with it heat it for 5-10 seconds in the microwave to bring it back to a working consistency. If the melted chocolate feels warm after this, add in a piece of chocolate (around 50g) to cool it down and recrystallise it to tempered again.

If you do not temper your chocolate, or work with it in an untempered state it will take around 20 mins to two hours to set and the white cocoa butter crystals within the structure of the chocolate will rise to the surface and show as an unattractive chalky bloom!

Wrap the acetate around a glass or pastry cutter so that each chocolate cup is the same diameter. Hold it in place with sellotape or a paper sticker. Line a small tray or baking sheet with parchment paper. Coat the inside of the acetate cylinder with chocolate. Don’t worry too much if it’s not perfect. Because you will add a second layer after the first layer is set. Place the chocolate coated acetate cylinders onto the baking parchment lined tray and refrigerate for 5 minutes.

Once set, peel the cylinders off the parchment paper and add another thin layer of chocolate to the sides of the cylinder if you can see any parts that are too thinly coated.

Whip the cream until it is soft peak stage. Add in crushed blueberries and raspberries (I squish them between my fingers) But keep back a few blueberries and raspberries for decorating the tops. Then add chopped strawberries, size is up to you. Again keeping back two strawberries for decorating.

Decorate the puddings with the berries you saved for decorating and use individual petals and small flowers and mint leaves. If you cannot get hold of edible flowers from your green grocer, use whatever you can find in the garden and ask your guest to remove them before eating. Just before serving, use a sharp knife to slice the sellotape or stocked holding the acetate and peel it off to reveal your beautifully shiny chocolate cup!