Making and keep chocolate art takes a lot of preparation — from sculpting your masterpiece to finding the best chocolate display case manufacturers, attention to detail is key. Here are a few tips for creating gorgeous chocolate artwork.
Temper Your Chocolate
First and foremost, your chocolate needs to be stable, and that means it needs to be tempered. When you temper chocolate, you help realign the unstable molecules in the cocoa, which prevents it from melting at room temperature. This will help prevent your chocolate structures from melting, falling over, or breaking. Remember: only couverture chocolate made with real cocoa butter can be tempered and stabilized, so chocolate made with soy lecithin or other added fats are not ideal for large scale projects.
Keep Stability in Mind
If you’re making especially large, heavy, or intricately detailed chocolate art, you need to make your piece stable enough to support itself. Foundation pieces should ideally be thicker and sturdier, and the thickness of your pieces should gradually lessen as you build higher. Also, give your melted chocolate plenty of time to cool and harden in between additions!
Experiment with Other Ingredients
While chocolate is the showstopper in your work, accenting with other ingredients is a great way to incorporate contrast and interest in your designs. Melted sugar or caramel can produce glassy discs, hair-thin strands, and even bubbles, while dried meringues make for a beautiful contrast against darker chocolate. Nuts are always a fantastic addition, as they can be used for a variety of accents and have no risk of melting.
Chocolate art is a form of expression all its own, providing you with the means to sculpt and create unbelievable works of art. Keep these tips in mind for your next chocolate project to ensure that your creation is truly the best it can be!