Cocoa Butter Pinstriping Techniques

[Truffle Guy]

I've had to learn all my techniques on my own (mostly on egullet...thanks!) and I paint almost all my chocolates. I'm very happy overall with my pieces but there are a few things I still have not figured out and thought someone might have the answers.

My main goal is to find the way to get long thin lines on molded pieces. I use a pastry bad for thicker lines but the ones I see on chocolates from Norman Love, Chris Elbow etc. look to be made with a brush.

Thanks for any tips

[chefpeon]

Does it look like perhaps a stencil may have been employed in some way?

[Truffle Guy]

No, I don't think so as it is in a mold. I think it is either thinned down cocoa butter with color and a very small hole in a pastry bag or some type of brush/airbrush/paint sprayer. The lines are thin and very straight and often end or start with splashes. You can look at the Peanut Butter on Norman Loves website or the Strawberry Balsamic on Chris Elbows website to see some examples.

I've had to learn all my techniques on my own (mostly on egullet...thanks!) and I paint almost all my chocolates.  I'm very happy overall with my pieces but there are a few things I still  have not figured out and thought someone might have the answers.

My main goal is to find the way to get long thin lines on molded pieces.  I use a pastry bad for thicker lines but the ones I see on chocolates from Norman Love, Chris Elbow etc. look to be made with a brush. 

Thanks for any tips

←

[TNChocolatier]

No, I don't think so as it is in a mold.  I think it is either thinned down cocoa butter with color and a very small hole in a pastry bag or some type of brush/airbrush/paint sprayer.  The lines are thin and very straight and often end or start with splashes.  You can look at the Peanut Butter on Norman Loves website or the Strawberry Balsamic on Chris Elbows website to see some examples. 

I've had to learn all my techniques on my own (mostly on egullet...thanks!) and I paint almost all my chocolates.  I'm very happy overall with my pieces but there are a few things I still  have not figured out and thought someone might have the answers.

My main goal is to find the way to get long thin lines on molded pieces.  I use a pastry bad for thicker lines but the ones I see on chocolates from Norman Love, Chris Elbow etc. look to be made with a brush. 

Thanks for any tips

←

←

Hi Truffle Guy,

I can give you my two cents on this. My wife and I employ this technique in decorating some of our molded chocolates. It uses a lot of cocoa butter compared to airbrushing or painting, and is not the cleanest of techniques. Though mess can be minimized by placing molds in rows, right up against each other, or covering your table with plastic wrap.

First you need to find yourself a nice flexible small whisk. Second you melt your cocoa butter color (PCB, or Chef Rubber) in a container that is large enough to dip your whisk into. Make sure it doesn't get too hot or it will stick to the molds. Then pretend that you are Jackson Pollock and fling the cocoa butter into the molds by "whipping" the whisk. It is a little hard to explain, but it is like trying to get all the water off of a whisk. Just whip it and it will throw off lines of cocoa butter. You can also "splatter" the molds by tapping most of the cocoa butter back into the container and then utilize the same motion. This will give you more spots than lines. Of course for either one, all the molds will be different. Some will have the perfect lines you are looking for, and some will not be exactly what you are looking for. Christopher Elbow and Norman Love just picked the chocolate that they felt turned out best and had that one photographed.

Hope that helps!

Edited July 9, 2008 by TNChocolatier (log)

[Truffle Guy]

TnChocolatier, thanks for the tips I'll give it a try. I make such a mess now I'm not too worried about it increasing any. Sounds like that might do the trick but you are right about it using a lot of cocoa butter.

FYI....your transfers are beautiful...are they custom made?

No, I don't think so as it is in a mold.  I think it is either thinned down cocoa butter with color and a very small hole in a pastry bag or some type of brush/airbrush/paint sprayer.  The lines are thin and very straight and often end or start with splashes.  You can look at the Peanut Butter on Norman Loves website or the Strawberry Balsamic on Chris Elbows website to see some examples. 

I've had to learn all my techniques on my own (mostly on egullet...thanks!) and I paint almost all my chocolates.  I'm very happy overall with my pieces but there are a few things I still  have not figured out and thought someone might have the answers.

My main goal is to find the way to get long thin lines on molded pieces.  I use a pastry bad for thicker lines but the ones I see on chocolates from Norman Love, Chris Elbow etc. look to be made with a brush. 

Thanks for any tips

←

←

Hi Truffle Guy,

I can give you my two cents on this. My wife and I employ this technique in decorating some of our molded chocolates. It uses a lot of cocoa butter compared to airbrushing or painting, and is not the cleanest of techniques. Though mess can be minimized by placing molds in rows, right up against each other, or covering your table with plastic wrap.

First you need to find yourself a nice flexible small whisk. Second you melt your cocoa butter color (PCB, or Chef Rubber) in a container that is large enough to dip your whisk into. Make sure it doesn't get too hot or it will stick to the molds. Then pretend that you are Jackson Pollock and fling the cocoa butter into the molds by "whipping" the whisk. It is a little hard to explain, but it is like trying to get all the water off of a whisk. Just whip it and it will throw off lines of cocoa butter. You can also "splatter" the molds by tapping most of the cocoa butter back into the container and then utilize the same motion. This will give you more spots than lines. Of course for either one, all the molds will be different. Some will have the perfect lines you are looking for, and some will not be exactly what you are looking for. Christopher Elbow and Norman Love just picked the chocolate that they felt turned out best and had that one photographed.

Hope that helps!

←

[TNChocolatier]

Some of them are custom and some are stock from PCB in France. They have the best transfer sheets in my opinion.

Edited July 10, 2008 by TNChocolatier (log)

[prairiegirl]

I went into the Barry-Callebaut website for Cocoa Barry training school online courses! They did a couple of demos. One thing they use is BARRY GLACE for prespraying the molds to get a good shine. They did demo how to put lines in a mold. So I would recommend viewing the videos.

http://www.cacao-barry.com/en/8

Edited July 10, 2008 by prairiegirl (log)

[Truffle Guy]

Wow...great suggestion and some nice courses as well. Thanks!

I went into the Barry-Callebaut website for Cocoa Barry training school online courses!  They did a couple of demos. One thing they use is BARRY GLACE for prespraying the molds to get a good shine.  They did demo how to put lines in a mold. So I would recommend viewing the videos.

http://www.cacao-barry.com/en/8

←

[gfron1]

Everyone in the universe can do this but me. The basic pinstripe of colored cocoa butter on a bon bon shell. I take a small pastry bag and put the cocoa butter in it, snip the end with a small hole and apply very light pressure as I carry the bag over the mold. Instead of a beautiful stripe, I get glops and drops and squirts.

 

I thought my cocoa butter might be too hot, so I cooled it but then it clogged the hole of the pastry bag.

 

Help please.

[curls]

When I stripe a mould, I use colored white chocolate, milk chocolate or dark chocolate and put the chocolate in a parchment coronet or a disposable pastry bag. Have not tried used pure colored cocoa butter to make my stripes. No idea when straight colored cocoa butter would not work. Good luck!

[gfron1]

Ohhhhh....well, that would make a difference, wouldn't it.

[Lisa Shock]

There is a product you can buy called piping chocolate, it is a bit costly, but works very well. We used to get Callebaut in tubs in three colors (dark, milk, white), but, I haven't been able to get any for a few years. Generally, a good quality white chocolate is used for colors, and I make hard ganache if I want to pipe dark brown.

[Lisa Shock]

BTW, if you need to do things in between piping, stick the small paper coronet in your pants pocket. If you are careful, the chocolate won't leak (it's more likely to form a small hard cap on the tip) and the pocket is the right temperature to keep the chocolate liquid, but cool enough to stay in temper.

[jmacnaughtan]

A good tip I learned is to pass your cocoa butter/chocolate/velvet spray through a (clean) disposable hairnet first.  Gets rid of any pesky tiny lumps that love to clog the cornet and make a mess of whatever you're doing.

[keychris]

A good tip I learned is to pass your cocoa butter/chocolate/velvet spray through a (clean) disposable hairnet first.  Gets rid of any pesky tiny lumps that love to clog the cornet and make a mess of whatever you're doing.

heh, I use pantyhose

[RichardJones]

I'd recommend using a paper cornet rather than a pastry bag. Pastry bags don't have the strength around the tip to keep their shape and that can prevent the liquid flowing out straight. I'd also second the suggestions to try with coloured white chocolate and filtering first if your flow is not regular.

[YetiChocolates]

I make a piping bag from parchment, allows to control the tip size, easy to make and you can control the size as well.