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Making Sculpting Chocolate
Instructions

By Bob Sherman

Most of us have seen sculpted chocolate at one time or another, but on doing some research about it I found little information about making it is available. Although there have been a fair amount of photos showing chocolate sculptures published, information about the actual chocolate used is scarce. This article is the result of several months of experimentation.

PLEASE NOTE!! - Although chocolate making is relatively safe for the entire family to participate, adult supervision is required.

Types Of Chocolate Sculpture
Chocolate sculptures break down into basically three types. I have mentioned them here for sake of completeness, but will only be showing one type in this article.

Clay Style Sculptures - This is the simplest type and is what this article is about. The materials needed are easily obtained, and the skills are easily learned.
Molded Style Sculptures - This is basically just adhering molded chocolate parts together to make something larger, so I will not go into it here as most chocolate makers know how to do this.
Carved Style Sculptures - This form of sculpture can be spectacular if done well. This is basically using carving tools to carve blocks of chocolate - much like wood carving. It requires a big investment in tools and a fair amount of carving skill so I won't go into details about this style.

Chocolate
My preferred brand is Merckens and that is what this recipe is designed for. if you are using a different brand, you may need to adjust the amount of corn syrup used. Mercken's works well with all chocolate projects, is available in a wide selection of colors, and tastes great.

Colors
For best results, use colored chocolate. If you need a different color, a custom color blending chart is available here if needed. Sometimes powdered food color is handy for intensifying the colors.

Melting Chocolate
Either melting method may be used, but I find the best results are obtained with a medium sized heat resistant bowl heated atop a pot. This is essentially the double boiler method, but using a bowl in place of a pot on top. I find the rounded sides of the bowl makes it easier to stir in the syrup.

Double Boiler - See Double Boiler Usage Instructions.

Microwave - A microwave may also be used but care must be taken not to overheat the chocolate.

Place the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl.
Heat for 30 seconds.
Remove and stir.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 until the chocolate is creamy.
Optimum pouring temperature is about 90 degrees F. Do not place the thermometer in the microwave!

Recipe
After months of experimenting, I would love to say this is a really complex recipe that should only be tried by experts, but it is about as simple as it gets.

Merckens Coatings - 4 ounces.
Light Corn Syrup - 1 ounce.

Chocolate Making Supplies And Materials

The following chocolate making supplies and other materials were used to make this project. Clicking on the item name will bring you to that item's page with a full description and ordering information.

Mercken's Chocolate Coating
Powdered Food Color - Optional
Light Corn Syrup
Heat Resistant bowl
Plastic Bag - I prefer zip style bags for convenience, but any will work

Step By Step Instructions

Step 1
Melt the chocolate. Once fully melted, stir in powdered food color if desired.

Step 2
Pour in the light corn syrup.

Step 3
Stir well.

Step 4
After sitting for a few minutes, the mix appears to separate into a solid and a liquid.

Step 5
Cover the bowl with a paper towel and allow to cool until the solids absorb the liquid. This takes several hours.

Step 6
Knead into a roll and place in a plastic bag. Allow it to age overnight and it is ready for sculpting.

Related Instructions

Support Free Projects
You can help ensure the continued availability and production of free chocolate projects by telling your friends about them. The more popular they are the more we can produce so tell your friends, mention them on message boards, link to them from your web site, etc... More information is available here.

Disclaimer: The information presented here is accurate to the best of my knowledge and common chocolate making practices as of the time of this writing - December 2007. The author and the publisher accept no liability for the use or misuse of any of the information presented in this article. This article is presented for informational purposes and is used at your own risk.

Author: Bob Sherman

Publisher: Bobby's Craft Boutique Inc.

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Making Sculpting Chocolate Instructions

Chocolate Making Supplies And Materials

Step By Step Instructions

Making Sculpting Chocolate
Instructions