TIPS AND TRICKS TO MAKE HOMEMADE CHOCOLATES
There are many tricks and tips for making homemade chocolates. To make your homemade chocolate experience more straightforward, I will share some tips with you.
What do you know? These are the types of tips and tricks that I wish I had had before I started my homemade chocolates adventure.
These insider secrets will give you the inside information I wish I had had before I made homemade chocolates. I want to help you avoid problems and solve any issues when making homemade chocolates.
Take my mistakes and learn from them to make homemade chocolates easier.
HAND-DIPPED Vs MOLDED CHOCOLATES
Hand-dipping chocolates can be made by placing a candy center in melted chocolate and coating it completely. Then, set aside to harden.
Molded chocolates can be made by coating a mold with melted chocolate and letting it harden before adding the chocolate center to seal it.
We hand-dipped chocolates for many years. My Aunt Deena, Ryan’s aunt, introduced me to the art of molding chocolates about 5 years ago. Her aunt also makes a large number of chocolates every year for family and friends.
We now do both hand-dipped chocolates and molded chocolates. Our edible gift, a set of candies and chocolates, looks professional and rustic by using hand-dipping and mold methods.
My experience is that hand-dipping chocolates take longer to make, but molded chocolates look better, especially if you’re new to making chocolates.
Molding chocolates can be a difficult task if you’re new to chocolate making, but it will look much prettier once you’re done.
HOW TO PREPARE CHOCOLATE MOLDS AND CARE FOR THEM:
If it isn’t taken care of properly, it could cause your next batch of chocolate to bloom. When chocolate crystals begin to change color, it is called chocolate bloom. This could be caused by moisture or water in the air, improperly tempered chocolate, or overworking chocolate as it cools. For more information on how to fix chocolate bloom, please continue reading.
After purchasing, wash the mold with mild dish soap.
Apply a thin layer of vegetable oil or canola oil to each mold indent. This is how you “season” the mold. Use a Q-tip to coat molds with sharp corners or fine details.
Each mold should be coated with chocolate. You can either fill it up or coat it, depending on how much you like. Oil residue from the seasoning will cause oil to run off the molds.
Place the chocolate-coated mold in a freezer. Wait until the chocolate is very cold and hard. The chocolate will be released easily if it is sufficiently cold.
Take the chocolate out of its mold and place it on a baking sheet or counter. Tap the mold flat-side down until the chocolate is released.
CLEANING AND CARING FOR CANDY MOLDS
PRO TIP #1 DO NOT use hot water or soap on seasoned molds. Re-season seasoned molds that have been exposed to soap and hot water. When the chocolates are chilled, the thin oil layer allows them to release quickly and retain their shine. The chocolates won’t release or gain shine if the oil layer is removed.
This information is for clear plastic candy and chocolate molds, such as these HERE.
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE
Fill each mold with 1/3 of melted, tempered chocolate. Spread the chocolate along the mold’s sides with a food-grade paintbrush.
PROTIP #2: After coating the mold with chocolate, hold it up to a lamp to see if there are any cracks in the chocolate. (Let the light shine on the bottom of the mold). You can touch up any chocolate spots that are too thin (light will show through if they’re too thin), Continue this process until you see no light. The likelihood of the center leaking out is high if this step is missed.
Place the chocolate-coated mold into the freezer for it to set. It should take between 5-10 minutes for the chocolate-coated mold to set.
Take the mold out of the freezer, tip it over, and tap on a clean surface or cookie sheet. You may find that the chocolates do not fall or they need to be gently tapped to release.
Work as fast and as cleanly as you can when coating molds. It is possible for the chocolate to become whiter as it cools. Although it tastes great, it isn’t as professional or beautiful.
We spent an entire evening trying to fix chocolate blooms in our 2020 chocolate-making. It could have been the molds or the chocolate we used. We discovered that it was the moisture outside.
Utah is where we live (we are currently in the dead winter). The humidity in the air started to settle. To speed up the process of molding the chocolates, we placed an open-sided tent on the porch. It was that tent that caused the chocolate to bloom. The moisture in the atmosphere.
We decided to go the traditional route, freezing the chocolate-filled molds in the fridge.
HAND-DIPPING CHOCOLATES:
Hand-dipping chocolates simply mean that you will coat each chocolate center individually by hand. We have used the chocolate-in-hand method and fork-with-bowl-of-chocolate method.
Before you touch food, always ensure your hands are clean and dry. Make sure your hands are dry!
CHOCOLATE-IN-HAND METHOD:
You can do this by coating your hand with chocolate and placing it in your palm. After the chocolate has been coated, you will carefully place it on a baking sheet. This process can be messy and fast. You will need to practice this technique in order to get them looking nice and not spread chocolate globs all over the place.
You may have seen the beautiful designs on top of hand-dipped chocolates in candy shops. Each flavor will usually have a different design. This can be achieved by practicing a lot. I still haven’t mastered the perfect swirl on each one of my Peppermint Patties.
FORK-WITH-BOWL-OF-CHOCOLATE METHOD:
As the title suggests, this method uses a fork to dip the center in the chocolate. Tap the chocolate to coat the center. Then, gently push the chocolate onto your cooling sheet.
This method is much less messy, but it takes a lot longer. This will give your chocolates an extremely smooth top. There won’t be any chocolate “tail” that makes a track when you drop it on the cooling sheet. The bottom of the chocolate will have the “tail”, or the area that was last in contact with the chocolate.
