colored chocolate decoration

[schneich]

for our petit gateau we sometimes need painted white chocolate squares. i never seem to get them right. usually i use a special plastic sheet made for chocolate work (60 x 40 cm) i paint the design with colored cocoa butter right on the sheet. i let it crystallize for 30 minutes or so, next i cover with tempered white chocolate, let crystallize, and cut it with a multi wheel cuter. next i put it in the fridge to let it fully crystallize. now when i peel the squares off the sheet some or most of the cocoa butter design still sticks to the plastic. does anyone know have an idea on how to get the design stick to the chocolate ??

cheers from cologne

[Desiderio]

When I do my own transfer sheets I have noticed that if I don't get the chocolate little bit warmer, the paint stays on the plastic sheet. Maybe working with a slightly warmer temperature would help.

Good luck.

[Kerry Beal]

I think Vanessa has hit the nail on the head. Got to get that chocolate as warm as possible without throwing it out of temper.

[K8memphis]

Kerry, don't you have to get the cocoa butter in temper to begin with?

It doesn't come in temper already does it?

[Kerry Beal]

Kerry, don't you have to get the cocoa butter in temper to begin with?

It doesn't come in temper already does it?

←

The coloured cocoa butter seems to be alright even if it isn't officially tempered as long as you don't let it get too hot.

[chefpeon]

I use the pre-made transfer sheets from France and I have found that if the chocolate is on the cool side of temper, the transfer comes up spotty. I always get the chocolate on the transfer sheet on the warmest side of temper possible. It's harder with white chocolate though, since the temper range is so cool to begin with!

But most of the time......I actually cheat.

I don't even temper the chocolate....I just melt it and pour it right on the sheet. For my purposes, my chocolate doesn't have to be tempered since all the decorations sit in a cool case on top of desserts and cakes anyway. On the plus side, I never have to worry about my designs not coming up off the sheet, and I don't have to go through the trouble of tempering. On the minus side, the chocolate is more delicate and fragile than if it wasn't tempered, so I always keep my decorations in the freezer til I need to use them. I don't worry about shine because the transfer sheets give a shine to the decorations anyway.