Wrap A Cake In Chocolate

Decorating By milosmami Updated 1 Feb 2009 , 6:08am by beenzee

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milosmami Posted 30 Oct 2006 , 6:03pm
post #1 of 18

how do you wrap a cake(6 " round) in chocolate??I tried once , with acetate, pouring chocolate over it, then wrapping the acetate around the cake.
OF course, the chocolate wasnt tempered so it fell off.
is there a step by step method that someone could explain to me???

THANKS

17 replies
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KHalstead Posted 30 Oct 2006 , 6:10pm
post #2 of 18

you pretty much have it.........get tempered choc. and do just like you said........allow the choc. to set up some it should still be pliable but not drippy hope that makes sense!

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ShirleyW Posted 30 Oct 2006 , 6:39pm
post #3 of 18

The chocolate doesn't have to be tempered, you can add 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil to 1 pound of melted chocolate for shine and it also makes it a bit more elastic when spreading. Just ice your cake as usual, smooth the sides as much as possible. Buy clear acetate from a plastics or art supply, it comes in different thicknesses. You will have to actually feel it to decide if it is what you want, it should be pliable, not stiff, but also not so thin that it wobbles in your hands. Cut the acetate to the height and length you want, I usually make mine a tiny bit taller than the iced cake.. and about 1/4" longer than the circumference. Bend back that extra 1/4" and when you get the entire strip in place, fold that bent section over the last of the acetate to seal it. It makes it easier to remove when it's chilled completely. Lay the acetate out flat on a counter top or table, spread the melted chocolate evenly, thick enough that you can't see through it, but not so thick that it is globbly or has spatula lines in it. Lift by the top corner edges from both ends at the same time, you will leave fingerprints but those can be covered later. Get the bottom edge of the acetate in as close as possible to the bottom on the cake, rest the acetate on the cake board. Begin raising the strip of acetate towards the top of the cake to attach, continue around the cake. People have a tendency to want to smooth the outside of the acetate with their hands once it is in place, if you do that the finished chocolate will be wavy. After it is attached you can run your finger along the top of the strip to neaten and remove any excess chocolate. Touch up the finger marks left on the corners where you lifted the strip. refrigerate for about 10 minutes and using that bent end, carefully peel away the acetate from the chocolate. It's very pretty to make chocolate curls or ruffles to fill in the top of the cake.
LL

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Samsgranny Posted 30 Oct 2006 , 6:48pm
post #4 of 18

Thanks so much for the directions, your cake looks so elegant!

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milosmami Posted 30 Oct 2006 , 6:53pm
post #5 of 18

I think my acetate was TOO wobbly last time!! it was extrememly wavy.
so if the chocolate doesnt have to be tempered, I can use any type of melted chocolate??

also, do you mean working from the bottom to the top??and how to you "close" the edge???

I taped mine, but again, I realize that my acetate was too wobbly. I bought it from a cake decorating supply store, is there a thicker kind at teh hardware store???

thanks.

LOVE the pic!!!!!!!!!!

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cakesbykitty Posted 30 Oct 2006 , 7:02pm
post #6 of 18

i haven't heard of this... love it!!!!!!!!!!

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ShirleyW Posted 30 Oct 2006 , 7:05pm
post #7 of 18
Quote:
Originally Posted by milosmami

I think my acetate was TOO wobbly last time!! it was extrememly wavy.
so if the chocolate doesnt have to be tempered, I can use any type of melted chocolate??

also, do you mean working from the bottom to the top??and how to you "close" the edge???

I taped mine, but again, I realize that my acetate was too wobbly. I bought it from a cake decorating supply store, is there a thicker kind at teh hardware store???

thanks.

LOVE the pic!!!!!!!!!!




Thanks, I used good quality tempered chocolate for this cake because I wanted to make the chocolate ruffles as well and they work best with tempered chocolate. But yes, you can use something like Guittard chocolate chips and add vegetable oil to the melted chocolate instead of tempering, or you could use melted cocoa butter but it is expensive and not always available locally. Okay, on getting the strip attached to the cake. You are holding the chocolate coated strip in both hands (index finger and thumb) you are going to tilt the strip towards you a bit from the top towards your chest, that makes the bottom edge of the strip in further than the top now, right? Move that tilted strip in toward the cake so the bottom of the strip is in as close as you can get to the bottom edge of the cake where it meets the cake board. Now touch the bottom of the tilted strip to the cake board as close in to the cake as you can get. Now you will tilt the strip up so it is now sitting level and touch it to the cake icing, as you move your two arms around to the back of the cake, attach the plain end of the strip to the back of the iced cake, over lap the extra 1/4" that you have creased or bent back and touch it to the plain end of the strip. Does that make better sense? Sometimes it is easier for me to show someone how to do something rather than explaining it.
I buy my plastic acetate in sheets at a local plastic store called Tap Plastics but it is also available at art supply shops. I am not sure about hardware stores, maybe, but I doubt they would have different thicknesses. If the acetate is too thick or stiff it will pop away from the cake when you attach it, if it is too thin it will wobble and you won't get a perfectly smooth wrap.
Here is a photo of a little 6" cake I did in white chocolate with chocolate curls. That is a strip of white satin ribboin at the bottom of the chocolate wrap. If you look at the top edge of the wrap in the photo you can get an idea of how thick the chocolate should be spread.
LL

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StephW Posted 30 Oct 2006 , 7:15pm
post #8 of 18

I have a dumb question... but I have never seen or heard this method before. Does the chocolate stay soft, or does it start crumbling and breaking up when the cake is sliced?

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ShirleyW Posted 30 Oct 2006 , 7:26pm
post #9 of 18

The chocolate will be cold and set from chilling in the refrigerator and it will shatter some when you cut it, I always run a sharp knife under really hot water, dry it off and then cut. It kind of melts the chocolate as you slice the blade from top to bottom and makes it a little easier to cut.

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milosmami Posted 30 Oct 2006 , 7:59pm
post #10 of 18

BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!
thanks so much.
I also Just realized that my cake was frozen when I wrapped it. which made it set SUPER fast.
I was reading your explanation of "wrapping" the cake and I started to think of it as diapering a baby.
I think i got it, I may do a test run or two before I actually can say I know for certain how to do it.

THANK you soooooooo much.

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CakePhun Posted 30 Oct 2006 , 8:14pm
post #11 of 18

Great "how -to" ShirleyW. Thank you so much for the stellar info!

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KHalstead Posted 30 Oct 2006 , 8:19pm
post #12 of 18

so Shirley........you don't wait for the chocolate to set up at all?? I'm so scared to do it immediately! However your cake looks beyond gorgeous so I'll have to try it again your way!

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ShirleyW Posted 30 Oct 2006 , 8:23pm
post #13 of 18

Your quite welcome, if you have any problems with it, pm me.

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ShirleyW Posted 30 Oct 2006 , 8:25pm
post #14 of 18
Quote:
Originally Posted by KHalstead

so Shirley........you don't wait for the chocolate to set up at all?? I'm so scared to do it immediately! However your cake looks beyond gorgeous so I'll have to try it again your way!




No. I don't let the chocolate set up before wrapping. If you do that you take a chance of it's having set harder in some areas than others and it may crack as you wrap or as it chills.

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gypsycake Posted 30 Oct 2006 , 9:45pm
post #15 of 18

they look beautiful. Great job!!!!

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yellowdog Posted 30 Oct 2006 , 10:00pm
post #16 of 18

Ok, dumb question but as I understand you are just wrapping the sides of the cake with this method and not draping it over the top too, right?

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ShirleyW Posted 30 Oct 2006 , 10:20pm
post #17 of 18

Right, just the sides, not a dumb question either. They are wrapped with a chocolate band, thus the name chocolate wrap. The top is just the buttercream iced cake.

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beenzee Posted 1 Feb 2009 , 6:08am
post #18 of 18

gotta try this

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