Writing with Chocolate

 

I'll admit, this cakenista is still learning to write...on cakes that is! So when asked to make an anniversary cake for two lovely friends I decided to find a way around this obstacle, by writing on chocolate with chocolate!  

It's easier because:

• once tempered to the right consistency chocolate squeezes out in smooth continuous strokes.  
• writing on a chocolate plaque is more forgiving.  If any mistakes are made, it's easy to just wipe off and start again.

Prior to this cake I always had issues creating chocolate plaques, curls and other decorative elements.  Nonetheless I took on the challenge and came out the victor.  I believe that the reason for the win is that I specifically used melting chocolate (opposed to Hershey, Nestle or Ghirardelli).

Here's how you can do it:

   

White Chocolate Plaque (sorry, but nothings measured)

•  Chop melting chocolate into small pieces and place in a DRY microwave safe bowl.
•  Temper chocolate in microwave by setting to 1 minute.
• At 30 secs, stop the microwave, stir chocolate pieces with DRY spoon/small spatula. At this point it will most likely be nowhere near melted so put it back in for the remaining 30secs.
• Stop, check and, stir again. If necessary put back in microwave for another minute.
• This may seem like a slow and tedious process, but it's very quick and easy to burn chocolate.
• By frequently performing the Stop/Check/Stir process you're minimizing the risk.
• Spread melted chocolate in a baking sheet and try to get it an even level. If you're working with a small amount of chocolate, you can do this in a small cake pan or try to limit the spreading to one section of the sheet.                                                        
• Refrigerate for 10-20mins till hard. Wipe a hot/wet paper towel beneath the sheet to help with release (onto parchment).
• Although you can now cut the chocolate into desired shapes, be careful and cut slowly using repeated slicing (not sawing) motions. Since it's hard any rough movement can cause it to crack.

Writing with Milk Chocolate

• Using the same method from above, melt the chocolate.
• To write you can use a piping bag and fine tip, but I used the squeeze bottle shown below because: 
• You can easily store any unused portion in the fridge and then re-temper in the same bottle when needed again.
• It has a removable tip and coupler which allows  you to use other tips as needed. 

**TIP: If at any point you need to start over, wipe off the writing and put the plaque in the fridge for about a minute.  Doing this will help prevent any melting potentially caused by the wiping off action and of course the room temperature.