Hey all, I am doing a birthday cake for a client that is turning 80 and plan on putting the numbers "80" on top of the cake. I wanted to make them in chocolate but with very little experience I was wondering what is the best way to make the "back" of the chocolate smooth when it's in the mold? I have done a practice run and it just seems like it's lumpy and not real pretty on the back.

Also, what is the best way to secure these to the top of the cake...I was wanting them to stand up versus lay flat?

thanks for the help

Try tapping the mold gently after pouring the chocolate in, before it sets up.

As far as getting them to stand up you can insert a skinny wooden skewer in the bottom after you remove the chocolate from the mold and before it hardens too much.

The good thing about chocolate is if you mess up just melt it and try again.

HTH

Your chocolate may be too thick. Add a little veg oil or paramound crystals to thin it out a little.

As kimblyd said, tap the mold on the counter after adding the chocolate. I try to 'vibrate' the mold on the counter. Not only does it smooth out the back, it removes any air bubbles that may be in your chocolate.

To insert a toothpick or skewer, take a very thin metal skewer (I use the needle from a turkey trussing kit) and heat it for a few seconds on the stove. Twist the skewer into your chocolate piece. It may take a couple of times to get a deep enough hole. Insert your toothpick or bamboo skewer into the hole. The melted chocolate inside the hole will hold the toothpick in place.

After you shake/tap the mold to release any air bubbles, take a bench scraper and pull straight over the top of the mold. It will take off any excess chocolate and leave you with a flat bottom.

As far as propping them up, you could also create a stand just like the back of a picture frame by taking a strip of chocolate and "glueing" it to the back of your numbers with melted chocolate so it holds them up at an angle. If you want the numbers to stand straight up, the suggestion for a skewer would probably work, as long as the numbers weren't too heavy and would fall over/rip the cake.

Thanks all for the great comments and ideas!!!!! I greatly appreciate the quick responses to