Hi sweet friends!
Since
my Craftsy class launched I have been hit with so much excitement and questions regarding modeling chocolate!! I love that it's changing the way you decorate your cakes!! I've loved it for many years, so it's been great fun for me to share it with you!!
Lauren Kitchens also did a Craftsy class on modeling chocolate. Click
HERE for 25% off that class!
Because of all this excitement and all the questions, I felt the need to do a post on it! That way it's all in one place and you can use this post for reference if you need to! I'm going to organize it like a Q&A so it's simple and easy to find answers to your puzzling questions! :)
What is Modeling Chocolate?
What I use is actually referred to as "Candy Clay" since it's not made with chocolate! :) I mainly use
Wilton candy melts to make my "modeling chocolate". The reason is because they come in a great variety of color and I don't have to mess with kneading in color or coloring them unless I need to adjust the shade, saturation or tint of them. You can also use real chocolate to make modeling chocolate..which gives you a cream color (from white chips), a light brown (from milk chocolate) or a dark brown (from dark chocolate). Then, you'll have to add color to get the final color you need for your decorations.
Modeling chocolate is basically a chocolate play-doh...and OH so tasty and easy to work with!! Modeling chocolate cuts like a DREAM, doesn't stretch, bend or tear like fondant and WILL give you cleaner more precise looking cakes. It only takes a few minutes to make (compared to home made fondant which takes me about 20 and leaves the kitchen A MESS). So, it's my preferred decoration medium and I use it all the time!!
The method to make candy clay and real modeling chocolate (made with real chocolate) is the same...the ingredients change a bit. You use only two ingredients...chocolate (or candy melts) and light corn syrup (or glucose if you can't get corn syrup in your area).
How do I make modeling chocolate?
There are two versions due to the type of chocolate you use.
To make modeling chocolate with candy melts, here's the recipe I use:
Two ingredients:
10oz of candy melts
+
1.5oz of corn syrup for dark colored melts (or if you're in a warmer zone)
OR
2oz of corn syrup for light colored melts (or cooler zones).
NOTE:
The ounces of corn syrup above are by weight!! If you want to figure out how much corn syrup you need per cup, then remember that one cup of corn syrup weighs 11.5oz.
To make modeling chocolate using real chocolate, then use his recipe:
1/2 cup of corn syrup (5.6oz)
+
1 lb of chocolate (any kind)
Method to make them:
Whichever chocolate you use, the method is the same.
For a video to help you make real modeling chocolate, see
HERE. Remember to change the quantities if you're using candy melts.
*If you work in grams, then use
THIS website for conversions. You still use the same multipliers! :)
IMPORTANT NOTES on the method:
1. This is super important!! When making modeling chocolate make sure you DO NOT over work it. After you add your corn syrup, you only want to mix 20 strokes at the most!! If you mix it past that, you run the risk of breaking it and turning it into an oily mess. When that happens, you can trap that wax/oil within pockets of the modeling chocolate and you'll get little bits in there that are near impossible to work out.
2. I do things a little differently than Lauren in that video above. I pour out the seized chocolate onto a piece of plastic wrap and I flatten it down to about 1/2" thick. I dab it once with a paper towel to press out any "wax pockets" then leave it sit for about an hour. It will set up firm, but not hard. After an hour to an hour and a half I trim off any wax around the edges and start to knead it together nicely to work in any trapped wax before it cools completely and gets rock hard. After I work it to a smooth consistency, I wrap it and let it sit overnight before using it (or at least 6 hours).
See how it's still a little swirly...it still turns out beautiful!! - DON'T overmix! :)
I used a 14oz bag. Also notice how dark it gets when you make it. It does darken from the regular melts when you mix it...FYI! :)
All done! Nice and smooth and ready to store away!
What if I want to make a smaller/larger batch of candy clay?
If you have a candy melt bag that is 12oz or 14oz or you just want to make a small batch, then use a multiplier for how much corn syrup per ounce of melts you need.
For dark colors (or a warmer zone) use .15oz of corn syrup per ounce of melts
For lighter colors (or a cooler zone) use .21oz of corn syrup per ounce of melts
What if I want to make a smaller/larger batch of modeling chocolate?
If you want to make more or less than 1lb of modeling chocolate than you need to use a .35 multiplier for chocolate to corn syrup. So, take the ounces of melted chocolate you have, and multiply it by .35 to get how many ounces (by weight) of corn syrup you need to add.
Note: If you work in grams, then use
THIS website for conversions. You still use the same multipliers! :)
HELP! - I'm getting small bits in my modeling chocolate!
You get these because you've over worked your chocolate when you're making it. By over mixing, you are creating little pockets that trap in the wax from the candy melts and that wax sets hard and impossible to get out. When you are stirring the corn syrup and chocolate together, don't mix more than 20 strokes and leave it. Pour it out onto a piece of plastic wrap and I flatten
it down to about 1/2" thick. I dab it once with a paper towel to press
out any "wax pockets" then leave it sit for about an hour. It will set
up firm, but not hard...you want it to leave a finger impression if you press on it (but not hard). After an hour to an hour and a half I trim off
any wax around the edges and start to knead it together nicely to work
in any trapped wax before it cools completely and gets rock hard. If I feel any bits, I can work them out by pressing them against the counter with the palm of my hand. After
I work it to a smooth consistency, I wrap it and let it sit overnight
before using it (or at least 6 hours).
HELP! - When I knead my modeling chocolate it's really crumbly and falls apart!
If after you've left your modeling chocolate to rest overnight (after you've made it and done the initial kneading then wrapped it up) and it's real crumbly, keep kneadng it and warming it up as best you can. I've found that some chocolate wafers (like the white Merkens) sometimes are real crumbly...and I still haven't figured out why. If it's still crumbly or just grainy, grab some fondant that is about half the size of your modeling chocolate (up to the same size as your modeling chocolate) and knead that in. It will smooth it out beautifully and allow you to roll it out with a smooth surface. It will change the consistency a bit and won't set up super hard after doing that...but it will save your modeling chocolate and still work beautifully for cake decorations. When you roll it out on your work surface, use a little cornstarch, or for smaller decorations you can roll it out on wax paper. Then, let it sit 10 min. or so, then cut out your shapes. Letting it sit for a bit will help the chocolate to firm up the medium a bit and you'll get beautiful cuts!!
If you are trying to use it for flowers or figurines, you can knead in some gumpaste to it instead of fondant. That will help it set up pretty firm and be a lot more stable! :)
How do I color it!?
There are two ways to color your modeling chocolate.
Option #1: If you are going to color a whole batch, say turning a dark chocolate modeling chocolate to black, you can add several (5-8) drops of Americolor (or Wilton) black gel to the corn syrup BEFORE you mix it into the melted chocolate. Then, mix it up and add the coloring/corn syrup into the melted chocolate and Voila! - black modeling chocolate (or pink, or red, or green...or whatever color you want!)
Option #2: Knead in the color just like you would knead it into fondant...after you make the modeling chocolate and let it sit up, add a few drops of color and work it all together until the color is uniform throughout.
You can use basic gel colors in both situations.
Can I use modeling chocolate in hot climates?
Modeling chocolate is made of chocolate...so, it's sensitive to heat!! :) If you are concerned about the heat melting your decorations, then make sure to use gumpaste. It's fine to use modeling chocolate on the side of a cake in warmer climates, but don't try to use it for figures or flowers...they will droop. In hot climates, I might not use it at all. You really need to play with it. I live in Oregon (USA) which is a very cool climate with little humidity...so, I haven't been able to test the limits on how hot of an environment it will work in!
Can I mix it with other mediums?
YES! Modeling chocolate is AMAZINGLY friendly with other mediums like fondant, gumpaste and even Tylose powder. I mix it with my fondant if I need to roll it extra thin or need it a little more elastic. There's no set percentage on mixing...it just depends what I'm using it for.
I use straight modeling chocolate for most all my decorations. But, I will add 10% fondant to get a real thin medium (modeling chocolate can crack the thinner you roll it because the thinner it gets the colder it gets and the firmness of it will create cracks) or to tint my modeling chocolate a lighter shade. Since I don't have white modeling chocolate on hand very often, I'll just use white fondant.
Also, if you need it to be slightly more stable (say you're working on a flower), you can mix it with gumpaste or even add Tylose powder to it. The reason I would use a little modeling chocolate in my gumpaste is because it makes it taste much better and keeps it from getting ROCK hard...and to me inedible.
If I'm paneling a cake (instead of draping) I'll use up to 70% modeling chocolate because I can warm up the seams and basically make them disappear with the warmth of my fingers. You can also add it to fondant you'll use to drape a cake, but not more than 10-15% because again, as it gets thinner, it firms up and you lose elasticity...something that's important when covering a cake.
How do I store it?
After you knead it and bring it all together in a smooth medium, I wrap it up in plastic wrap and keep it at room temperature for several months. If I know I won't need it for longer than a few weeks, I keep it in the freezer. I take it out and bring it back to room temp before kneading and rolling it out.
Can I paint on it?
Yes and no! :) You can't use water based colors (like Americolor or Wilton gels) very well on them...it just beads up. However, the more fondant that's mixed with the modeling chocolate, the better it becomes and the less beading you'll notice. So, if you're going to want to paint something, perhaps mix fondant with it.
You can use dry dusts or dusts mixed with vodka on modeling chocolate. It works beautifully. In fact, I think the gold/silver luster finishes look better on modeling chocolate than on fondant because modeling chocolate is so smooth and the finish on the metallic is therefore nice and smooth!!
Edible pens can work too...the best are
Americolor Gourmet Writer. I've used Wilton and they don't work as well...again, they bead up a bit. It is slightly difficult to write on modeling chocolate as the pen can get hung up on the soft chocolate...but if you use a soft hand and keep the pen flat/at an angle, it works!!
I think that's it!! :) If you have any other questions or something I
miss, please leave a comment and I'll add it up above!! I hope that
clears up any mysteries and helps you all make modeling chocolate a bit
easier next time!! It will change the way you decorate your cakes!! :)
OH, and remember my Craftsy Class is always 50% off right
HERE! I make it during the class and show you how to use it to decorate four beautiful cakes! :)
To see a post on what this class is all about, click
HERE.
Blessings!
