How to Mold Chocolates

You can use molded chocolates to make cake toppers, graduation presents or even chocolate roses for Mother’s Day.

Because the finished product is so pretty, people think that molding chocolates is extremely difficult, but it doesn’t have to be.  I’ve done multipart chocolate molds which snap together; those are difficult.  But basic chocolate molds aren’t.  All you do is:

• Select your mold
• Measure your chocolate
• Melt your chocolate
• Pour your chocolate into the mold
• Tap out air bubbles
• Wait for the chocolate to harden
• Remove from mold

Select the mold that you want to use. 

Estimate the amount of chocolate needed to fill the mold. I always try to over estimate; it’s better to have a little too much chocolate than too little chocolate.  I like to use Ghirardelli Chocolate Dark Chocolate Candy Making & Dipping Wafers.  Ghirardelli’s candy making chocolate used to be large chocolate bars, they were difficult to break and measure accurately.  The new wafers are much easier to use.

I melt the chocolate in a small microwave safe bowl. If you overheat chocolate in the microwave, the chocolate will change consistency and will not be good. So you need to warm it just a little.  After you’ve microwaved the chocolate, remove the bowl from the microwave and stir any melted or soft chocolate. Then heat it just a little again.  Here’s what I do.  I warm the chocolate for 45 seconds and then I stir any soft or melted chocolate.  After that I switch to heating the chocolate for 15 seconds and then stirring the chocolate. Repeat this cycle until most of the chocolate is melted.  By stirring, you should be able to melt the last little bit of chocolate without heating it again. If the chocolate looks dull after it dries, it has been overheated.

Pour the chocolate into a chocolate mold. Make sure to tap the mold on the table several times to knock out any air bubbles in the chocolate. Keep tapping on the table until you do not see any more bubbles coming to the top.

Make sure the mold stays level while the chocolate is hardening. For molds that are unlevel, I sometimes place balled up paper towels under a part of the mold to keep it level. Let it sit in the refrigerator for twenty to forty minutes. Do not let white chocolate sit for much longer or it will tend to break.

To remove the chocolate from the mold, turn the mold over and bang it gently on the table until all of the chocolates fall out. If the chocolates refuse to fall out, they may need to harden in the refrigerator longer. If so, return the mold to the refrigerator and try again in twenty minutes. Use cloth gloves or paper towels to handle the chocolate so that you do not get fingerprints on the chocolate.