How long does modeling chocolate take to dry

Stop tossing. Would I cover a traditional round cake with mod choc? No, prolly not, though it can be done. Fondant just seems to work better for that type of application. Well, not concerning THIS anyway. Can NOT do that with fondant.

But modeling chocolate? I might even have a special bag of that kind. The point? It helps keep elephant skin and over stretching at bay, once again. Models can be made ahead of time just like gum paste and will keep for months if stored correctly.

Once made let them harden right off and store in a cardboard box in a very cool place but not in the fridge because of condensation. I find this medium easier to work with, however a degree of speed is required because it does melt while being handled.

White chocolate paste softens and melts much more quickly than dark because it is mainly coco butter so keep icing sugar handy while working with all of it. Over a long period of time models can crack but of course the beauty of chocolate models is that they can be eaten so probably won't hang around long enough to deteriorate.

Thank you MIWL for the great advice. Can't wait to try it. I've bought some of the Squires to have a go with x. I'm glad you've mentioned Squires. It was their modelling chocolate team who advised not to store in the fridge.

I have to say my home made modelling chocolate stores well in the fridge so it must be something to do with the manufacturing process although they didn't elaborate why it shouldn't be refrigerated. I would hazzard a guess that it has something to do with the chocolate blooming. Have fun playing, I love it! Paul does not normally make models from chocolate paste. He may have a couple on the site but I can't remember which they are. He does however make roses as seen in earlier tutorials like the rose wedding cake.

Almost all the figurines which he makes are fondant or gumpate based. He makes most of his figures directly on to the cake. After the face is sculpted I can then add the face to a bust cake. Modeling chocolate is also really great to model figures with, make chocolate flowers, bows or pretty much any type of decoration. Some people even use it to panel cakes. This is the modeling chocolate recipe I have been using for years.

Candy melts are basically fool-proof chocolate. I melt down my candy melts in the microwave. I start with 1 minute and then go in 30 second increments stirring in between. After my candy melts are melted, I warm up my corn syrup for 15 seconds. Just to make it a little bit easier to pour out of the container.

The secret to making perfect modeling chocolate is not to over-stir. You want to mix until all your corn syrup is incorporated and there are no wet streaks but stop as soon as it starts to seize up and look like soft serve ice cream.

If you keep stirring expecting it to get harder, the opposite will happen. This is the cocoa butter. The best thing to do in this instance is stop mixing, let thing cool down and slowly incorporate it all back together.

You might have to physically smoosh some bits of cocoa butter in the end to get it smooth. This is the secret to getting the perfect modeling chocolate every time. I flatten my mixture down so it sets fairly evenly. You can put it in the fridge to make it set faster or let it sit on the counter. I usually let it set for even longer to firm up before using. Something to remember. For this recipe I am using roughly a ratio which is four times as much chocolate as corn syrup.

This results in a fairly sturdy modeling chocolate which I prefer for most projects. You will have to adjust your ratio depending on the type of chocolate you are using. Candy Melts — — 16 oz chocolate — 3. Believe it or not there is no special food coloring required to color modeling chocolate. I like to use artisan accents food coloring because it is highly concentrated or you can use regular gel food colors like americolor.

Most of my modeling chocolate ends up skin colored. To make skin color I like the ivory food color from americolor. Sometimes I add in some warm brown if I want the skin to be a bit darker. Of course the color combination it up to your preference. So a lot of people struggle with modeling chocolate at first because they want to use it like you use fondant. It is very sensitive to the heat of your hands.

For most of my bust cakes , I use modeling chocolate over a solid chocolate skull mold to make the face as anatomically correct as possible. The chocolate works much like clay and allows me to get really realistic results like in my squid contessa timelapse.