The art of creating candies and confections has always eluded me. I do love fine chocolate, but I could never solve the mystery of tempering. The result: Anything I dipped in chocolate ended up sporting unsightly blotches.

Based on past experience, I was unprepared for what transpired when I wandered into Durig Chocolatier in Lausanne. I expected to come of the shop, located on a corner near the Grancy Metro station, bearing an assortment of fine Swiss chocolates. I did not expect to commit to a return visit the following day to learn how to make my own chocolates.

This friendly little shop adjoins the inner sanctum of Master Chocolatier Dan Durig where the artisan and his staff create sweet delicacies from certified organic and fair-trade chocolate. When I learned Durig offers classes suited to even the most inexperienced candy-maker, I couldn’t resist the temptation that included an opportunity to create my own signature fillings and coatings.

Durig offers two different classes. One focuses on creating molded chocolate figurines. (Let your imagination soar beyond chocolate Easter bunnies to monkeys, cats and crocodiles with details painted in white chocolate. The other class teaches would-be chocolatiers like myself to create bon-bons drawing inspiration from the shop’s wide selection of spices, fruit, caramels and nuts.

Both classes take students on a tasting journey “from bean to praline” with an introduction to different techniques and time to taste some of Durig’s most exotic creations. And if these behind-the-scenes peeks at chocolate-making aren’t sweet enough, lessons come with a 10 percent discount for purchases in the adjacent shop.