So I have been decorating for some time now but for some reason I have not ever even tried to use modeling chocolate... My sons 3rd birthday is coming up in July and he wants a dinasour cake so my husband and I are going to have a little cake off! I am in charge of the "scene" and my husband is in charge of the dinasours that are going on the scene so this is going to be a pretty big cake I have decided to use modeling chocolate for a lot of my little decorations as well as to cover the dinasours ... I am in desperate need of some tips, advice, examples or anything else you talented decorators have to offer!

I heard that the modeling chocolate would be good to cover my dinasours with because it is much better to smooth out on different shapes such as my little dinasour... is this true or is there soemthing else that I should use?

Here is the picture of the dinasours my husband is going to make.. well the shape of them at least, it will be a little different

ANYONE?????

the only thing I have done with modeling chocolate is flowers, not tried to cover anything with it. The only thing I had trouble with was warm hands melting the chocolate too fast. So I kept the kitchen and my hands cold. sorry, wish I could have been more help. did you try a search on this site?

I just started playing with modeling chocolate and I LOVE IT! There is a recipe here for one that I use. It "rests" for 2 hours then ready to use...i think a bag of choco chips & some karo. You can make your seams seamless! It is very quick to make also. Now...I prefer the chocolate modeling chocolate. Have not made white chocolate modeling chocolate and colored it (yet).

Here's the recipe I use:
http://cakecentral.com/recipes/1608/chocolate-clay-modeling-chocolate

Thank yoU! I did see that recipe and all the good reviews it had to I think I will go ahead and try that one out. I have about a month until I need to have this cake done so i'm going to start playing around with the stuff now so I dcan have it mastered by then!

You have plenty of time. The cool thing about it is that you can run out the seams where pieces come together. Modelling chocolate lasts quite a while so play to your heart's content.

That's wonderful! that's exactly why I thought to use it because the little dinasours have so many grooves ... I can't wait to see the outcome! So basically the trick is to not handle it too much... does it roll out like fondant to where I could pick it up and lay it across my dinasours?

I rolled mine like fondant. Have seen them actually put it in a sheeter before! I made a gavel for my law books cake a month in advance. Have fun. Can't wait to see your cake!

Okay, so I tried that recipe and it's been sitting out for 2 hours but I don't think it would hold a shape for the life of me... Is it supposed to be shiny still? I rolled it up and it won't stay in a ball when I put it down.. did I do something wrong? I used white baking chocolate...

I usually let my modelling chocolate rest overnight before trying to work with it. Just wrap it in plastic wrap and let it set. It should be hard by tomorrow, then you can break off small pieces and knead until pliable.

Is it supposed to be so oily though? it's really really oily!

here's a tutorial I made for making candy clay out of candy melts:

If its really oily you can use a paper towel to soak up some of the oil, you definately want to let it rest at least overnight though!

bmarlow...are you sure you followed step 2 to a T? Mine is not shiny.

2. Add corn syrup to the chocolate and mix well (scrape all the corn syrup into the chocolate with a rubber spatula). Using a rubber spatula, stir and fold mixture, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl well, until no shiny syrup is visible and the mixture forms a thick ball.

It is oily at first...I guess you are supposed to wait, but I never do. I just roll it around on a clean paper towel and the oil is then absorbed! I would think it would make very nice dino figures...

I think dragons have wings

Are you planning on making them as big as those in the pic?

If so, I'd suggest making the core of them RKT, if not out of cake. You can actually mix the RKT with the candy clay to kee the dinos from being too heavy

I let it rest over night and it turned out perfect! I am getting ready to start making some trees and stuff for the cake so I can get some practice in

I have a quick question about modeling chocolate .... I have played with it once and it was extremely hard to work with and I haven't tried again. I plan on trying it again this weekend for a cake I have to do in July. If I use the white chocolate and make white modeling chocolate, can it be painted like fondant or should I color it while I am making it?

Tiffany0481...I would suggest coloring it while making it...better yet, buy the candy melts in the color you want the item to be...nice vivid colors...

Thank you PJ! That is what I figured but wasn't sure what the best way to go was.

Thanks again!!