Wrapping A Cake In Chocolate By Shirleyw
Decorating By stephanie214 Updated 13 Mar 2014 , 8:27pm by ellavanilla
if you color the white chocolate,make sure you use oil based candy colors .
another idea is to do a white wrap and use strawberries and blueberries on top.
if you want to do shapes, you could pipe them free hand and stick them to the cake so that the flat side shows, but my favorit new thing to do with chocolate is to spread the melted choc onto parcment paper. cover with another piece and roll it with a pin so its flat. then chill for a few moments till it has set, and take off the top layer of paper and use a small fondant cutter to cut out a shape. you could use the wilton star cutter to make small white stars in a couple sizes and place them randomly on the top with the pile of blueberries and strawberries.that would be cute.
making the entire wrap blue would take ALOT of oil color. i think you'd be better off just using white chocolate for the sides and embelish the top with the color accents.
That's just what I was thinking. This started off as a simple "How To" for wrapping a cake in chocolate. Never imagined it would still be going strong and up to 9 pages.
I can't wait to try this. Thanks so much for posting a "How To ...". I'm having such an awful time with fondant, I really hope this goes better.
All of you are so wonderful, and courteous. I love coming here. I'm completely addicted.
Holly
hey shirley, have you worked any with the patterned chocolate transfer sheets? i am going to order some, but wondered if they are thinner than the mylar you use.
is there a way to get a chocolate transfer to cover the sides as well as the top of a round cake? How would that work?
you would need to put the melted chocolate on to the t.s. and then measure and cut out a piece the same size as the top of your cake. you wouldnt be able to use it (i dont think) on fondant or bc because i think it transfers the pattern from the slight heat of the melted chocolate. there is a forum thread somewhere(sorry i cant remember exactly) where someone posted a c.t.s. how to link sometime int the last week and it gave directions for the cake top... maybe check the how do i forums...
hey shirley, have you worked any with the patterned chocolate transfer sheets? i am going to order some, but wondered if they are thinner than the mylar you use.
I have used the patterned transfer sheets, but for a wrap I find they are so thin they want to wobble. What I have done is made a chocolate wrap with Mylar, let it chill and removed the plastic, then spread melted chocolate on a patterned transfer sheet cut to the exact size of the first wrap, just wrap it around on top of the set wrap, chill and remove the transfer sheet. But make sure your chocolate isn't too warm when you do that or it will soften the first wrap. One source that carries both transfer sheets and the texture sheets is Kerekes, also called Bake Deco. I used the Crocodile patterned texture sheet for the pink chocolate purse in my photos, love them because they are a large size and come 5 to a package. Transfer sheets on top row, texture sheets near the bottom on the right.
http://www.bakedeco.com/categories.asp?id=125
thanks shirley, i did order from bakedeco a couple of weeks ago. bought a package of 20 sheets, they ARE thin! i may experiment with using mylar, and double sided tape to attach the t.s. so that i dont have to use so much chocolate and so that the wrap is more stable.. if it doesnt work, i'll do what you've suggested. thanks again for your helpfulness!
I never did get to make the Fourth of July cake. My Dad ended up in the hospital and I was with him pretty much 24/7 for 5 days. I felt bad about it because I wasn't able to fulfill my commitment to make a cake every month. Maybe I should make a "better late than never" cake for the July B-days.
I mainly wrote to say that I appreciate the great responses. I'll have to try them out .
http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=835753
i did the patterned wrap this weekend with the mylar sheet taped to the transfer sheet for stability. there were still small waves here and there, it seemed like regardless of the mylar, the transfer sheet STILL wanted to wobble...but it came out ok.
just out of curiosity, next time i do it, i'll do the mylar wrap, then the transfer wrap on top of that...
Exactly, that is how I do it. I do the Mylar wrap, let it set completely, peel off the mylar, spread chocolate on a transfer sheet cut to the exact size of the mylar wrap, lay the transfer sheet directly on the chocolate of the first wrap. Just make sure your chocolate isn't too warm or it will slightly melt the first one and you will get waves. Chill again and remove the transfer sheet.
I hope that makes sense. What I am trying to say is to make two separate chocolate wraps. One on Mylar, when it is completely set and the Mylar is peeled away, make a second wrap on a transfer sheet and lay it on top of the previous wrap.
I have used a transfer sheet alone, but only on the top of chocolate candies. Or I have made a circle template of Mylar or freezer paper with the shiny side up, spread melted chocolate on top, lay the transfer sheet on top of the chocolate, chilled just slightly and cut the circle into wedges with sharp scissors, chill again and let set completely and peel away the transfer from the top, and the freezer paper on the bottom will generally peel right off by sliding an icing spatula under the chocolate.. I then set the chocolate triangles at angles at the base of the cake or overlap them on the top of the cake so they are standing up at an angle. You will need to pipe a rounded squirt of buttercream to the side of each triangle near the point to hold each one up at an angle.
I have never had success with using a transfer sheet alone to do a wrap, I just find they are too thin and wobbly and I don't get a nice smooth wrap.
right. i get what you mean exactly. when you add the second wrap, is it noticable that there are two layers of chocolate? or can you just run your finger around the top as the second layer is added so that the two wraps blend together? hope that made sense. i wonder too...would you make the wraps thinner since you are doing two or just enjoy the extra chocolate (haha) ...?
Melysa, I just have to say I love your cake--it is beautiful! I will hope to try this sometime. Now I have to go back and read how this all works, since I have not done so yet. Was it hard? Just beautiful.
Melysa, I just have to say I love your cake--it is beautiful! I will hope to try this sometime. Now I have to go back and read how this all works, since I have not done so yet. Was it hard? Just beautiful.
thank you! i wouldnt say its hard, just "tricky"...i've done maybe seven or eight wraps so far, and each time it gets a tad bit easier, though its something i have yet to master - i do love them. thanks again for the kindness.
Hey Shirley and Melysa,
I'm hoping you can help me. I've been asking myself WWSD and WWMD but I can't get anywhere!!!
I tried a wrap today and while terribly intimidating, it wasn't all that hard. Of course, it doesn't look anything near perfect, but my husband is fabulously easy to please, so it'll do.
However, I have two problems. First, where the two ends meet the chocolate pulled off with the acetate resulting in the ugly spot seen here.
Did I not let the chocolate set long enough (approx. 30 minutes in the fridge) or is there another issue? If yes, what? Do you think I can patch this up with a bit of piped melted chocolate or should I just find a big, wide ribbon and call it a day?
Secondly, if you look at the "nicer" of the two pictures, you can see that there are horizontal bands in the wrap. Is this a question of my chocolate, the temperature when melted, etc? As this was a first, I just melted down chocolate chips (about 1/2 bag) and added 1 t. of vegetable oil.
Thank you both for all of your posts in this thread. I feel like I can refer to this many times for information. You have both made this concept much more accessible to a non-professional, non-fabulosa hobbyist!
Christy
Don't you love trying new things? I can't wait to try this one myself.
Despite the little hole in the back, I think it looks SO yummy. I would love to have a little slice of that one.
I'm curious to see their response to your post, though. I hope you have better luck with the next one, as I'm sure you will. Maybe do another thin wrap around it to cover the hole? Just a thought.
Take care, and good luck!!
Holly
On the missing spot in the bottom photo. If you leave yourself a bit of overlap on the Mylar strip it gives you something to hold onto as you peel it away. It kind of looks to me like the chocolate hadn't chilled or set enough. On the discoloration it could be bloom, or it could be you got the chocolate too hot when melting it. Looking at the first photo, you got a nice even top edge, looks so much nicer than a jagged edge, and there were no wobble or wave marks so I'd say you have the idea of how it's done, maybe just try not to get the chocolate too hot, spread it a little thicker and make sure it is well chilled and completely set before you try to remove the Mylar. You can patch that hole with melted chocolate but it won't look as smooth as the rest of the wrap. You could tie a pretty ribbon around the center of the wrap and make that section be the back of the cake, the bow in the front.
Do you always add shortening, or is that just something you do if using chocolate chips? I've never added shortening to chocolate myself, so I'm unsure on this concept. Could that have affected the result?
Sorry if that's a stupid question.. I've really only molded chocolate, and made peanut butter or coconut balls. With those I used a bit of parafin wax, but I would have never thought to add that to a wrap. I suppose it does make sense for making the chocolate a bit more stable.
Does the shortening have the same effect as using parafin wax?
I learn so much from this site.. hee!
**edit** just noticed she said oil and not shortening.. would that make a difference?
Not shortening, but vegetable oil. It gives the melted chocolate a little more flexibility, and it wouldn't have a waxy taste like parrafin or Paramount Crystals.
cranberryclo... the WWMD was flattering...though i have to admit, it took me a moment to figure out what it was haha...and also another confession...shirley is TOTALLY the queen of chocolate wraps, you just see alot of my overly zealous posts on this thread lately because i recently discovered how much i like these
now....your wrap looks good! as far as the back hole, i would suggest what shirley did, just a slight overlap as well as a bit thicker chocolate. i usually use 3/4 of a bag of chocolate. one time i did put oil in and i had the same dull markings as you did when i removed the plastic. i dont have a logic answer as to why, but my experience matched it. honestly, i dont think you really need the oil , i dont use it any more after that first time.
also, last week, i did a wrap (not in my photos yet) that for some bizarre reason, even though i measured, it was like TWO inches too short! so i took the mylar and spread chocolate on a two inch wide area (x the height of the cake) and let it set up a tiny bit, then placed it on the cake, held it in place a moment and then chilled it till it hardened. from the front it looked fine, not really noticable. from the back it was noticable, but looked somewhat decent, plus if you put a bow on the cake in the front area, the back will not be an obvious focal point.
good job. ! (are those chocolate covered espresso beans???? YUM!)
Hey Ladies -
I did have the overlap - that's the area that was lapped. So, I'm assuming that because it was lapped, that area was two times thicker and the inner layer didn't chill properly. Next time I'll leave it longer.
Good to know re: the oil. Next time, no oil.
I feel like my chocolate was pretty thick, but maybe not enough.
I am working on a gorgeous bow (ha - my secret weapon!) and have just left the spot as is. It's going to my hubby's work and they're all engineers, they won't notice.
Those are chocolate covered espresso beans. The cake is mocha with a toffee and ganache filling and then an espresso IMBC. It smells like heaven!
Thanks for all your thoughts -
Christy
Ha ha! I hope it is delish - I told him he has to bring a piece home from work for me to try - even if it's just a sliver!
You can see the finished product in my pics, complete with big ol' bow. It really isn't the season for such a fall colors type of bow, but he won't notice and it saved me a trip to the store!
How's your shower cake coming? Any news from the bridezilla???
sorry, was that my slobber that fell on the floor? yum, that sounds DEELISHious!
When you're cleaning up your slobber, try not to drip over my drool puddle beside it, k?
I would love to have just half the recipes I see everyone talking about here. Amaretto, espresso, mocha.. yummm.. Sadly, I'm the only person I know who likes those flavors in a dessert.
I can't even get anyone to try my Starbuck's ice cream I buy.. hehe
*runs off to search the recipe files again*
**edit** I just wanted to say, because I forgot in all the excitement of thinking about it, how absolutely delicious your cake sounds. Mind mailing me a big slice?
Ha! Thanks. If there's any left you can come on over!
I think you should make lots of cupcakes. Regular icing for your family and then you add a bit of cooled espresso to your icing before you pipe it on. I think coffee icings are SO easy to do - just add a bit of cooled espresso until you get the flavor you like. Yum!
I would love to, but all my family lives up in Ohio. I would have to eat them all myself.
hmmm
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