How To Lessons

Melting Chocolate

• Place a saucepan of water on cooktop
• Place your double boiler with chocolate on saucepan
• Turn cooktop onto a low heat setting
  • Slowly raise heat
  • Do not start with boiling water
  • If using a gas cooktop you may have to turn the flame on and off as required for generally even the lowest setting will raise the water temperature too high over time.
     
• Bring water up to temperature
  • Correct temperature for melting is 30° - 40°c
  • If you do not have a thermometer carefully use your hand to feel the temperature.
  • Water should feel like the temperature of a nice hot bath.
  • If the water is too hot for your hand it is too hot for the chocolate.
  • If steam is rising from the water this is also an indicator of the water being too hot.
     
• Stir chocolate regularly

Melting Chocolate Trouble Shooting

1. Chocolate won't melt and/or has gone gluggy.
   • Water is too hot.
   • The chocolate has been cooked instead of just melted.
   • Throw away batch, clean double boiler and start from fresh.
      
2. Can I melt chocolate in the microwave
   • Yes, but we do not recommend it as from the second the microwave starts it is straight away cooking the chocolate.

Making Chocolates in Moulds

• Spoon melted chocolate candy into a mould
• Tap the chocolate mould gently on the table this will eliminate air bubbles and fill all corners with chocolate
• Place the mould in the freezer for 5 minutes or until the chocolate has set the chocolate will have changed from a wet melted look to an opaque frosty look. If necessary freeze for longer.
• Remove from the freezer, carefully turn mould over holding just above the bench or table, give a tap and the chocolates will fall out.
• It should never be necessary to push chocolates out or bend moulds if chocolates do not fall out they need to be frozen for a little longer.
• Refill the moulds and repeat the process for the next batch.

Flavoured Chocolates

• Try adding a few drops of Home Style flavouring oil to the melted chocolate candy, this changes the flavour to make delicious tasting chocolates.
• Don’t forget to taste prior to setting in your moulds.

Dipped Chocolates

• Use a dipping swirl to coat your favourite food in chocolate.
• Yummy ideas; crystalised ginger, dried apricots, nuts, marshmallows, jelly jubes,fresh fruit well dried.

Filled Chocolates

• A shell of chocolate must first be set around the bottom and sides of the mould to hold the filling.
• Brush the melted chocolate candy into the mould with a paint brush
• Tap immediately to release the trapped air bubbles.
• Freeze for a minute
• Then recoat and refreeze for another minute
• Fill with your favourite filling leaving sufficent room to...
• Cover the filling with chocolate.
• Tap out airbubbles.
• Refreeze for approx 5 – 10 minutes
• Unmold when ready.

Colouring

• Change the colour of the white chocolate candy by adding a little candy colouring, (a small shake a little like adding salt and pepper to your dinner)
• More colour gives a deeper shade.
• Mix colouring in well
• If the colouring does not dissolve easily you will find your white chocolate needs to be a little warmer.
• Mixing colouring powders achieves wonderful shades of different colours.
• Either make coloured chocolates Or make “painted” coloured chocolates …using a small brush and melted coloured chocolate paint into a suitable mould,
• Tap on table to remove airbubbles
• Freeze for a minute prior to spooning the contrast colour over the top,
• Freeze for 5 – 10 minutes until set.

The Home Style Chocolates range of colourings are a very concentrated oil based colour suitable for use in chocolate, cake icing, soap, candy floss etc etc.

Hollow Moulds or Easter Eggs

• Cut out, using scissors, matching parts of the moulds leaving a 2cm border round the shapes.
• Using the melted chocolate three quarters fill one half of the egg (or shape)
• Line the front and back together and join with bulldog clips
• Shake until the chocolate has covered all of both sides.
• Freeze for 10 minutes,turning frequently to ensure even thickness.
• When set, remove the bulldog clips, and carefully pull apart.

Marshmallow Easter Eggs

• Ingredients:
  • 1 Tablespoon of gelatine
  • 1 tsp of lemon juice
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • ½ a cup of hot water
  • ¼ of a cup of cold water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • 500g bag of Home Style chocolate buttons
  • Food colouring optional

• Method:
  1. Place cold water in a bowl, stir in gelatine and stand for 5 minutes.
  2. Mix hot water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
  3. Add gelatine and boil for 5 minutes.
  4. Pour mixture into large bowl
  5. Put a bit of cold water in the sink and place the bowl in the sink to cool it down quickly
  6. Add lemon, vanilla and optional food colouring and beat until thick and creamy
  7. Once beaten the marshmallow should be thick and creamy.

• Preparation:
  • Make a bed of flour in a dish and using a regular egg, push half sized indentations in the flour so as to make a mould for the marshmallow to be spooned into.
  • Spoon into flour moulds
  • Refrigerate about an hour or until the marshmallow is chilled right through
  • Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a boiling water.
  • Coat with chocolate.
  • Using a knife ice the eggs with the chocolate to act as glue to join the two pieces of marshmallow together.
  • Refrigerate until chocolate hardens.
  • Wrap in foil.

So much and fun to make and yes much better than hopping off to the shops for your eggs.

Modelling Chocolate

• Basic Recipe
  • 500gm Chocolate
  • 1/2 Cup Corn Syrup (liquid glucose)

• Method:
  • Melt the chocolate, stir in the corn syrup.
  • Mix until well combined and it forms a ball.
  • Wrap in plastic wrap (gladwrap) place in the fridge and let it become a little firm (it should be a little stiffer than playdough.)
  • If it is too firm, knead until pliable. Add a little more corn syrup if necessary.

Chocolate Leaves

Chocolate Curls

Piping Chocolate

Other Useful Products