Help! Modeling Chocolate Catastrophe!

Decorating By FACSlady Updated 16 Dec 2009 , 11:49pm by FACSlady

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FACSlady Posted 14 Dec 2009 , 11:06pm
post #1 of 8

I used Wilton candy melts and my white batch came out fine, but my red batch separated into a liquidy-solidy mess. What did I do wrong and what can I do to save it?

7 replies
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Nellical Posted 15 Dec 2009 , 2:46am
post #2 of 8

The only modeling chocolate I have ever made successfully is using real chocolate, not candy melts. Whatever they put in the candy melts is probably further altered by the amounts of red coloring. Did you change the way you made it, such as stirring it too long or kneading it too soon?

You might try making the modeling chocolate out of the highest quality white chocolate you can find and color it using an oil based color like Americolor.

You could also switch over to gumpaste which is so much more forgiving. I use a 50/50 mix of Bakels and CK powdered gumpaste, made per the instructions except that I add a teaspoon of tylose powder for each cup of CK powder. (I live in Florida and the tylose really helps withstand the humidity.)

I start by making the CK mix first then I can measure the same amount of Bakels to add in. The Bakels is so nice and plastic and I would use it alone but I need the tylose for this weather which is why I do the 50/50 thing. The CK is pretty nice by itself if you can't get the Bakels, but I just like that nice soft elasticity, no gritty feel. I get it from Jester's, best price out there, and these are the best gumpastes I have ever worked with. HTH

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FACSlady Posted 15 Dec 2009 , 8:22pm
post #3 of 8

Thank you, Nellical.

The one time I used Bakel's gumpaste, it didn't dry hard. Did I just get a bad batch?

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TexasSugar Posted 15 Dec 2009 , 8:41pm
post #4 of 8

Did you let it set any??

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Nellical Posted 16 Dec 2009 , 1:29am
post #5 of 8

FACSlady,

I haven't tried using it by itself, might have to give that a try and report back. In the humidity here nothing dries hard unless it has tylose in it. In fact, if it is really muggy, I put my flowers in the convection oven at 100 degrees with the door slightly open....my oven has a drying function on it that I recently figured out would work well for drying gumpaste flowers. Haven't tried putting figures in there to dry yet.


Nel

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FACSlady Posted 16 Dec 2009 , 2:45am
post #6 of 8

Yes, I let it set for a couple of days. I have no trouble with the Wilton gumpaste.

Nel, I used to live in Florida, but that was before I did any cake decorating. New England has much less humidity! lol

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FromScratch Posted 16 Dec 2009 , 3:16am
post #7 of 8

You may have heated the candy melts up too much. It sounds like scorched chocolate and nothing can bring that back.

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FACSlady Posted 16 Dec 2009 , 11:49pm
post #8 of 8

Fortunately, after the modeling chocolate sat overnight, it re-absorbed the liquid. There was a bit of a crust on it which was hard to break down, but otherwise it turned out ok. Thanks to everyone for your suggestions!

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