Posted: June 18, 2013

Author: Susanna Magruder

If you have ever visited a Swiss bakery - bäckerei, boulangerie, patisserie - you are well-versed in the variety of products. The Swiss specialize in whole grain bread, far from the traditional French Baguette, and some boulangeries will produce upwards of 30 different varieties of bread per day. In addition to the breads, there is always a mouth-watering array of sweets; chocolate mousse cakes, fresh fruit tarts, and of course the chocolate. Bäckerei Fuchs in Zermatt is 2nd generation run, and home of the chocolate "Materhörnli"

During the slow month of May, we had the opportunity to create these little chocolate mountains and live out the dream of 2 little girls from Florida. Bäckerei owner Phillip Fuchs offered a special atelier in the basement of their main shop in Zermatt. The first step is to fill the molds with a thin layer of white chocolate, to create the the snow-capped peak, followed by a full coating of the finest dark Maracaibo chocolate. While the chocolate cools, we mix the filling: cocoa butter, chocolate, butter and nougat. The filling is fitted into a piping bag and squeezed into the now firm Matterhorn chocolate molds - as you can imagine this process can get quite messy for us less experienced truffle makers. The foot of the mountain is sealed with another layer of chocolate and then chilled until firm, and voila!