Teddy Topper {Tutorial}

With Mother's Day fast approaching, I thought I'd make a tutorial for a Mother's Day appropriate cake topper. Meet Theo, a charming little Teddy with a big bunch of flowers for his amazing Mum.

This little guy is made of modelling chocolate - his body is made with milk chocolate, and I mixed in a bit of white modelling chocolate for his muzzle. His nose is dark chocolate. The eyes and flowers are made of gum paste.

If you would prefer a Thea, the addition of a pretty little gum paste bow makes it a little Teddy girl.

I have tried to include as much detail as possible in this photo tutorial, please just ask if anything is unclear. It is in 3 parts (3 separate images) - just click on the image to get a a larger view.

One thing to note: Modelling chocolate sets really hard quite quickly, so it is not necessary to have any internal support structure inside. Just after working with it it is very soft though, so let the legs, body and head set for a while, until it feels solid, before assembling, or you may find that they deform. If you find that the legs and head don't stick well to the body, you can use uncooked spaghetti to strengthen the join. I do find the edible glue strong enough, but I usually leave the figurine overnight to set, before handing.

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Have fun!

Romantic Swans Valentine Cake {Video Tutorial}

With Valentines Day next Saturday, I thought it would be fun to create a tutorial for a LOVE themed cake. I have had a number of requests to do some tutorials on working with modelling chocolate, so I chose to create a Swan Topper made of white modelling chocolate for the cake.

And since I was making the cake for my darling hubby, I went with a vanilla sponge cake with strawberries and cream filling (he doesn't like chocolate and is practically allergic to buttercream icing). And strawberries are meant to be an aphrodisiac...

I thought long and hard about my design before I finally decided I'd try making PINK ganache, leaving it exposed on the top of the cake, then creating a white lacy fondant collar around the cake, covered in hearts.

Somewhere along my thought process I suddenly decided that it was high time I produced a VIDEO tutorial of the whole process! So, here it is, my very first Video Tutorial: How to Make a Romantic Swans Valentine Cake

Here is the mat I designed for the tutorial. The size of the swans is suitable to top a 7" cake. I printed the image out on blue paper so that it would contrast with the white modelling chocolate, then laminated it so that I could work directly on it. If you prefer, you can cut the pieces out and use them as templates to cut the various wing pieces.

Click here or on the image above, to download a pdf of the Pattern Mat.

I made the Modelling Chocolate as shown in my tutorial, but used white candy melts instead of white chocolate to get a more pure white product. The black and red modelling chocolate I had left over from previous cakes.

To make the Pink Ganache, for a 7" cake:

Ingredients:

          •  600g White Chocolate (chopped)

          •  200g Cream (any cream that can be whipped)

          •  Pink food colouring

          •  White food colouring (helps neutralise the yellow colour from the chocolate)

Method:

Place chopped chocolate into a large microwave safe bowl.

Heat the cream in a pan until just before boiling. Add pink food colouring to the cream until it is about the colour you want your ganache to be. Pour it over the chocolate. 

Shake the bowl around a bit until the chocolate all settles beneath the surface of the hot cream. Leave it to sit for a few minutes.

Stir the chocolate into the cream. Keep stirring until it is nice and smooth.

If you still have a few lumps of chocolate that won't melt in, pop the whole bowl into the microwave for a few seconds at a time, stirring in between, until all the lumps are gone.

Now, if the colour is looking a bit orange, add some white food colouring and mix in well. This will bring the colour back to a pleasant pink.

Leave the ganache at room temperature to cool for a few hours, stirring it occasionally until it becomes thick enough to hold its shape, but easily spreadable.

I have previously posted a Tutorial for Milk/Plain Chocolate Ganache. The method is the same, but the ratios of Chocolate : Cream differ depending on the kind of chocolate you are using. I use the following ratios:

White Chocolate     3 : 1    Cream

Milk/Plain Chocolate    2 1/2 : 1    Cream

Dark Chocolate    2 : 1    Cream

I never make 100% Milk Chocolate Ganache because it's flavour just lacks depth.

The recipe I used for the Vanilla Sponge can be found in this post. I used HALF the recipe and split it between two 7" pans.

This is my Valentine enjoying his cake. I surprised him with it when he came home from work and he had a moment of panic, thinking he had forgotten about Valentines day! Too funny.

Happy Baking!

Modelling Chocolate {Recipe & Tutorial}

I used Modelling Chocolate for the very first time for my Medieval Dragon Cake and instantly fell in love. It is a wonderful medium to work with! I couldn't figure out how to buy it at a reasonable price in the UK, so I decided to make it myself.

Since I have been asked so many times how to make Modelling Chocolate, and since I am currently unable to bake because of my Bad Arm (I am still awaiting surgery, due any day now), I thought I would write a blog post about it.

Modelling Chocolate sets really quickly so that you don't have to wait ages between stages of modelling - it can all be done in one sitting! And if you aren't happy with something you've modelled, it's easily changed. Pieces can also be added on completely seamlessly, or you can cut bits off and smooth it over so that you'd never know. It also doesn't require much in the way of supports such as cocktail sticks (which I wouldn't recommend using anyway).

When I made the Medieval Dragon Cake (the dragon is entirely modelling chocolate over a body of cake and head and tail structure of RKT) the only non-edible parts were:

• a dowel to hold the head in position

• a few skewers to pin the tail in place around the castle, and

• a short skewer in each wing, purely used to firmly attach them to the body - the wings themselves are 100% modelling chocolate and support themselves.

Modelling chocolate is surprisingly strong and has an elastic quality that allows it to withstand a certain amount of knocks and bumps without breaking.

Medieval Dragon Cake - stands 26" tall

To make Modelling Chocolate, you will need the following:

500g White Chocolate

100g Corn Syrup (clear)

One large and one small microwave safe bowl

A silicone spatula

Plastic wrap

A hard surface to work on

Amounts of chocolate and syrup can be adjusted to however much Modelling Chocolate you wish to make, just keep the ratio of White Chocolate to Corn Syrup at 5 : 1 (in the photos I have actually used 125g chocolate and 25g syrup, but I do find the 500g as given above a better volume to work with).

I usually use cheap, store brand white chocolate and have had brilliant results, getting an affordable end product that tastes great and works well. In this tutorial I have used buttons - because they were left over from another bake. I believe candy melts can be used too, but I haven't tried them yet. They would be a great way to get pure white Modelling Chocolate, which would have been useful for the Christmas Nativity Tree I made last year, where I used fondant for all the white bits.

Before I figured out where to buy corn syrup (at my local Chinese Market), I used golden syrup, which worked fine. I find I have more success with Corn Syrup though (every now and then a batch of Modelling Chocolate flops for no apparent reason, I find that this has happened less since I have been using corn syrup, but that could just be because I have got better at making it).

Break the chocolate up into the large bowl, and melt in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring each time.

Keep going until most, but not all, of the chocolate has melted, then keep stirring, letting the heat in the chocolate melt the last few lumps, until it is all melted and is smooth.

Be very careful not to overheat the chocolate. The chocolate should now be warm to the touch, if it feels very hot, then let it cool a little.

Warm the syrup to just above body temperature, if it is too hot it will 'burn' the chocolate and your modelling chocolate will fail, rather let it cool a bit before using. If you want coloured modelling chocolate, add food colouring gel to the syrup and mix thoroughly. Colour can be added to the modelling chocolate after it is made, but it is difficult and very messy. Because modelling chocolate keeps so well and does not dry out the way fondant does, I usually make large batches of the colours I use often, as well as a set of basic colours which can then be mixed to get more colours. When a colour runs out, I just make a new big batch. This way I usually only end up making up one or two new batches of modelling chocolate for each new cake, rather than having to make up all the different colours I need every time.

Pour the warm syrup into the warm chocolate and mix through quickly until combined and starting to thicken up.

Stop mixing immediately if it starts looking as though it is going to split.

Wrap in cling film, flattened out, and leave to cool thoroughly (not in fridge) for about an hour.

Once completely cool and set it should not be sticky, if it is, leave to cool a bit longer. Knead it until it is smooth in texture and has no lumps, it may become a little bit oily feeling at this point. Don't overwork it, just make sure you get all the lumps worked out. If you find you have some persistent lumps, warm it in the microwave for a few seconds, and knead them out.

Sometimes it can be a bit crumbly, just keep working it and it will eventually come together. If it is excessively crumbly, then you may need to adjust your recipe to include a bit more syrup - not all chocolates are the same, and may need an adjustment to the ratios of chocolate to syrup. Likewise, if the Modelling Chocolate is too sticky at this stage, the amount of syrup may need to be reduced.

Now wrap in a fresh piece of cling film and leave for a few hours / overnight to set.

Your Modelling Chocolate is now ready to use!

You will find that when cool, it goes completely solid. All you have to do is knead it until it becomes soft enough to work with. If it is really hard, you can heat it for a few seconds in the microwave to soften it just slightly, then knead it. But be careful not to overheat it, just a few seconds too long can melt and burn it.

When working with the modelling chocolate, don't let it become too warm, try to touch it directly with your hands / fingers as little as possible, using tools as much as you can. If a piece you are working on begins to feel oily, stop working on it (or it may develop little tears), let it cool down completely before working on it again.

If you find you are unhappy with a piece you have modelled, you can:

• warm it up a bit with your fingers and rework it
• cut a bit off then smooth it over
• add a bit on and smooth over the seams to make them disappear.

Modelling chocolate sets very quickly, meaning you can complete an entire figurine in one sitting. It is also strong and can support itself to a certain extent, for example in the making of limbs, without the need for supports like cocktail sticks or spaghetti (as long as you get a secure join). Pieces can be joined by warming the areas to be joined slightly, then working / rubbing one piece into the other with tools; or by using a bit of melted chocolate. For small details, just warming the bit to be added, with your finger, can make it sticky enough to join. Edible glue can be used, but because the chocolate doesn't absorb the glue, the pieces will only stick once the glue has dried fully.

Modelling Chocolate Recipe

500g White Chocolate          )

100g Corn Syrup (clear)       ) or      5 parts White Chocolate : 1 part Corn Syrup

Break the chocolate up and melt in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring each time. Keep going until most, but not all, of the chocolate has melted, then keep stirring, letting the heat in the chocolate melt the last few lumps, until it is all melted and is smooth. Be very careful not to overheat the chocolate. The chocolate should now be warm to the touch, if it feels very hot, then let it cool a little.

Warm the syrup to just above body temperature, if it is too hot it will 'burn' the chocolate and your modelling chocolate will fail, rather let it cool a bit before using. If you want coloured modelling chocolate, add food colouring gel to the syrup and  mix thoroughly.

Pour the warm syrup into the warm chocolate and mix through quickly until combined and starting to thicken up. Stop mixing immediately if it starts looking as though it is going to split. Wrap in cling film, flattened out, and leave to cool thoroughly (not in fridge) for about an hour.

Once completely cool and set it should not be sticky, if it is, leave to cool a bit longer. Knead it until it is smooth in texture and has no lumps, it may become a little bit oily feeling at this point. Don't overwork it, just make sure you get all the lumps worked out. If you find you have some persistent lumps, warm it in the microwave for a few seconds, and knead them out. Now wrap in a fresh piece of cling film and leave for a few hours / overnight to set. It is now ready to use.

I hope you enjoy making and using modelling chocolate as much as I do!

Dragon atop a Castle - a Medieval Cake

I was asked to make a medieval cake for a surprise 40th birthday party. I was given completely free reign to design the cake, as long as it fit the medieval theme (to match the venue) and the budget. As soon as the word "medieval" was mentioned my mind went to dragons, I was also asked to make cupcakes with flag toppers, so I though those should be represented in the cake somehow.

So I put pencil to paper and came up with a quick sketch of a dragon perched atop a tower. The client loved it, so the work began.

For ages now I have been dying to try using modelling chocolate, but I just never seemed to get around to it, so I decided that the time had come. I bought some chocolate, made some bright red modelling chocolate (following varied online advice), and began to play. I sculpted a little red dragon in the style I wanted for the cake and was very, very pleased with the result!

Modelling chocolate is a wonderful medium! (Once I figured out how to stop it turning into an oily mess). It sets quickly, but can still be worked and changed, and it is easy to blend different parts seamlessly. It is also very structurally strong, and elastic enough that it can take reasonably hard knocks without breaking. Why did I take so long to try it?!

Next came the baking and assembly of the cake itself. The main tower of the castle is made of rich dark chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream icing, the small tower and dragon are both vanilla cream cheese pound cake (which stands up to carving very well) with vanilla buttercream and rice krispy treats. The completed cake stands just over 2 foot tall (65cm), the structure is stabilised by two large vertical dowels firmly screwed to the cake board. This worked exceptionally well, the cake arrived at the venue (a 2 hour car journey away) completely intact.

I wish I had taken more (and better) photos of the whole process!

Crumb coating and final icing was done with my trusty vanilla buttercream. The castle, and all it's details, are crafted from fondant, while the dragon is made of modelling chocolate, dusted (and painted) with gold lustre dust.

At about this point I decided to add some little figurines - a knight and a damsel in distress. These had been mentioned in the 'consultations,' but I hadn't yet included them in my vision. Looking at the nearly finished cake, it was crying out for some extra detail towards the bottom of the cake to balance the 'busy-ness' of the dragon sitting atop it.

I love how this cake turned out!

A 360º video of the finished cake: