Unmolding chocolate from a mini-muffin tin

[sgfrank]

I foolishly thought (or perhaps I didn't think) that I could make some little chocolate cups by spreading some chocolate in mini muffin tins. I tempered my chocolate, squeezed it around the top of each cavity, and then tapped the tray to get the chocolate to run down and fill the cup. The only problem is, now I can't get them out! Does anyone have anything I might try? My best plan right now is to attempt to melt down the chocolate and salvage it for another occasion. Freezing didn't seem to work, a quick pass of the blowtorch just melted them, and vigorous pounding has done no good. Help!

Thanks in advance,

Simon

[Trishiad]

i'd melt it out and call it a day.

next time you want to make a quick little cup you can paint chocolate into muffin liners and peel them off after the chocolate sets. not the most glamorous but easy and fun.

[sgfrank]

i'd melt it out and call it a day. 

next time you want to make a quick little cup you can paint chocolate into muffin liners and peel them off after the chocolate sets.  not the most glamorous but easy and fun.

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Thanks, I think it is a lost cause - I'll try the liners next time, or better yet, some polycarbonate molds (I had some cheap nonpolycarbonate molds which cracked during my last use, and I haven't yet replaced them). I may attempt to chip out the bottom of the chocolate from the tins, producing little medallions. They might suffice for what I need.

Anyway, all that for another day!

Simon

[SuzySushi]

Just a thought (a little late, perhaps, but I just saw your plea for help). Have you tried dipping the bottom of the cupcake tin in a basin of hot water for a few moments? That's the unmolding method for metal gelatin molds (because the heat is enough to make the metal expand without melting the contents).

I've seen antique chocolate molds made of metal -- don't know how they unmolded them!

Hooray for plastics and silicone!

[choux]

Warming the tin with hot water would just make the chocolate melt. The best thing would be to leave the tin in the refrigerator or freezer and let the chocolate cool enough to contract and pop out on its own. I see that you tried freezing, but maybe you didn't leave it long enough for the crystals to form properly and contract. Warming a metal mold that contains gelatin doesn't make the metal expand, it makes the outside of the gelatin melt just a tiny bit-enough to slide out. It works for porcelain ramekins too.

[chiantiglace]

hahaha. Scratch all of that.

Use balloons. Blow the balloons up to the size of the cups you want. Dip them into a tempered chocolate filled jar, invert the baloon once it stops dripping and place ontop of a glass. Allow to harden and let the air out of the balloons.

[Wendy DeBord]

Welcome to The eGullet Society For Arts & Letters Sgfrank!

It was a nice thought but that doesn't work at all. Metal molds for molding chocolate have a high shine and that works to prevent sticking. But properly tempered chocolate is the first line of defense from items sticking........and now that you've done so much to release your chocolate surely you've killed your temper trying to unmold.

Theres several ways to mold small chocolate cups. Take a little time and look thru past pages of our forum you'll find TONS of help and ideas.

To be honest with you, I buy in my chocolate shells at work........it a huge time saver.

[chocartist]

Well, this technique will probably cause gasps but it works.

1. Fill a tray of tart shells with water and place in the freezer. When the water is nearly frozen solid, bend a large paper clip and place it in the icy water so that it sticks up like a little handle. Allow the water to freeze hard.

2. Fill a small custard cup with tempered chocolate.

3. Working with one metal tart shell at a time (leave the rest in the freezer) grasp it in the palm of your warm hand for a few seconds to release the "speared" ice cube.

4. Now.....I know this sounds crazy.....working quickly, grasp it by the paper clip and plunge it (yes, I said plunge it) into the chocolate, immersing it only up to its top edge. Do not allow the chocolate level to rise above the top edge of the ice. Lift the cube out of the chocolate bath immediately.

5. Hold the cube about one inch above the counter; use your thumb to push downward gently on the top edges of the chocolate in several places. A very thin chocolate shell will drop off the ice. The floor of the shell's cavity may be wet, but it will air dry.

Note: Leftover chocolate from this procedure should never be combined with the rest of your tempered chocolate or reserved for subsequent projects, since it contains moisture.

This procedure is pictured in my book, Chocolate Artistry (now out of print).

[chiantiglace]

Interesting idea but sounds dangerous as you warned.

Couldn't you more easily fill and harden silicon in the tart shells using the same procedure with metal hooks. Atleast this way they could be used continuously over and over and cleaned aswell as allowing for a better finish.

Still a very intrigueing approach. Thanks, it made me think a little bit.

[Wendy DeBord]

You won't get a gasp from me Chocartist. Many experts have used blocks of ice to form chocolate on for years. The ice shocks the chocolate and makes it flexible for a short time period, allowing you to form items like nests out of straight strands of chocolate. The next step in the evolution that I'd seen/heard about is using frozen metal instead. Isn't it Jean-Pierre Wybauw who's now using a metal surface encompasing a freezent instead of ice?

Have you done done any studies using frozen metal in place of the ice Chocartist?

[chocartist]

Actually, chefs have been using frozen metal "moulds" with handles for years. I haven't seen them lately but the set comes in a metal box, which you keep in the freezer. The moulds remind me of fancy copper door knobs with handles. They make quick flowers and leaves but I have never liked them because they look so stiff and lifeless.

Then there is the technique of wrapping a sponge with plastic wrap and dunking it into chocolate to make little chocolate cups. I've done the same thing substituting a small paper cup covered with wax paper or plastic wrap.

My ice cube trick is novel and my students love it, but I wouldn't want to make very many of them that way. Mouldinng in metal tart shells can be frustrating, to be sure. For best results, don't make the shell too thin.

Isn't chocolate wonderful? There's no end to what you can do with it.

[chefcyn]

Actually, chefs have been using frozen metal "moulds" with handles for years.  I haven't seen them lately but the set comes in a metal box, which you keep in the freezer.  The moulds remind me of fancy copper door knobs with handles.  They make quick flowers and leaves but I have never liked them because they look so stiff and lifeless.

Then there is the technique of wrapping a sponge with plastic wrap and dunking it into chocolate to make little chocolate cups.  I've done the same thing substituting a small paper cup covered with wax paper or plastic wrap.

My ice cube trick is novel and my students love it, but I wouldn't want to make very many of them that way.  Mouldinng in metal tart shells can be frustrating, to be sure.  For best results, don't make the shell too thin.

Isn't chocolate wonderful?  There's no end to what you can do with it.

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How about laying a big sheet of plastic wrap over the back of a mini or regular muffin tin and pouring the chocolate ofer that--it should run down and cover the cup, then you should be able to pop the tin out from under it and have all the individual cups. I'm thinking it might be pretty messy, but should make cups in a pinch.

I like the idea of painting the insides of muffin liners and then peeling off the paper, and I've used the balloon method many times with great success--but the chocolate has to really be tempered for any of these ideas--it's what makes it pop off the mold.