Dont Know What I Was Thinking..love Chocolate Transfers Now!
Decorating By springlakecake Updated 27 Nov 2009 , 4:16am by mrsmudrash
I use chocolate transfers ALL THE TIME! Any cake that requires lettering...it's a transfer.
I use candy melts and I still get the white film on it sometimes. Could it be the wax paper? Am I getting it too hot?
Yet another thing i cant wait to try! This way I can print out exactly what i want in some cutesy, fun font and not end up having to redo a whole word or phrase the i goof directly on the cake!!!
I'm thinkin.... between these, the MMF, the duff roses... I might just need to make a big practice sheet cake LOL! I'm sure the BF wouldn't mind! So much to learn, so little time!
How do you do the fine details such as eyes, mouth, and nose. I was trying to do a CT of the Disney Princesses and the fine details just don't come out good. Can anyone help?
I use parchment triangles. Since you can close them really tightly you can do very fine work with them. You can just snip off the very tip of the bag if needed. Otherwise you can try toothpicks. It does take practice. What I usually do though is do the most difficult part of the CT first, so if I screw up, I dont have as much to do over!
Forgive me for not reading through the 13 pages of posts to find the answer to my question.
Can I use died almond bark instead of chocolate?
I think it is pretty much the same thing as candy melts, if I'm not mistaken
LittleKaren.. Your ct is awesome!! I havent tried one yet.. Can anyone tell me ....if the cake is going to sit out ..does it matter how long the ct sits on the cake ??? Or should it be added as late as possible?? sorry if this is already answered !! Thanks ...
You can leave it on the cake. If it gets hot it will melt, otherwise it should be okay
I've been having a lot of fun with CT's lately. Most of the time, when I'm doing one on top of a cake, I do two transfers, mirror images, and stick them both together. What I don't like about this is that the back of my transfers aren't usually smooth so when you stick two together there's a gap between them. Even though I adhere them with more melted chocolate, it's obvious that it's two pieces stuck together.
So, I did a wild horse cake for a birthday party that we hosted for one of the students at our stable. It wasn't a "paid" cake per se, but as most of my cakes are for friends and family, it was definitely more of a "customer" cake and I wanted it to be perfect. I made the horse for the top of the cake. I made it pretty thick. When it was completely hard, I piped one more layer of white chocolate onto the back and stuck my acetate on top as it hardened. When I peeled the acetate off, it was perfectly smooth and so shiny! It was perfect. So on cakes where I have two that I sandwich together, they'll have perfectly flat surfaces to stick together and on cakes where I just have a one-sided transfer but it's on top of the cake, the back will be perfectly smooth and shiny. Makes such a difference! I used to just try to smooth out the chocolate with a toothpick on the back but it was never totally smooth before.
Here are some of my latest CT's - I've been adding more dimension by overpiping on the front and it made a huge difference on my Captain Hook and on the palm trees and coconut drink on my tropical transfers.
This is by far my favorite cake technique!
One more question, I would like to try a CT and I want to do ghost cookies for Halloween. Figure I can't mess up a CT ghost that much. LOL. How would I attach it to the cookie?? 
Do I need cover my cookie in RI or something and then attach my CT? I'm drawing a blank as to how to do this.
Any help or tips would be great!
Thanks!
One more question, I would like to try a CT and I want to do ghost cookies for Halloween. Figure I can't mess up a CT ghost that much. LOL. How would I attach it to the cookie??
Do I need cover my cookie in RI or something and then attach my CT? I'm drawing a blank as to how to do this.Any help or tips would be great!
Thanks!
You could use royal, but it would be just as easy to use more melted chocolate to adhere it. If the CT is the same size as the cookie, just cover the cookie with the same color melted chocolate and then stick the transfer on top.
I have covered cookies with MMF straight out of the oven, then once cool spread melted chocolate on top to stick my transfer on and it worked like a charm. In that case, I used MMF because the transfer wasn't as large as the cookie. (see picture)
As far as acetate goes, I thought you could get it at craft stores or scrapbooking stores. I just bought a pack of those clear plastic sheets that you use to protect paper in a binder ( the kind with three holes punched on the side and you slip the paper in) and it works like a charm. In a pinch, you could even use a ziplock baggie. Chocolate will take on the texture of what it's on so on dull waxed paper, you get a duller finish. On acetate, you get the same shiny finish.
I love your chocolate Pooh Bear. I've been doing some work with chocolate as well and was wondering if you had any problems with the chocolate becoming too soft at room temperature? I made a small white chocolate oval for a cake last night and the chocolate seemed to soften after a few minutes at room temperature. I had a similar problem a few months ago when I made a really cute puzzle for the top of my uncle's birthday cake. I used the chocolate melts from Hobby Lobby. Do you think I need to leave it in the refrigerator longer? I know I left the puzzle in the refrigerator for a least 30 minutes or more.
Thanks for all your tips!
I haven't had the problem of it being too soft - I don't even refrigerate mine most of the time. The only "soft" issue I have is if I handle it too long as my hands seem to immediately start melting the chocolate.
What kind of problems do you have? Is it too soft to peel off of the paper?
hmmm that is strange. I havent had any problems with it softening. Are you adding anything to the candy melts? I usually only refrigerate for a couple of minutes to speed up the hardening stage (just because I am impatient). 30 minutes is surely sufficient. Are you touching it a lot? Setting it next to a hot stove?
ckkerber,
My chocolate peels off easily from the waxed paper, but seems to soften too easily. Do you use the Wilton candy melts? I've been using the Hobby Lobby brand, and I know they are different.
I love your Captain Hook and Crocky. Do you leave all your cakes at room temperature to protect the chocolate decorations? Did your ponies hold up okay, or did they melt a little.
Thanks for the tip on using sheet protectors, I just bought a bunch earlier today for my cake recipes. Also, what kind of bags do you use to melt the chocolate in? I use the plastic ones. I have a book called the Whimsical Bakehouse (I think that's the name) and the author does so many creative art pieces with chocolate. She uses cellophane to get a perfectly small hole. Also she said the cellophane holds up better that the plastic bags. I don't know where to buy sheets of cellophane, except off the internet.
Thanks for all your help!!!
ckkerber,
My chocolate peels off easily from the waxed paper, but seems to soften too easily. Do you use the Wilton candy melts? I've been using the Hobby Lobby brand, and I know they are different.
I love your Captain Hook and Crocky. Do you leave all your cakes at room temperature to protect the chocolate decorations? Did your ponies hold up okay, or did they melt a little.
Thanks for the tip on using sheet protectors, I just bought a bunch earlier today for my cake recipes. Also, what kind of bags do you use to melt the chocolate in? I use the plastic ones. I have a book called the Whimsical Bakehouse (I think that's the name) and the author does so many creative art pieces with chocolate. She uses cellophane to get a perfectly small hole. Also she said the cellophane holds up better that the plastic bags. I don't know where to buy sheets of cellophane, except off the internet.
Thanks for all your help!!!
teenycakes - i have used the Wilton melts quite a bit and haven't had a problem. I've also used Merckens which I can get a cake shop nearby and those work well, too.
If I have a cake that needs to be refrigerated (because of the filling or something) I will typically put the transfers on last so about an hour or so before needing the cake, I'll take it out and add the transfers, then let it sit at room temp. I have put transfers in the refrigerator a couple of times and nothing bad has happened, but it does tend to make the CT's more brittle (which once they're on the cake, really isn't too much of an issue if you don't touch them). Are you a hot-handed person? (I am!) Maybe you've got warm hands and when you take the chocolate out, the difference between the refrigerated temp. and your hands makes the chocolate start to go soft. Handle the chocolate as little as possible. I've even gotten gloves at Michaels or Hobby Lobby that are disposable, thin, clear plastic gloves that are for working with candy. That could help, maybe.
I love the WBH book. That's what got me so hooked on these things! I always use parchment triangles when working with chocolate. I cut the triangles in half before folding because with chocolate, I rarely need such a big bag and by making it smaller, it fits in my hand better. The parchment allows you to make tiny holes and then carefully cut off the tip when you need a larger one (as Merissa pointed out). I don't like using the plastic bags with chocolate because I just don't get the same control out of the tip for some reason. But, others have had success with it.
Good luck - let me know if you discover that the brand of chocolate impacts how soft it gets!
Carol
ckkerber,
Thanks for letting me know about the gloves and the parchment bags, I'll pick up some gloves from Michaels. I just looked at the sheet protectors, and can't wait to use them. Also, do you make your chocolate decorations fairly thick? I think my hands are just too hot. I'll try to handle them less.
Thanks bushels for all your help!
I do make mine somewhat thick - I outline and do all of the fine details first, then let it set for a few minutes. Then I go back and fill in the sections, and let that harden a bit. Then I go over the whole thing with another layer of chocolate to bind it all together and make it thicker. If I'm using a skewer or toothpick to make it stand up, I'll add yet another layer to adhere that. In the end, they're not terribly thick, but definitely thick enough to handle without cracking.
Oh, and a lot of times, I make a "back up" CT because on more than one occasion, I've broken one while trying to put it on the cake. I find that the most tedious thing about the whole process is the set up (getting the chocolate melted, colored, etc . . . ) so once you've done that, making two of the same transfer so you've got a back up does not take much time at all and is DEFINITELY worth the effort.
The gloves are also good for not getting smudges and fingerprints on the chocolate when you handle it.
Good luck! Post pictures when you're done!
I would like to get into doing the chocolate transfers. but don't know where to start . please help , i need step by step instructions, ingredientsand everything.
thank you 
I would like to get into doing the chocolate transfers. but don't know where to start . please help , i need step by step instructions, ingredientsand everything.
thank you
There's a lot of info currently in this thread - another good one is:
http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-13945-chocolate.html+transfers
If you do a forum search for chocolate transfers, a lot of good threads come up.
The only ingredient you need to do it is candy melts (those chocolate disks). You melt them and pipe them.
Check the thread above and if you have any questions, we're here to help!
Carol
yes, please start from the beginning. After you have gone through this thread and looked at the tutorials (links in this thread) then let us know if there are additional questions. I think you will find all you need to know already in this thread!
Okay, I ment to go to bed an hour ago, but DARN this site!!
I read this tread from the beginning because I am going to do some choc transfers tomorrow. My one question is...
How do you keep the choc form leaking out the hole or the top of the parchment bag while it is sitting on the warming source?
The chocolate, while melted, is not like liquid. It's still got some thickness to it and it will not drip out. It takes a small bit of pressure to get it to come out. Plus, the hole in the tip is not that big, either.
I have never had it leak when sitting on the warming source so I really don't think you'll have any problem at all.
Good luck~
also I roll down the top of the parchment bag. I am a super messy, so sometimes I do have chocolate squirting out the top of the bag!
did my first choc transfer last night...
LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!!!!!
Thanks for all the tips people!! I love this website! I would have to say I much prefer using parchment triangles for this too. I found I had to use a whole one and twist the top to keep the choc from squishing out while I was using them. But I was working with a lot more choc than usual probably because I was making a lot of them for a humane society donation.
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