Chocolate Plastic

[Amuse Bouche]

So after reading a bit on these boards and elsewhere, I decided to attempt to make my own chocolate plastic, using 7 oz. white chocolate and 1 1/2 Tb corn syrup. I've let it rest and tried to knead it, but it's just staying crumbly. How do I fix it? Just more kneading? Start again with a new batch and add more corn syrup? Any suggestions?

[Wendy DeBord]

I don't have my recipe in front of me this second to check on your recipe....but here's the fix: put it in the cusinart until your lumps are gone. But that will heat it up so you'll have to give it hours or overnight for it to cool down to a good working consistancy.

[kthull]

Without knowing the real reason/science of it, I have noticed that if I mix in my corn syrup when the melted chocolate is too hot, it doesn't come together as nicely as when I let the melted chocolate cool down to just slightly warm. I also am careful about not mixing the corn syrup in too much...just until the mixture starts to coagulate.

Again, I don't wholly know if that is the solution to your problem, but overmixing and too hot produced some bad batches for me. It's nice to know they can be salvaged...thanks Wendy!

Edited May 29, 2004 by kthull (log)

[Amuse Bouche]

It wasn't lumpy -- it just wouldn't come together. It was like a shortcrust pastry, that would break when I tried to knead it. I looked at some other recipes, and they called for almost a 1/4 c. of corn syrup for the same amount of chocolate. I threw it in the (mini) cuisinart and added some extra corn syrup. That seemed to do the trick, and it's now much more of the texture I expected.

[kthull]

The texture you described sounds like what happened to me with my failed attempts. Was your melted chocolate on the hot side? Your recipe sounds close to the one I'm using from the Cake Bible. That one is 6 oz white chocolate and 1T+1tsp corn syrup.

[aidensnd2]

I'd say the problem was most likely too little corn syrup. I make mine with glucose and although I don't have the exact recipe in front of me it seems like 1 1/2 TB might be too little.

Did you try warming it up before kneading?

[Wendy DeBord]

I agree with Kthull, if the chocolate is too hot it siezes tightly when you add your corn syrup and the cocoa butter becomes liquid oozing out of the mass. You can still use the cusinart to save it, just wait until it's cool before doing the cusinart thng.

With white chocolate you don't want too much corn syrup because it remains rather soft and then won't hold a shape with-out melting down.