Chocolate Box

What is better than a box with chocolate pralines? I say, a chocolate box with chocolate pralines!

I made my first chocolate box for my good friend Markéta from The Black Blondie. The original idea was to make some homemade pralines and when they were done I just continued making a box for them.
I am not a professional confectioner, just an enthusiast, therefore, I give you the instructions that worked for me.

You will need:

- 300 g of dark chocolate with high cacao content

- grated coconut

- 2 sheets A4 transparent foil, about 1 mm thick

- scissors

- pencil

- ruler

- rubber spatula

- metal spatula

- knife

Start with cutting the following rectangles from the foil:

- one square of 10 x 10 cm (bottom)

- one square of 12 x 12 cm (lid)

- two rectangles of 10 x 6 cm (shorter side)

- two rectangles of 10,6 x 6 cm (longer side)

(picture 1)

Temper the chocolate in water bath.

Place one foil sheet on a flat working surface and spread the chocolate over it leveling it with the metal spatula. The layer should be about 3 mm thick. (picture 2)

Place the foil rectangles on the chocolate. Do you see those bubbles underneath the foil? We don't want that so stroke the bubbles with the minimum pressure until they go away. Don't press too much or you will make the layer thinner. Let the chocolate sit until it starts to harden a bit. (picture 1)

Then run a knife around all the shapes and remove the chocolate from the sides. Put the chocolate back in the pot, you will use it later. (pictures 2 and 3)
Let the chocolate harden some more, if your kitchen is too hot, put the chocolate in the fridge. Before you continue, the chocolate must be completely hard again. Take it out of the fridge, carefully peel off the foil shapes and then even more carefully take the chocolate shapes off the foil sheet. Scratch the edges of the shapes with a knife to make them straight. Put the leftover chocolate in the pot and melt it again.

Place the bottom on a flat surface and place the sides around it. The shorter sides should face each other, as should the longer ones. When you work with the side, hold them only on the edges. If you touch the flat part of the pieces, your fingerprint will stay there.

Apply some melted chocolate on the bottom edge of one short side and press it on the bottom from the outside. Hold it in the right angle for a while. (picture 1)

Then repeat with the opposite (short) side. (picture 2)

Repeat with both long sides but this time apply chocolate not only to their bottom edges but also to the side edges. (picture 3)

Apply some more chocolate where the sides meet and level it with a spatula. (picture 4)

Now for the lid. Cut out a heart from the foil and place it in the center of the lid. Spread melted chocolate in thin layer all over the upside of the lid, leaving only the heart out. (picture 1)

Cover the lid in grated coconut and let the chocolate get completely hard. (picture 2)

Shake off the coconut that didn't stick and again level the edges of the lid with a knife to make them as straight as possible. (picture 3)

Done! Now make some pralines to fill the box with.