Molded and Filled Chocolates: Troubleshooting and Techniques

[pastrygirl]

Here’s a cocoa butter curiosity- this bottle of gold cb had been on its side in the melter for a while, I turned the melter off overnight, this morning there is a solid layer with all the color and clear CB that has separated out and is liquid at 72f. Separation happens, but I’ve never seen CB liquid at room temp. What’s up with that? 

 

ill  melt it down, shake it up, and assume its fine, but have I accidentally discovered form 7 of cocoa butter crystals?  Or form zero since it’s not crystallized? 🤪

Edited November 23, 2025 by pastrygirl (log)

[pastrygirl]

@Jim D. are you of the 'heat gun before capping' school of thought, or nah?  Maybe try whichever method you're not doing? 🙃

[Jim D.]

3 hours ago, pastrygirl said:

Here’s a cocoa butter curiosity- this bottle of gold cb had been on its side in the melter for a while, I turned the melter off overnight, this morning there is a solid layer with all the color and clear CB that has separated out and is liquid at 72f. Separation happens, but I’ve never seen CB liquid at room temp. What’s up with that? 

ill  melt it down, shake it up, and assume its fine, but have I accidentally discovered form 7 of cocoa butter crystals?  Or form zero since it’s not crystallized? 🤪

 

I have had cocoa butter separate into plain CB and the color, but never with the CB liquid.

[Jim D.]

2 minutes ago, pastrygirl said:

@Jim D. are you of the 'heat gun before capping' school of thought, or nah?  Maybe try whichever method you're not doing? 🙃

 

I have tried using the heat gun for all chocolates and noticed no difference.  I have tried it for just caramels to avoid leaking, and I wasn't sure it made a difference.  I tried it with half-spheres (which often show the chocolate line), and I probably overdid it because the bonbons stuck in the mold and needed more than a little pounding on the counter (they usually pop right out).  I'll give it a try with this difficult square mold.  With using silk to temper, I keep the chocolate a full degree above the norm so as to get as much heat as possible to join the bottom to the rest of the shell.

[pastrygirl]

 

These were boggling my brain this morning - the bald patch/pupil is not supposed to be there but is perfectly shiny and there is no cocoa butter stuck in the molds. I splattered silver, sprayed the dot of purple then backed with green. My guess is the center bit of silver wasn’t set and the purple blew it away?  
 

Some variation in paint placement is usually ok as long as they’re shiny but these are bugging me. Would you use or re-make? 

 

[Smithy]

1 minute ago, pastrygirl said:

Would you use or re-make? 

 

I'm no confectioner, but as a customer I wouldn't be inclined to buy them.

[GRiker]

33 minutes ago, pastrygirl said:

Would you use or re-make?

It's not a bug, it's a feature say my software engineering friends.  Others often have different tastes and preferences than I do.  Maybe try some creative marketing? How many do you have?

[curls]

54 minutes ago, pastrygirl said:

Would you use or re-make?

What flavor are these? Is this one of your regular flavors? If your customers are expecting a certain look for this flavor... then rebrand or remake this batch.

[AAQuesada]

2 hours ago, GRiker said:

t's not a bug, it's a feature say my software engineering friends.  Others often have different tastes and preferences than I do

Agree with this. It's a shame to waste them (and your labor/material cost) if they are otherwise fine.  Personally I think the green and purple look fine. Maybe see what some of your best customers think. 

[pastrygirl]

Flavor is Rosemary, which is a regular flavor in my 16 piece assortment. Out of 96 made, I got about 40 decent ones for a special order (phew). I can melt the rest with more cream to make a new batch. I probably will, to me they look sooo much like the CB stuck to the mold, even if it didn’t. 
 

thanks!