How to Make Modeling Chocolate

Modeling Chocolate (Candy Clay)

I have started to work with modeling chocolate quite a bit recently and I'm loving the texture and workability it has.  It's great for covering rice crispy treats up with and filling in all the grooves giving you a smooth surface to work with and perfect to making modeled figures with - seams are easily blended away and it dries instantly so no down time in building up a sculptured piece.  Here are photo's of the step by step to making modeling chocolate using Wilton White Candy Melts (I know, it's not really chocolate but the candy melts works marvelously - no worrying about tempering the chocolate correctly)....

Recipe Ratio:
16 oz Candy Melts (weighed)
3 oz Light Corn Syrup (4.5 oz weighed)

Line a tray with wax paper

Measure or weigh out the ingredients
(I used about 6 oz of candy melts to a little over 1oz syrup here)

Melt the chocolate
(In the microwave in 30 sec increments stirring in between until melted) 

Add the Light Corn Syrup

Note:  Once the corn syrup is added, do not stir too much.  It should only take about 4-5 stirs around the bowl before it comes together.  I usually stir once around folding the candy melts over the corn syrup.  Wait for about 4-5 seconds and give it one more stir folding the chocolate over.  Repeat for about 1-2 more times before it all comes together and that's it.  Don't worry about completely blending it all in, you will be kneading the whole thing together later and can blend everything in then.

The corn syrup reacts with the chocolate and siezes it a little - give it time, be patient and avoid overstirring or else the cocoa butter (when using real chocolate) separates and you get a very greasy ball of modeling chocolate.

Fold #1:  Fold the Chocolate over the corn syrup going around the bowl once

Fold #2:  Wait 4-5 seconds and go around the bowl a 2nd time folding the chocolate over

Fold #4-5:  Now it's ready.  It looks and feels like thick batter or like soft dough

Scrape the bowl clean and place the modeling chocolate over a piece of wax paper

Note:  I've noticed that with using wax paper, it helps absorb any grease and dries out the modeling chocolate perfectly.

Using the spatula, spread the modeling chocolate over the wax paper.

Add another layer of wax paper over it and smooth out flat & let it sit overnight
(I throw a dish cloth over this and let it sit on the kitchen counter  to set)

Peel the wax paper off, break off small pieces and knead it all together.

Your modeling chocolate is now ready to use.  If you want to color it, you can add it now and knead it in or use colored candy melts.  I've used Chef Master, Wilton and AmeriColors to color the modeling chocolate with and they all work well.  If you work the chocolate too much, it will get really soft and melt a bit so just put it down for a minute to cool and set before working it some more.

PS - You can also do a 50/50 mix of modeling chocolate with MMF to do figures or flowers with.  The fondant makes the modeling chocolate a little bit stiffer - the possibilities are endless.

Here are some of the things I've made with modeling chocolate:

Barney, Baby Bop, BJ, Standing #1

Woody and Jessie from Toy Story

Korean Hanbok Dol Cake Topper

Kai-Lan and Yeye Cake Topper

Head Cakes:  Toothless (left), Harry Potter (middle), Pokemon Haunter (right)

Kai-Lan Figurine Workshop

This morning I held my first workshop on creating a Kai-Lan figurine using modeling chocolate and rice krispy treats (RKT).  What fun creating sugar art together with others and teaching them my technique.

The lesson plan:
1) How to make modeling chocolate
2) How to prepare and make RKT
3) How to make a Kai-Lan figurine

Adding the little details

 A modeling chocolate figurine on the left, the toy model on the right - perfect!

SugarSweet Students (the 2nd, tiny, figurine from the left is a toy used as a model)

They all did a marvelous job and 3 hours later, I had 3 happy girls each with a Kai-Lan figurine to take home and use as a cake topper...or to just eat up.

Thank you girls!

Korean Hanbok Dol Cake

A very cute cake for such a cutie, Olivia.  My cousins best friend's daughter was turning 1 and celebrating it with a traditional Korean 1st Birthday Party.  The mom asked for a figurine of her daughter, Olivia over a 6-inch cake while my cousin baked the cupcakes to go with them.  She sent me a couple pictures of Olivia's outfit, a traditional Hanbok dress and hat in silk with flowers and butterflies.

3 inch tall Hanbok Dol Figurine (modeling Chocolate)

Olivia's Hanbok Dress, close up of details on sleeve and Hanbok Hat

I made the figurine out of modeling chocolate and she stands at 3 inches tall.  Some of the details were added in MMF and some in modeling chocolate.   The flowers on her shirt and sleeves were painted in with gel colors and the skirt was dusted in red luster dust to look like silk.

I used a 6 inch popsicle stick and stuck half of it into a 6-inch cake dummy to help with getting the sizing correct then built up the dress to look like the outfit in the photo.

Making the stripes for the sides of the cake to match the ones on the sleeves

The cake was sectioned off with 3 sets of stripes that matched the ones on her sleeves.  I made the stripes separately by color attaching them side by side with a little bit of water over a flat surface.  I then cut each set of stripes down to the height of the cake and attached them to the side of the cake - repeating the pattern 3 times around.

6 inch IMBC covered cake (upside down method)

To get the tall, straight sides with IMBC (ganache or BC), I use the upside down method and you can find more info about it here:

- Baptism Cake (square and round cake covered in IMBC including more links to other posts)

In between each set of stripes, I added butterflies, vines, and flowers to match the ones on her shirt and hat.  The butterflies were made using a PME Plunger and dusted/painted with various colors of petal dust and luster dust.  The blossoms were made using various blossom cutters.  The red/white flower was made using 3 different sized scalloped circle cutters - a larger one for the back petal, 2 medium circles for the middle, and 2 small ones for the bottom that are curling over (a left petal and a right petal).  With no professional flower making knowledge, I improvised and came up with my own interpretation of the flower and painted the petals with gel colors in white and red - they matched the ones on the dress perfectly!

photo courtesy of Stacy C.

Since my cousin was baking 3 dozen cupcakes and to have them match the cake, we got together a few days before and with their help, we made just over 5 dozen butterflies and 5 dozen blossoms.  They were used to top 3 dozen cupcakes with and displayed next to the Cake...Gluten Free Banana Cake with Cream Cheese IMBC. 

Cream Cheese IMBC:  I used my basic recipe for IMBC found here (under the Music Themed 80th Birthday Cake post) but added 1/2 dram of Cream Cheese LorAnn Oil to it.  For the filling, I beat some cream cheese until light and fluffy then mixed some IMBC into it.   I got the recipe idea from Jennifer, www.fromscratchsf.wordpress.com.  She also shared some really nice tips about making SMBC that you can also apply to making IMBC - I used her method at the very end with adding the butter in with the mixer on VERY LOW and it turned out perfect and was so much faster - I'll be doing this from now on!  See links below...

- Jennifer Bratko's SMBC Recipe and tips

- Jennifer Bratko's Cream Cheese SMBC Recipe