Marque Foods sells them
http://marquefoods.com/categories/chocolate-pencils
Shipping this time of year would be expensive and/or risky due to high temps.
Jcalvert, don't give up. I'm making 450 white chocolate cigarellos for a two tiered square anniversary cake next month. This is my first cake with them and i'm using Nati's way tutorial. The learning curve is high but once you get the feel for it, it moves along with great success. Be prepared for messing fingers ..or at least that's my experience with my fat fingers. This is definitely a case where practice makes perfect. I had to try different sheets of vinyl before I found one that wasn't too stiff or too flexible. I find 6 mil just about right for me. I opted for food safe vinyl rather than acetate and the resulting cigarellos are shining enough for me. Good luck
Jcalvert, don't give up. I'm making 450 white chocolate cigarellos for a two tiered square anniversary cake next month. This is my first cake with them and i'm using Nati's way tutorial. The learning curve is high but once you get the feel for it, it moves along with great success. Be prepared for messing fingers ..or at least that's my experience with my fat fingers. This is definitely a case where practice makes perfect. I had to try different sheets of vinyl before I found one that wasn't too stiff or too flexible. I find 6 mil just about right for me. I opted for food safe vinyl rather than acetate and the resulting cigarellos are shining enough for me. Good luck
Thanks for the encouragement. You are braver than I making that many!!!!! I will keep practicing.
Okay I have a question -- where can you buy a marble slab to do the cigarellos on?
Okay I have a question -- where can you buy a marble slab to do the cigarellos on?
Cheapest bet would be to go to a custom kitchen/bathroom place. They usually have loads of offcuts from making countertops, etc. so, you would get a really great price and, most will also cut it to size for you.
good lordy....I'm not using a marble slab. I just have a large plastic sheet on my table and smear the chocolate on the vinyl templates and roll then tape. put in the freezer and bobs your uncle
good lordy....I'm not using a marble slab. I just have a large plastic sheet on my table and smear the chocolate on the vinyl templates and roll then tape. put in the freezer and bobs your uncle
Okay I have a question -- where can you buy a marble slab to do the cigarellos on?
I went to a shop which sells kitchen work surfaces. They gave me a slab of marble for free so long as I didn't want the edges polished (cleaned up), it was a very large piece too. I could barely carry it lol!
I'm in the UK but I can't see it being much different across the Pond.
Ah LisaPeps, you don't know how us colonists suffer. Every home I had in Scotland had marble kitchen counters so getting one's hands on those end pieces aren't difficult...Over here we are into granite, synthetic and otherwise, tile and even formica. But seriously, you don't need any marble slabs to make chocolate cigarellos.
Granite and marble can be used interchangeably in chocolate work. For tempering they both act to draw the heat out of the chocolate, cooling it quickly. So if you can get a hold of granite easily and cheaply, go for it! You can use granite/marble for cooling sugar for pulling and blowing in place of a Silpat.
The only other way I've seen cigarellos made is Nati's way. How would you make them without the granite or marble (if not using Nati's way)? I tried to make them on my kitchen counter (which is synthetic I believe) and it didn't cool the chocolate down enough to be able to do it the usual way. I haven't tried it since with my marble, it's on a very long to do list. That will have to wait though because I'm fascinated with blown and pulled sugar at the minute.
I'm just a simple country old lady...I gently melt the chocolate in a bowl over hot water. then I take my wee angled spatula and smear the chocolate on my vinyl template (about 4" by 1 3/4 inch) leaving about 1/4" or so of the long end of the template clean. then I roll the vinyl so the ends of the chocolate smear meet...tape the cylinder closed and pop into the freeze for a few minutes to firm up...later, I use a craft knife to slit the tape and bob's your uncle.
The way you do it is the process I referred to as Nati's way. It's just called that because there are tutorials and templates on here somewhere by a girl called Nati. They're not true cigarillos but they are easier than the usual method. I tried to do it nati's way but didn't have much success.
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