Molded Chocolate (not to be confused with moldy chocolate!), or chocolate from molds (moulds), has been around for a long time.
Most chocolate molds are made of either metal or plastic. They can be flat, to shape chocolate like a candy bar, or three dimensional, to shape like an Easter bunny.
If you are a beginner at working with chocolate, start with a flat plastic mold with small cavities of simple shapes. You can buy these at craft stores or baking/candy supply stores or online at a number of candy-making supply websites.
Here are some tips for molding chocolate…
Temper your chocolate.
Pour the tempered chocolate into the mold using a tablespoon or pastry bag to fill the cavities. Fill slightly over the rim. Don’t worry about spilling a little over the top. After the mold is filled, gently tap it to level the chocolate at the top. Carefully drop the mold on the counter or table several times. This will remove air bubbles that are trapped in the chocolate.
Scrape excess chocolate off using a spatula. Sometimes I use a clean plastic ruler (the same kind children use in school) as a straight edge to remove the excess chocolate.
It is best to cool your chocolate at 65-70° F in a room with good air
circulation and low relative humidity (50% or less).
Release the chocolate from the mold. The chocolate will contract or pull away from the edges when it is ready to be popped out. Reverse the mold over a flat, clean surface and press firmly on the sides of the mold with your fingers or tap lightly on the counter. The chocolates should just fall out. If they don’t, let the mold cool for a few more minutes and try again.
Scharffen Berger Chocolate manufacturer was founded in 1996 by wine manufacturer John Scharffenberger and physician Robert Steinberg with one simple goal: to make the finest chocolates possible using traditional methods and the most flavorful, natural ingredients. Their goal – to highlight the true flavor of cacao instead of masking it with sugar and other flavors.
The first American company founded in the past 50 years to make chocolate from “bean to bar”, Scharffen Berger primarily produces chocolate bars, using small-batch processing and focusing on dark chocolate varieties with high cocoa solid content.
In 1997 they made the first batch in the South San Francisco factory using vintage European equipment and basic ingredients including Venezuelan criollo beans and whole Tahitian vanilla. Today, Scharffen Berger produces a wide selection of products and makes about a half million pounds (200 tonnes) of chocolate a year.
Scharffen Berger moved to its permanent home, a 27,000-square-foot, 1906 vintage-brick warehouse in Berkeley, California, in 2001.
The Hershey Company, the largest confectionary conglomerate in North America, announced in July of 2005, it had purchased Scharffen Berger Chocolate manufacturer, Inc.
