Does anyone have any recipes and suggested uses for modeling chocolate? I was wondering if there were instances where it would be better to use than gum paste or fondant for decorations.

The basic recipe I use is 1/3 cup corn syrup to 14 ounces (one bag) candy melts.

You can use it to cover cakes and make decorations.

This is a cake I covered with candy clay:

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1149927


The only problem I really have with candy clay is hiding it from my husband, he says it tastes like tootsie rolls.

I made this exact recipie and i had a problem with the clay cracking and being a little bit crumbly also... Should i add more syrup to it? Do u warm yours up by the heat of your hands or some other way? and it hardens up pretty quick, how the heck did u get it to cover the cake?? oh and this stuff tastes super gooood!!!

I knead it before use to soften it.

I would think that adding more syrup would make the clay softer but I have never had a problem with it so I haven't tried it.

It doesn't harden up any quicker than fondant so I've never had an issue.

Well i wonder what the heck im doing wrong!!!!!!!

It is kind of finicky to work with. When you are making it does it get all watery?? You have to make sure it all gets mixed back in. What I did today that worked well was to just let it sit for a while. It will start to firm up and just keep stirring it occaisionally until the watery stuff is mixed in....I even picked it up and kneaded it a little. The mixture seems a lot smoother than my last batch!

Never had the watery problem, i let it sit for a day before i used it and it went hard as a rock!!! I was worried right away that i screwed up.. i got my hubby to warm it up in his hand (covered well in seran) it took about 10 min then i was able to start working with it but only a little at a time (my hands are always freezing) so maybe thats one reason why i have a hard time with it? But when i mix it at the begining it turns very crumbly once the syrup hits the melted chocolate... so maybe i have to warm up the syrup also before i mix the 2 together?

boy do i love this stuff too.. i really wanna find a way to do it correctly so i can always use it!

If it's getting crumbly right away how hot is your candy? Candy is really touchy about heat, if it's starting to scorch it might turn crumbly. I don't know for sure because I've never burnt candy I've been melting for clay.

It should start to seperate when you add the corn syrup and be really soft until it cools.

Another thought would be the size of your bags of candy. I believe tha the brand they sell at Hobby Lobby is a bigger bag than standard Wilton so you would have to weigh out the 14 ounces instead of melting the whole bag.

well theres my problem!!! i melted the candy choclate stuff in the microwave and obiously made it way too hot. That totally explaines it. I didnt realize that it was so senative, i thought it was just some chocolate that was easier to melt then the rest. How do you melt yours and what is a good temp to bring it to? I dont have anything to check the temp with so i guess illhave to buy something for that too and stop using the microwave! Do u have any suggestions? Thaks soooo much for the help!!!

You don't need to actually check temperature but you do need to melt it slowly. In the microwave I melt it on half power 30-45 seconds at a time and stir in between. Candy can be melted and still hold it's shape so stirring is important to make sure you don't overheat it.

Candy melts are easier to deal with not because they don't burn at roughly the same temperature as real chocolate but because they don't require tempering.

I use Michele Foster's recipe for Chocolate Leather here on CC. Once I found that recipe I never did the corn syrup one again. I've covered whole cakes in it, even a competition cake for the OSSAS (first place in its category). Maybe you can give it a try next time?

Deanna

If your chocolate gets to hot, or if any water gets in it it will seize up like concrete! This also goes for adding color of flavors, they must be oil based or glycerin (no water). I find it very difficult to melt chocolate properly in the microwave. Should be done in short 15 to 30 second times at 50% power. I prefer an electic skillet with a little water. Just set the chocolate in glass cups to melt at about 200 degrees (more or less depends on your skillet). Just don not drip any water in teh cups!

Mbelgard is right about the almond bark. Sometimes I use that, sometimes I use candy melts, just whatever I have on hand that I need to use up. I think the candy melts work a tiny little bit better. I figured out that it's a good idea to use national-brand marshmallow creme. I tried the Walmart store brand marshmallow creme and didn't like it because it was pretty soft right out of the jar. HTH.

Deanna

Well...hopefully it's the 7 oz jar because I bought one and I'm trying it right now I'm making both recipes side by side to compare. I needed a double batch anyway so I figured I'd try it...

Sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you!!

In her cookbook, she says one cup each of confectioner's coating and marshmallow creme. I weigh out 8 ounces of coating and measure the cup of mm creme.

Deanna

That's okay!!...I know how easy it to lose track of threads! I should be good then on the amount. It didn't seem like too much oil came out when I was kneading it. I also tried kneading out the oil on the corn syrup batch and a lot more liquid came out. We'll see tommorrow...hopefully I didn't screw it up! I can see how the stretchy marshmallows would help give the chocolate more stretch.

Is confectioner's coating the almond bark??

Yep. If you have a bag of candy melts, you can use those. You can even use real chocolate if you want to.

Deanna

Cool...thanks.