Making professional looking chocolate at home is not as difficult as many people believe. With as many of you who are searching my blog for ‘how to bake chocolate in molds’ I thought I’d spend this afternoon addressing this question with a step by step of a how to! So prepare to be amazed at how easy molding your own chocolate can be!
Step One : Purchase molding chocolate, this is sold in blocks or small disks and is usually available at craft and baking stores. Molding chocolate is NOT the same as baking chocolate and using baking chocolate will result in a disaster.
Step Two : Purchase your chocolate mold, these are usually clear plastic molds and come in a wide variety of styles. Take a look at Amazon.com if you are looking for ideas. Chocolate molds are generally cheap and can be purchased for under $3 each.
Step Three : Using a double boiler, melt your chocolate. Double boilers can be purchased from your local crafts store, Walmart or from Amazon.com. Milk chocolate and white chocolate should be melted to 113 degrees and cooled to 82 degrees to be properly tempered. Dark chocolate should be melted to 113 degrees and cooled to 88 degrees to be properly tempered.
Step Four : Using a brush, coat the inside of your chocolate molds with the tempered chocolate evenly. Place your mold in the freezer for five minutes in order to cool the chocolate coating.
Step Five : Brush on another layer of chocolate in to the mold and freeze the mold again as you did in the previous step. You may have to do this step a few more times to ensure a chocolate shell inside the mold without any holes or thin spots.
Step Six : If you want a “center” to your chocolate this is when you will place your nuts, fruits, creams and ganaches inside the chocolate shell. Fill the rest of the mold with chocolate until they are filled to the top and then place your mold back in to the freezer. It will take at least three hours to harden your chocolates but you can leave the mold for longer if they don’t feel ‘set.’
Step Seven : Remove the chocolates from the mold by turning the mold upside down and gently dropping them out. If chocolates get stuck gently tap the mold until the chocolates are freed.
Making chocolate covered strawberries is not only a fun activity to do as a family or as a couple but it is also a quick but fancy treat that is sure to impress dinner and party guests. Many people ask how to make chocolate covered strawberries after they have tried to do it alone and the resulting product resembles a five year old’s art project. The truth is that there are a few little tricks that make making perfect chocolate covered strawberries much easier!
Firstly, in order to make good chocolate covered strawberries you need to gather your ingredients. You will need:
Fresh strawberries – the best place to get professional looking strawberries is a Whole Foods market, Fresh Market or the Farmers Market. Look for bright strawberries as they are harder in texture with fewer soft spots, this makes them easier to cover with chocolate as well as more visually pleasing.
Two tablespoons of shortening or butter – this is going to be mixed with the chocolate to thin it out and create a slightly softer chocolate shell once the berries are finished and cooled.
A box of toothpicks – these are used to dry the chocolate covered berries without leaving flat surfaces on one side of the berry.
A piece of styrofoam – this is where the toothpicks will rest while the berries dry, you can pick a piece up from any craft store for a fair price.
12 oz good quality semi-sweet or dark chocolate – DO NOT USE MILK CHOCOLATE OR CANDY BARS. It is best to use chocolate chips or chocolate disks as they melt more uniformly creating a smoother chocolate coating.
Step 1 - Carefully rinse and individually dry your berries. You can efficiently wash the berries by wetting a paper towel and holding each end rolling the berries one at a time on the towel. Pat the berries dry without damaging the surface. Strawberry skin is VERY sensitive and can be damaged by touch alone. You can choose to leave leaves and stalks on your berries but it is recommended to at least leave the green cap on top of each berry. Discard any bruised berries.
Step 2 -Insert a toothpick gently in to the top of each berry making sure not to pierce all the way through.
Step 3 - Place your chocolate and shortening/butter in to a double boiler and slowly melt the two together. Stir the two to ensure a smooth and consistent chocolate mixture.
Step 4 -Turn off the double boiler, chocolate burns quickly once it has melted but be sure to work quickly because as the chocolate cools it will begin to harden. If your chocolate begins to harden slowly warm it up again in the double boiler.
Step 5 – Take a berry by the toothpick and carefully dip in to the chocolate mixture. Twirl the berry while it is in the chocolate to make sure all nooks and crevices are covered.
Step 6 - Pull the berry out of the chocolate and twirl again to reduce excess chocolate and prevent dripping.
Step 7 – If you want to add other decorations like sprinkles, coconut etc do it now by either dipping your berry or hand sprinkling the decoration on the berry. If you are looking to do white chocolate drizzles you will need to wait for the chocolate shell to harden before drizzling.
Step 8 – Put the end of the toothpick in to the styrofoam to allow the berry to dry.
Step 9 – Allow the chocolate shell to cool to room temperature.
Step 10 – Once the chocolate shell has begun to set if you plan on decorating with white chocolate drizzle or tuxedo decoration this is the time to do it.
Step 11 - Cover the room temperature berries with plastic and place in the refrigerator. The plastic cover will help to lessen any sweating that the berries may do while in the refrigerator.
Step 12 – Serve the berries!
Making professional looking chocolate at home is not as difficult as many people believe. With as many of you who are searching my blog for ‘how to bake chocolate in molds’ I thought I’d spend this afternoon addressing this question with a step by step of a how to! So prepare to be amazed at how easy molding your own chocolate can be!
