Tag: chocolate

Multi Colored Chocolate Lace Wrap (Solid)

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chocolate-multi-colored-lace2

Here’s a step by step video on creating a solid multi-colored chocolate lace wrap with a floral design. Julia M. Usher created this video, and in it uses untempered couverture chocolate.

The video is below. But first, here are some handy tips if you are wanting to create lace wraps using untempered chocolate for your next project:

  • Use acetate rather than parchment paper. Acetate will give a shine to untempered chocolate; parchment will give it a dull look.
  • When choosing acetate, use the thinner sheets over the thicker ones. The thinner ones pull away from the chocolate lace much easier.
  • Any guidelines marked with a marker should be on the opposite side of the piping side (mark then flip over). This will avoid any transfer of marker onto the chocolate.
  • The length should be the cake diameter x Pi (3.14), adding an extra couple of inches to make up for the chocolate bulk and to ensure you have enough of the length to fully cover the cake.
  • Use untempered couverture, and quality brands of chocolate at that. Tempered chocolate will set up too fast as you are piping it and may be hard by the time you are done or even during piping.
  • The untempered chocolate should be melted slowly. Melting it too fast may make the chocolate seize.
  • The outline colors with any dark chocolate should be done first.
  • Start with darker colors in the project and work to light. That way, if you have leftover darker colors, you can mix in plain white chocolate to create the lighter colors so no waste and no having to create multiple extra shades.
  • If the chocolate isn’t flowing as smooth, add in a few flakes of Paramount crystals or cocoa butter to help loosen the chocolate to make it flow smoothly.
  • The chocolate lace wrap should be interconnected in some form when you create it so it is a continuous design and nothing falls out as you wrap it.
  • Partially set up the wrap in the fridge so it holds its shape. Too soon and the melted chocolate (untempered) may run. Too much chilling and it will be difficult to wrap.
  • Then anchor the end where you want the back to be, aligning to the bottom of the cake. Press it slightly and gently to the cake to secure. If there is any overhang along the top, piping a border will help stick the lace to the cake and help prevent it from coming off.
  • Place back in the fridge until the chocolate sets up. Final setting time – as long as it takes to set up the chocolate fully and the acetate pulls off easily.
  • Carefully remove the acetate beginning with the overhang section. Score any extra chocolate pieces off with a hot knife – just to the spot where it meets to prevent any gaps.
  • Finish up with any extra accents or beads on the outside with chocolate, optional, and the cake is ready to serve.

 

Chocolate and Cocoa Recipes by Miss Parloa, And Home Made Candy Recipes By Mrs. Janet McKenzie Hill

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Following suit with a review of The True History of Chocolate on the Pastry Sampler blog, I’d thought I’d talk about Chocolate and Cocoa Recipes for Old School Pastry, a little chocolate cookbook published in 1909 by Miss Parloa. It included Home Made Candy Recipes by Mrs. Janet McKenzie Hill.

Chocolate and Cocoa Recipes was more of an advertising manual rather than a cookbook as it was sponsored and created by Walter Baker & Company, a popular chocolate manufacturer back then, and written by a noted foodie of the time, Maria Parloa who was a cooking teacher. Parloa authored ten different cookbooks between the 1870’s to the early 1900’s. All the recipes were formulated to use that chocolate or to incorporate the brand name in the recipe.

Parloa’s chocolate book contains a little essay on chocolate and in it contains a couple of paragraphs of why Baker’s chocolate products are the best. She also adds quotes from Baron von Liebig, Brillat-Savarin, and others. In the Recipes part of the book, there are many recipes from drinks to breads, cakes to confections. There is a section by Miss Elizabeth Kevill Burr, who was also a cooking teacher and cookbook author, and one by Miss M. E. Robinson (which also included many recipes by assorted cooks). The Home Made Candies section was dedicated solely to recipes by Mrs. Janet McKenzie Hill, who founded the Boston Cooking School Magazine, and authored many cookbooks herself.

Chocolate and Cocoa Recipes contains a good cross section of what was prepared back then for both beverages and foods that were savory and sweet. Color images are included for some of the recipes, and advertising for the different chocolate products is sprinkled throughout.

Book Information:

  • Chocolate and Cocoa Recipes by Miss Parloa, and Home Made Candy Recipes by Mrs. Janet McKenzie Hill
  • Walter Baker & Co., Ltd.; 1909

How to Make White Chocolate Feathers

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How to Make Chocolate Feathers via Ann Reardon's How to Cook That

How to Make Chocolate Feathers via Ann Reardon’s How to Cook That

Chocolate feathers! Great video tutorial on making white chocolate feathers. This video comes by way of ‘How to Cook That’ by Ann Reardon. Decorate cakes or dessert platters with the finished feathers.

Steps to Make the Chocolate Feathers

  1. Lay a silicone sheet on your work surface, and top that with a sheet of parchment paper.
  2. Temper your white chocolate. Place it in a disposable piping bag.
  3. Pipe thick lines on the parchment paper, following the basic shape of your feather – looking at a finished feather is helpful to ensure it bends or arcs naturally, or has a natural shape.
  4. Place another sheet of parchment over the top, and press down with your fingers to make the chocolate flat and even. Peel off as soon as you are done pressing, don’t wait for it to harden. Save the top layer for more feathers later (see step 7).
  5. Begin shaping the feather by cutting away parts you want out and creating the feathered edges using a wooden skewer.
  6. Finish the feather by piping the final line down the middle, offsetting slightly.
  7. The top sheet you peeled off will have hardened by now. Using a skewer and a small knife, away parts you don’t want and scratch the surface as you did in step five to create detailing on the feather. Pipe the center line when you are done.
  8. Finish the feather by coloring it. Use oil based colors, powdered colors, or luster dust to color.