My Chocolate Fantasy

Kathryn Beach asked:


Chocolate candy molds can lend your homemade confections a festive, distinctive, unique and professional air, so why not try them? They’re also inexpensive and easy to use, if you follow a few tips.

You may not be aware of the great variety of molds available. There are molds for:

Special events: birthday, graduation, wedding, anniversary, babies, bazaars, etc.

Holidays: New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, etc.

Themes: movies, animals, flowers and fruit, jobs (business cards!), letters and numbers, organizations, patriotism, nautical, seasonal, sports, religious, zodiac, greeting cards, international, landmarks, music, military, transportation, western, etc.

Tips for buying molds:

Look for strong plastic with deep intricate designs, you’ll be surprised at the difference in results from more detailed molds. If you buy molds for hard candy, they’ll be strong enough for anything. Dishwasher-proof is not necessary, you’ll read why later.

Tips for using molds:

Fill each mold slowly with a squeeze bottle, spoon, or by pouring chocolate from a measuring cup. Paintbrushes can be used for candies with layers of different colors, just let each layer chill and firm before applying the next.

Use a palate knife or spatula to scrape off any excess chocolate into a clean bowl. This chocolate can be gently warmed and reused.

To remove bubbles from the molded candy, you can hold both sides of the chocolate candy mold firmly in two hands and tap it gently on your table or counter.

To remove the candy from the mold, turn it upside down over a cloth or sheet of waxed paper and either gently tap it on the table or kitchen counter, or invert the entire mold and twist it very gently to release the chocolates.

Chocolates can be quick chilled, in order to remove them quickly from the mold and make way for more candy production. To do this, place them in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes, until there is condensation or frost evenly on the bottom of your mold. Then you can take them out of the freezer, remove them from the mold as above, and let them finish cooling at room temperature.

Tips for cleaning molds:

The molds should never be washed because it is easy to leave soap residue that affects the flavor of the chocolates. Once the remnants of chocolate in the mold have completely cooled, the chocolate will flake off by wiping with a soft, dry cotton cloth (polyester will leave tiny fibers on the plastic). A light film of cocoa butter will remain which is polished with the cotton cloth, making your next batch of chocolates even shinier than the previous batch.

Linda Wilson asked:


Making candy can be a really fun activity.  And the results are so worth the effort.  Whether for a special occasion or just for the pleasure of it, turning out your own candy is very rewarding.  Here is a great recipe for chocolate candy–my favorite!  These delicious Mint Chocolate Truffles are from a recipe I found years ago in a Cooking Light magazine.

MINT CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

1/3 cup semisweet mint-chocolate chips

4-oz Neufchatel cheese, softened

16-oz pkg powdered sugar, sifted

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar

2 tbsp semisweet mint-chocolate chips

Place the 1/3 cup mint-chocolate chips in a microwave safe medium to large bowl.  Microwave on high for 1 minute or until the chips are almost melted.  Stir until smooth.  Set aside to cool.

When chocolate is cooled, add the Neufchatel cheese and beat at medium speed of an electric mixer until smooth.  Add the powdered sugar to the mixture and beat until well blended.  Press the mixture into a 6-inch square on heavy-duty plastic wrap and cover with additional plastic wrap.  Chill at least one hour.  Remove the top sheet of plastic wrap and cut truffle into 48 squares.  Roll each square into a small ball and place on waxed paper.  Roll half the balls in the unsweetened cocoa and the other half in the powdered sugar.  Place the 2 tablespoons of the mint-chocolate chips into a heavy zip-top plastic bag.  Microwave on high 1 minute or until the chips are softened.  Knead the bag until the chips are smooth.  Make a tiny snip in one bottom corner of the bag.  Drizzle chocolate over the balls that have been rolled in cocoa.  Serve at room temperature.

Note:  I got this recipe from a 1999 Cooking Light magazine.

Enjoy!

Kathryn Beach asked:


Our mothers feed us once, then again and again, and forever we experience comfort whenever a woman close to our hearts cooks for us.

So let’s show our mothers how much we appreciate them by returning the favor. Chocolate roses are romantic, sweet, and gorgeous. Dads and kids, put on your aprons!

Chocolate Clay Ingredients

10 ounces semisweet chocolate (coarsely chopped chunks or chips)

1/3 cup light corn syrup

Melt the chocolate in a small bowl over hot water, stirring occasionally. The correct method for doing this is to boil the water, take it off the heat, then put the bowl with the chocolate on top. If the chocolate cools and thickens too much, return the pot of water to the stove over low heat.

Stir the corn syrup into the chocolate, mixing well and scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula. Fold the syrup into the chocolate until you can no longer see the syrup and the mixture thickens into a ball. Using wax paper or plastic, pour and spread the mixture with the spatula until 1/2inch thick. For about two hours, let it sit and thicken uncovered at room temperature. Now it’s ready for making your roses.

Chocolate Roses Instructions

Knead a handful of chocolate clay at a time on a counter or cutting board until it is soft and pliable like regular clay.

Roll the chocolate dough into twelve 1/2-inch diameter balls (for each full-size rose) and put them on waxed paper about 1 inch apart. Press each ball with your fingertips until it is a flat disk about the size of a quarter. Make the bottom thicker than the top.

Roll one disk into a cone to make the center of the rosebud, being sure to roll the thinner edge into the top of the cone. Wrap the next disk around the opening of the tepee and the third disk at the back of the tepee – this is the rose bud. Now continue adding one disk at a time as individual petals, gently curling the top edge slightly downward. You can leave some roses as rosebuds, then make various sizes, making them larger by adding more petals. If there is excess chocolate at the bottom of your roses, pinch it off with your fingers to make more balls.

For a day or two, let the roses harden at room temperature, then package them in airtight containers and store in a cool, dry place. To retain the best chocolate flavor, it is best not to store them in the refrigerator.

You can get fancy for Mothers Day if you like by using white chocolate and experimenting with adding food coloring. Or, decorate your chocolate roses by painting them with melted white chocolate.

Tulips are fun too, and are really pretty made with white chocolate and then painted.

To make larger roses, start with larger chocolate balls.

Audrey Okaneko asked:


I think all of us have eaten chocolate covered fruit. It is one of the most wonderful taste combinations, chocolate and strawberries, or chocolate and pineapple.

Making chocolate covered fruit is not only simple but also very elegant looking when preparing desserts for guests.

The simplest way to make chocolate covered fruit is to buy chocolate chips and melt them down. I buy both brown chocolate and white chocolate. I’ll buy either chips or bars and then melt them over a very low fire.

All fruit must be dry before dipping. If you wash the fruit, make sure to paper towel off the water, so that when you dip, the fruit is dry.

I line a cookie sheet with waxed paper and after dipping transfer the fruit to the waxed paper. I then chill in the refrigerator.

Mix and match strawberries, pineapple wedges, maraschino cherries, apples and pears. I’ve also dipped dried food to add to the platter I’m making. If you don’t use white chocolate, try using marshmallows, and dipping half of the marshmallow in chocolate, so that you have a lot of white showing on your platter.

I’ve seen beautiful skewers with mandarin oranges used as spacers. Dip your fruit in chocolate and put the orange slices, un-dipped in the middle of your dipped fruit.

Try dipping strawberries or maraschino cherries and adding them to the top of pudding or ice cream for a very pretty visual look.

Make or buy a pound cake. Cut the pound cake into squares. Dip half of the square in chocolate and mix on the platter with your dipped fruit.

When you use fruits such as strawberries and pineapple you are able to have green on your dessert platter also.

Are you feeling brave? Once you dip the fruit, try sprinkling coconut or chopped nuts over the chocolate. If kids will be eating the fruit, try sprinkling M&M’s or Reeses Pieces over the fruit. 

It’s fun to arrange dessert platters with assorted fruits, some in white chocolate, some in milk chocolate, some with nuts on them, and some with coconut on them. Experiment and enjoy a delicious yet very simple dessert.