I've had very limited experience with chocolate or even candy coating, and am hoping to make a gift box in a few weeks, where the box sides will be chocolate panels. Most likely a simple 8x8 in square cake, with other stuff added on top after the chocolate is in place. What I want to know is, since this is supposed to be a striped box, how do I go about making the box sides have vertical stripes on them? Would you recommend painting the stripes on with something after it's put together? Or should I paint on chocolate in one color as a base and cover that with the other chocolate afterwards? Am I supposed to be doing this with some kind of a mold? I was simply planning on pouring it out onto a cookie sheet and cutting it to fit my cake once it was ready ... is that what you would recommend?

Thanks so much for your help!!! Goodness knows I need it, and if I can practice practice practice before then, my sanity (and my husband!) will thank you for it .

-Emi.

Anybody? ... pleeeeeeze?

Use wax paper to do it on or better yet get some acetate (it's flexible, clear plastic sheet). Using the colored choco you want the lines to be pipe them 1st; let set a few minutes, then pour the choco over that. Make sure this choco isn't to hot but of course it has to be fluid. Let set until semi-hard (you can pick it up and it won't run but is still somewhat soft) and cut into the size panels you want and finally let that harden completely.
If you try to cut it when it is completely hardened it could shatter &/or cut jagged. HTH

You could get the vertical stripes using chocolate transfer sheets...usually they have a wide variety of designs, including stipes. Check out www.fancyflours.com for their transfer sheets and you will see what I am talking about. Good luck!

Thanks so much to both of you! I wish the transfer sheets had the specific design I'm looking for (this is a Victoria's Secret box, so it needs to be pink on pink), since it looks like such a great option, but at least I'm familiar with them now and can use them in the future. I'll probably end up piping it out like Kakeladi suggested. I'm going to need to practice in the next couple of weeks ... mmmmmm ... that means white chocolate shards galore for a couple of weeks .

You'll get neater looking stripes if you use a stencil.

Get a stripe stencil at the craft or fabric store.

Lay it on your work surface (wax paper, acetate or smooth silicone).

Pour your chocolate over the stencil and spread it.

Lift the stencil and put the stripes in the frig to set up.

Pour your second color over the stripes and spread. As kakeladi said, the second color should not be hot otherwise it will melt the first set of stripes.

Follow the rest of kakeladi's instructions.

Stencils! Check. Thanks for all the great advice!