Figure 19-3: You can simply fill one half of a mold to make a hollow chocolate in Visual Studio .NET

Encoder QR in Visual Studio .NET Figure 19-3: You can simply fill one half of a mold to make a hollow chocolate

The process of making two halves and putting them together requires a bit of handling and fusing the two pieces to form a two-dimensional piece When

you purchase a mold for this type of molding, you usually have two pieces: a front and a back of whatever you re molding Once you feel comfortable making hollow molds using the previous method, you may want to try your hand at making two halves and putting them together to form a hollow mold To join the two molded halves, I recommend having two halves of a paired mold that s about 6 inches tall, a sheetrock trowel to scrape, and a 12-inch disposable piping bag When you re ready to go, follow these instructions: 1 Temper about 8 ounces of chocolate using one of the methods I describe in 14 and spoon it into half of the mold Fill the half completely, and allow the chocolate to completely coat the inside of the mold Then tap the mold on the counter lightly to remove air bubbles Be sure to get a good coating 2 Pour the chocolate out of the mold; a lining of chocolate will cling to the plastic Scrape the flat side of the mold to clean the excess chocolate from the mold and place in the refrigerator Allow the chocolate to set for 10 to 15 minutes Repeat this process with the other half of the mold The thickness of the coating may vary, but you will learn after doing this process once or twice 3 Remove the molds from the refrigerator To connect the halves, apply a thin line of tempered chocolate along the edge of one molded half with the half still in the mold You can apply this thin line of chocolate using a small parchment piping bag 4 Carefully attach the other molded half to the piece with the wet chocolate seal, being sure to align the pieces well Place a couple of clips on the mold to hold the halves in place Return the mold to the refrigerator for 5 minutes 5 Take the mold out of the refrigerator, and remove the chocolate piece from the mold Carefully place the chocolate on a piece of wax paper and examine the seam for flaws If you note any unsightly buildup on the seam, hold the molded piece in your gloved hand and trim off the excess with a sharp knife To add some fun to this type of molding, you can make a couple of dozen small solid molded pieces in advance Place a few of these pieces inside the hollow mold before you seal it This additional step provides a hidden treasure for the child (or adult) who enjoys the larger molded chocolate

Shell molding has really come into vogue in recent years, and I have seen tremendous growth in my own business in this type of molding In shell molding, you fill chocolate shells, usually with ganache (a very rich truffle center

made with cream and chocolate; see 18) With shell molding, the chocolatier can add detail to a small piece of chocolate, so you can make pieces that look as professional as many of the expensive chocolates you find in the finest chocolate shops Shell molding is also an excellent way to use softer, more liquid centers, such as caramel, which allows you to make a molded chocolate piece with a delicious caramel center Molds for shell molding are usually plastic molds with 18 to 24 cavities, although other cavity counts are available The best shell molds are from Europe, quite often from Belgium, and are heavy polycarbonate molds that are about 1 inch thick Such molds are commercial grade and are identical to the molds that professionals use Finding these molds at a bakery-supply company may not be easy; you can find some of these molds at the suppliers listed in 24 But you don t have to have the $20 to $25 molds to make shells In fact, you re more likely to find smaller, flat molds, and these are suitable for at-home candy making Before you attempt shell molding, check out 14 about tempering chocolate and 18 about producing truffle centers and piping After you ve absorbed that knowledge, this type of molding will be a lot of fun for you All you need are some molds and a scraper (See Figure 19-4 for additional details on the shell-molding process) Another reason for you to like shell molding is that you don t have to make the truffle centers when you make the shells; you make the shells and leave them in the molds until you need them But you do need a place to store the shells at room temperature until you need them Preferably, you will have an area that isn t too warm, such as a baker s rack in the coolest part of the kitchen If you need to store the shells for an extended period, cover them with wax paper to keep dust out Remember, you can keep chocolate for months at room temperature To make molded shells filled with ganache, follow these steps: 1 Temper the chocolate using one of the methods I describe in 14 About 112 pounds of chocolate should be enough to fill three 24-cavity molds that are about 1 inch in diameter (Truffle recipes specify the amount of tempered chocolate to use, of course) 2 Lay out a couple of feet of wax paper and, using a spoon, completely fill all the cavities of one mold and scrape the excess chocolate off with the scraper You may put the excess chocolate back into the bowl Tap the mold on the counter to knock out as many air bubbles as possible Don t worry you ll always have a few bubbles left 3 Turn the mold upside down over the bowl of tempered chocolate and pour the chocolate back into the bowl Scrape the flat back of the mold with a wide scraper like a sheetrock trowel to remove the excess chocolate Because of the viscosity, the chocolate leaves a coating on the