Molded and Filled Chocolates: Troubleshooting and Techniques

[Jim D.]

As I have continued to practice with making shells, I have improved in some ways but have run into problems as well and thought I would ask once again for any suggestions:

I won't ask for help with one problem because I feel sure there is no rational explanation: Yesterday I used my Chocovision machine to temper enough chocolate for two molds. The first was almost a disaster: too much chocolate stayed in the cavities (confession: before the chocolate set, I used a small spoon to dig out enough room for the filling--I think the finished product will look fine, but it doesn't please me). The second mold, poured from the same chocolate a couple of minutes later and filled with the same technique and timing, came out perfectly--nice thin shells. So I don't think it was my technique, and I am sure it was not the viscosity of the chocolate that was an issue. That is what makes working with chocolate such a challenge.

But I do need help on this: After I turn the mold upside down and tap it and wait for the chocolate to drop, I turn the mold right side up and scrape it. (Here I must express appreciation to pastrygirl for her recommendation of the 8" scraper from Chef Rubber--it has made a huge difference.) I have read that it is best to leave the mold upside down for some time for more of the chocolate to fall out so that the bottom won't get too thick from the settling chocolate. So I have devised a way to prop the mold up on two supports. I found that if I placed it upside down directly on parchment, the drips were "folded under" and became hardened as projections on the cavities--they did not show in the end, but made filling the cavities more difficult. So with suspending the mold I thought I had eliminated that problem. I wait for the chocolate to get somewhat firm, then turn the mold over and scrape it once again, removing the "stalactites" that have formed. But as I scrape, those projections get pushed into the cavities, and I end with the same problem as before. I notice in one of the above photos from chocolot that she has very tiny projections on some of the tops, but they are very minor (mine are not). So am I waiting too long to remove the drips or am I not waiting long enough? Any help would be appreciated.

[Kerry Beal]

Jim, Jim, Jim - you've really got to come to the workshop!

Anyway - I don't put mine face down - I tap and scrap (with the mold facing down not up) until I have removed as much chocolate as I intend - then I do a final scrape with my Richard drywall taping knife and set the mold on one short edge on the bench. If I have scraped all the chocolate to one end of the mold, then I turn it so the the other short edge is the one that it is set on. This allows for the extra chocolate thickness that has developed on the down side to equalize. The only time that I put things face down on the bench is when I want that lip - so for things like easter eggs that I want to get nice thick edges to heat and glue together.

[YetiChocolates]

Hey Jim,

I do mine a little bit different than Kerry, I do put mine face down, but I put them on a cooling rack so there's some distance between the mold and the ground, allowing the chocolate to drip out and not be inhibited by the flat surface of the counter. Also, what I've found helpful as of late is when I'm shelling I fill the mold, clean off the excess on the top and the sides, tap the side of the mold to release the air bubbles (I also swirl a paintbrush inside the mold to aid in this process), then turn the mold over and bang in on the top of the bowl to get the excess chocolate out of the mold. I then will scrape the excess chocolate that's on the mold off it while the mold is still upside down, doing this quite a few times until there's not much chocolate coming out of the shell of the mold, then put it on the cooling rack to set up a little bit. Once the chocolate has started to lose it's shine I go back and scrap off the little that may have dripped out of the mold while it was inverted, but scraping most of it out while it's still wet and inverted when initially shelling has caused there not to be much excess that will drip out.

As for tempering differences, I usually wait a few minutes after the chocolate has come to temper in the tempering machine (and hand tempering) before I start shelling to allow the chocolate to even it self out a bit, though I not always find this is an easy thing to do because I can be a bit impatient, but I would say that even though the machine beeps letting you know it's in temper, let it churn itself for another minute or two to balance the cocoa butter crystals throughout the entire chocolate before shelling.

And I concur with Kerry, I think you should come to the workshop. This will be my first time attending, and I'm super excited as I wanted to go last year and couldn't and was super bummed as it looked like an amazing experience. I know everyone learns differently, but for me it definitely helps by watching how others do things so I can glean some useful tips and tricks, and I think this is going to be an awesome meeting of the minds of a lot of different people with different ways of working with chocolate but are all very passionate about the craft.

Good luck though, I hope this helps!

Edited February 2, 2013 by YetiChocolates (log)

[keychris]

The first was almost a disaster: too much chocolate stayed in the cavities (confession: before the chocolate set, I used a small spoon to dig out enough room for the filling--I think the finished product will look fine, but it doesn't please me). The second mold, poured from the same chocolate a couple of minutes later and filled with the same technique and timing, came out perfectly--nice thin shells.

Was the first mold placed under a window or a cool place? To get a nice shine, you want the mold to be within 10C of the working temp of the chocolate - so waving a heatgun over the mold quickly before you pour the chocolate in can help too

[Jim D.]

Hey Jim,

I do mine a little bit different than Kerry, I do put mine face down, but I put them on a cooling rack so there's some distance between the mold and the ground, allowing the chocolate to drip out and not be inhibited by the flat surface of the counter. Also, what I've found helpful as of late is when I'm shelling I fill the mold, clean off the excess on the top and the sides, tap the side of the mold to release the air bubbles (I also swirl a paintbrush inside the mold to aid in this process), then turn the mold over and bang in on the top of the bowl to get the excess chocolate out of the mold. I then will scrape the excess chocolate that's on the mold off it while the mold is still upside down, doing this quite a few times until there's not much chocolate coming out of the shell of the mold, then put it on the cooling rack to set up a little bit. Once the chocolate has started to lose it's shine I go back and scrap off the little that may have dripped out of the mold while it was inverted, but scraping most of it out while it's still wet and inverted when initially shelling has caused there not to be much excess that will drip out.

As for tempering differences, I usually wait a few minutes after the chocolate has come to temper in the tempering machine (and hand tempering) before I start shelling to allow the chocolate to even it self out a bit, though I not always find this is an easy thing to do because I can be a bit impatient, but I would say that even though the machine beeps letting you know it's in temper, let it churn itself for another minute or two to balance the cocoa butter crystals throughout the entire chocolate before shelling.

And I concur with Kerry, I think you should come to the workshop. This will be my first time attending, and I'm super excited as I wanted to go last year and couldn't and was super bummed as it looked like an amazing experience. I know everyone learns differently, but for me it definitely helps by watching how others do things so I can glean some useful tips and tricks, and I think this is going to be an awesome meeting of the minds of a lot of different people with different ways of working with chocolate but are all very passionate about the craft.

Good luck though, I hope this helps!

I was afraid you were going to say you scrape the mold while it is still upside down. I have seen others do that in videos. It looks very difficult to do, especially with larger molds, given that one is holding them on only one end with one hand (some are narrow enough that I can hold them with a spread hand, but the ones with 4 rows across are another matter). In any event I will certainly give it a try.

It is a good idea to wait a while for the chocolate to get mixed thoroughly. I will try that next time.

Thanks for all the tips.

Jim

[Jim D.]

The first was almost a disaster: too much chocolate stayed in the cavities (confession: before the chocolate set, I used a small spoon to dig out enough room for the filling--I think the finished product will look fine, but it doesn't please me). The second mold, poured from the same chocolate a couple of minutes later and filled with the same technique and timing, came out perfectly--nice thin shells.

Was the first mold placed under a window or a cool place? To get a nice shine, you want the mold to be within 10C of the working temp of the chocolate - so waving a heatgun over the mold quickly before you pour the chocolate in can help too

No, the first mold was placed on the counter where the second mold was waiting. It was a magnetic mold, but that is the only difference. I have been cautious about heating the molds because either they have a transfer sheet in them or are decorated with colored cocoa butter, and I have read so many horror stories about chocolates not unmolding with cocoa butter in the bottom that I have stayed away from heat. Do you think I should ignore any concern about heating the molds?

Jim

[Kerry Beal]

It's hard to bang on the magnetic molds as hard - might have been the difference I suppose.

[Jim D.]

I am resurrecting this topic to ask a question about using the acetate method to close molded chocolates. In Lior's photos in the thread, after the acetate sheet is removed, the mold is virtually clear of all excess chocolate. I sometimes achieve this result, but most of the time, there is a thin film of chocolate between the cavities. This means that when I unmold the chocolates, each has some thin chocolate around it, which I must trim off. This is no big deal, given that I make small quantities at a time, but it would be nice to get the technique right. Yesterday I really scraped as hard as I could--to the point at which little pieces of the acetate were coming off. Can anyone who uses this method offer any suggestions for improving my technique? A couple of thoughts that occurred to me: Perhaps the layer of chocolate is a little too thick and gets firm so quickly that it forms a layer sitting on top of the mold that cannot readily be removed? Perhaps I need to thin out the chocolate with cocoa butter (the couverture I am currently using is a little on the viscous side)?

Aside from "user error," the acetate method produces beautiful bottoms on chocolates.

[gap]

Jim - it's not a strength thing or (usually) a chocolate thing. One steady swipe holding the mould horizontal (place one end of the mould on your melting tank that you're scraping into if you can, or on something to hold the mould in place). Hold your scraper at 90 degree angle to the mould and swipe across in one smooth motion. It doesn't need to be quick, but should be a consistent speed (don't stop along the way).

[Jim D.]

Jim - it's not a strength thing or (usually) a chocolate thing. One steady swipe holding the mould horizontal (place one end of the mould on your melting tank that you're scraping into if you can, or on something to hold the mould in place). Hold your scraper at 90 degree angle to the mould and swipe across in one smooth motion. It doesn't need to be quick, but should be a consistent speed (don't stop along the way).

That's how I was doing it, or at least trying to do it. I'm making some more this week, so I'll keep at it. I am going to thin out the chocolate with a little cocoa butter to see if that helps as the couverture I am using now is more viscous than I am used to.

[HotTubLover]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/lwe8mrg2p6r7zln/Choc%20moulds%201.JPG

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xthtfv7q2gml7m1/Choc%20moulds%202.jpg

I am having a huge problem with blemishes on the chocolate as shown in the photos,
- does anyone know what might be causing it?
when i pop the chocolates out, there is a residue left stuck to the moulds,
this causes the chocolates to appear blemished as shown in the attached pictures.
i think it is related to the way im cleaning the moulds, i have used hot water and a soft sponge to clean, no detergents.
also, a cotton swap and alcohol to give them a good wipe.
i have even been using filtered water because i thought it might be water spots or limescale residue.

It tends to happen mostly in the cavities closer to the middle of the moulds.
when they are washed and cleaned, they appear shiny and clean with no damage,
but the chocolate stills turns out with blemishes/bloom, so i am completely bewildered as to how to clean them.
generally, the cavities around the centre area (and not around the edges) tend to produce the most blemishes.
i have posted links to the pictures of the chocolate with blemishes, and the moulds with the spots that appear where the blemishes form.

this is so frustrating, i really hope someone can help please.

ps - how do i post images on here? ive tried using the add image command in the tool bar, but it never shows the pictures -

Edited November 15, 2013 by HotTubLover (log)

[Mjx]

What you describe sounds a bit like what is discussed here: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/101377-help-cocoa-butter-sticks-to-chocolate-molds/?p=1393641

Until one the resident experts weighs in, this may give you something to go on.

[Gary Traffanstedt]

I use a Chocobivision tempering machine to temper approximately five pounds of Callebaut milk chocolate. I used the temperature off the back of the bag and programmed that into the machine. When the machine told me the chocolate was in temper I filled my molds and then placed them in the refrigerator for about five minutes to set them. End result was beautiful. After making truffles when I demoulded it worked great and they all came out nice and shiny.

The other day I decided to skip the refriegerator step thinking I didn't need to do that. Room temperature should be fine. It's 72F and 50% humidity. I figured that was cool enough and they would setup really nice. I filled the molds, they looked good, so I placed them on sheet pans, the pans into one of my racks, plenty of air circulation and not too close together, then went to lunch. Came back and almost all of them were splotchy. I had a different kind of mold that I had also made shells with from the same batch of chocolate that I had placed in the fridge for a few minutes. That one did not appear splotchy.

Is my chocolate not actually properly tempered or is the refrigeration a needed step in the process? I've read that 68F is ideal for the workshop but I don't have control over the temp as this is a commisary where I lease space. Is 72F too high? Is 50% humidity too high?

For tempering the chocolate I used the temps listed on the back of the bag of callets. I know it's melting at 113F but I don't recall the other two temps. The final temp for either milk or dark is 89.6F but I don't recall which one. I'll be at the kitchen later today and can check and see what three temps it's using for both and report back. For dark chcolate it's melting at 115F. And again, everything seems fine as long as I put the molds in the fridge for about five minutes. If there's something I can do to get a good reliable temper without having to use the fridge, that would be awesome.

I'll comment with the temps this evening.

[Kerry Beal]

Can you post some pictures of chocolates you have made in other molds? Also take us through your technique from start to finish.

[Kerry Beal]

When chocolate is rapidly crystallizing (ie setting up) it gives off heat - the "latent heat of crystallization". Depending on the mass of chocolate, the air circulation, whether air is trapped in an upside down mold - the heat can reach levels that will throw off the temper of the chocolate around it. It is the reason you see streaks of bloom on the left over chocolate you pour out onto a piece of parchment when you are done.

So putting the molds into the fridge (10º C less than room temperature is ideal) while they are rapidly crystallizing (signalled by seeing the chocolate starting to become matte around the edges of the mold) will prevent this from happening.

[Gary Traffanstedt]

So I'm not doing anything wrong then? Like I said it turns out beautiful as long as they're 5 minutes in the fridge. I just wasn't sure if that was correct or if I was messing something up and the fridge step was covering up my mistake.

[Kerry Beal]

Nope - fridge step is what you want.

[minas6907]

So I'm not doing anything wrong then? Like I said it turns out beautiful as long as they're 5 minutes in the fridge. I just wasn't sure if that was correct or if I was messing something up and the fridge step was covering up my mistake.

I can't even begin to tell you how long this was on my mind. I'm glad I'm not doing amything wrong, I too always thought I was covering my mistake, but it was working. Thanks for asking this and taking the time to explain the little details, and thank you Kerry for the answers.

[keychris]

That appears to be some sort of cocoa butter application - I would guess untempered cocoa butter.

ETA if you're cleaning without detergent, you're not getting all the fat off the mold.

Edited November 17, 2013 by keychris (log)

[chocofoodie]

I have a question along this line... I can't seem to get my finished chocolates out of the mold without sticking them in the freezer first. Does this mean there is something wrong with the temper (I use a tempering machine)? If I leave them in the freezer for a few minutes they pop out nicely and they are shiny and have a nice 'snap'. But today I forgot a tray in there for longer and after I popped them out they began to sweat and they lost that nice 'snap'. I'm sure they won't be looking very shiny in the morning either. How do I avoid this? It's such a shame to do all that work and then lose temper trying to get the chocolates out of the mold!

[Gary Traffanstedt]

Try fridge for 20 minutes then let them sit in the molds for another 20 on the counter. I have no problem with condensation and they pop right out for me.

As far as I can tell, as long as you leave them in the mold no condensation occurs so let them come back to room temp that way, then flip them over and let them come out.

Note: I haven't tried leaving them in the mold with ones from the freezer. I may just be getting lucky with the condensation issue but I've been trying to be very careful with the 20 minute time in the fridge and so far that's worked for me. I've heard using a heat gun to "dry" the truffles can help after condensation has happened and someone else told me you can air brush them to restore shine but that makes no sense. You'd be airbrushing OVER the spots.

[Gary Traffanstedt]

ETA if you're cleaning without detergent, you're not getting all the fat off the mold.

Do you need all of the fat off of the mold? I've been using detergent (and sanitizer) but was thinking none of that was needed if I was doing same chocolate again. Meaning if I did dark and am doing dark again, I could do so with just a quick polishing of the cavities rather than a full blown cleaning of the mold.

[pastrygirl]

That appears to be some sort of cocoa butter application - I would guess untempered cocoa butter.

ETA if you're cleaning without detergent, you're not getting all the fat off the mold.

I use only hot water to clean, then polish with a tea towel before molding. Some people don't even wash their molds!

[Chocolot]

Gary, I never wash my molds. I scrap, heat with hairdryer, wipe and polish with cotton balls.

[pastrygirl]

I would argue that you shouldn't need refrigeration to get a properly set shell. Do you test the chocolate on paper before molding to make sure it is in good temper, or do you just trust the machine? In what position are your molds after casting the shells? Standing them on edge allows better air circulation than laying them flat on the table. I only use the fridge if the kitchen is particularly warm or if I'm molding thicker bars.