I want to send homemade chocolates to my family this winter, over a long cold distance. They need to travel from Ontario to Nova Scotia. From past experience the quickest way to get stuff to my hometown is by train (which takes 2 days), and the chocolates will undergo multiple temperature changes, back and forth from room temperature to freezing several times.
I am worried about how this will affect the chocolates. If they bloom I'll be mad, but if they melt I'll be sad.
Do you have any advice?
I'm planning to make 6 varieties:
dark chocolate with sweet raspberry filling
semi-sweet chocolate with orange cream filling
semi-sweet chocolate with caramel filling (unsure if liquid or firm would be best)
semi-sweet chocolate with either soft peppermint filling, or just peppermint flavour
semi-sweet chocolate with peanut butter filling
milk chocolate without filling
Each chocolate box has a tray with 9 compartments to keep them separated. All of the boxes will be packed into one big cardboard box, which will have a buffer of bubble wrap. But I'm worried about the temperature changes.
I've read that tempered chocolate should not melt at room temperature, and the fillings should reach room temperature before you add them, to prevent expanding and leakage later. (My tempering skills are so-so.)
My plan is to have all the chocolates made and packed about 2-3 days before I plan to ship them, but once I take them outside, they'll be in the cold winter air for a little while, then a hot and humid subway, then a warm train station, the baggage check area, and then onto the cold cargo hold of the train before finally going back inside once they arrive.
