Transfer Sheets: Tips, Techniques & Care

[jturn00]

I have two questions but they are related so I am putting them both here. Is it better to put the transfer sheets on top of the chocolate ganache squares dipped into tempered chocolate (by cutting the sheets into into smaller squares?) or put the tempered squares directly on top of the transfer sheet?

Also, would it be possible to airbrush an acetate sheet and then put the tempered squares onto the acetate as a way of making my own transfer sheet?

Any suggestions would be welcome!

Thanks,

Jeff

[Drewman]

I put the transfer sheet on top of the chocolates and yes you can airbrush colored cocoa butters to make your own transfers.

[theabroma]

Any suggestions for good sources for chocolate, cocoa butter, acetate sheets, colors, etc? I am starting to work with chocolate again on a small scale, and would appreciate some leads.

Thanks,

Theabroma

[Wendy DeBord]

Take a look at these threads, here and here.

[jturn00]

I was looking through the two books I have for chocolates and both recommend putting a thin layer of untempered? chocolate on the ganache before cutting them into squares. One book mentions that this is to make the dipping easier? Why is that and is that step necessary?

Thanks,

Jeff

[jturn00]

I also was looking into the threads for an inexpensive (and efficient) way to cut my chocolates into squares w/o a guitar cutter since this is not a business. Does anyone think that a pastry wheel/cutter would work in cutting the ganache? I also saw a cake leveler from kerekes (www.bakedeco.com) which looks like if I put the chocolates on an elevated surface, I can use this to cut the ganache. (It is only 2.95 so it can't hurt to try).

Any comments?

Thanks,

Jeff

[Trishiad]

the untempered chocolate helps keep your ganache squares together and makes it easier to dip them in chocolate. Tempered chocolate would be too hard and would shatter when sliced.

[greystreak]

I've seen chocolate transfer sheets used in molds and chocolate spread onto transfer sheets to create the pattern on chocolate but does any one know if you can use a transfer sheet to transfer the pattern onto a finished , cooled piece of chocolate ? If so , can you fill me in on the secret ? Thank you .

[Trishiad]

hmmm, I think you're SOL. MAYBE try warming the sheet and laying on the chocolates? I think you'll just muck it up though.

[John DePaula]

Don't know if this would work for your particular application, but some chocolatiers create a separate decoration piece and then "glue" it to a bonbon using melted chocolate. As an example, see the beautiful chocolates at Christopher Norman Chocolates.

Note: I know that he isn't using transfer sheets here, but it's the same principle.

[Lloydchoc]

You can apply a transfer sheet to practically anything by brushing melted cocoa butter on the surface and then applying the transfer and chilling the piece. I put some transfers on some crackers using this technique.

[Truffle Guy]

I've seen chocolate transfer sheets used in molds and chocolate spread onto transfer sheets to create the pattern on chocolate but does any one know if you can use a transfer sheet  to transfer the pattern onto a finished , cooled piece of chocolate ? If so , can you fill me in on the secret ?  Thank you .

←

You can do this pretty easily and it can be very cost effective as far as using the transfer sheet. Just lay down the transfer sheet, temper the chocolate and apply a thin coat to the tranfer sheet. As it starts to cool and holds its shape, cut the desired shape you would like. After the chocolate hardens you can just snap the transfer tiles from the sheet. I've found the transfer is shinier if you let the chocolate set for a day or more before removing the transfer.

You can also do this with textured sheets for a nice effect. I've used glitter dust on top of the textured sheets before spreading the chocolate and you get both the texture and some nice color. Its all very easy to do and gives a nice look to the pieces. Its interesting to use circle tiles on square tiles and vice versa as well. Hope this helps.

[greystreak]

Just wanted to say thank you for all the input . I think I figured out a way to do what I need to do before the choclate sets up . Because of the input given I was able to rethink my approach . i will still try out a couple of the suggestions this weekend . Again thank you .

[cocoa-lulu]

I'm sure somebody, somewhere has done this before. But I came up with the idea after ready a previous post where someone mentioned "pad printing machines"

I took small rubber stamps from a craft store, dipped those in a slurry made of cocoa butter and luster dust. I then stamped the inside of an Easter egg mold, set in fridge a few seconds then continued with molding as usual.

The imprints are not as defined and intricate as transfer sheets. But I think it has a lot of potential.

I used a small detailed flower and a plain solid heart in my experiment. The solid image of the heart worked best. Any thoughts on refining my technique?

Lulu-

[alanamoana]

that's a great idea cocoa-lulu...i'm sure that's how transfer sheets started out...good ole' potato printing, hehehe

another way to do it would be to stamp on acetate sheets and form your chocolates on the acetate.

i think doing it in the molds only works if you have a large mold with a smooth surface (like the easter egg mold you are using). otherwise, the curves, etc. would make for a difficult surface to get a clear image.

sounds like fun! very creative. now i must get some cocoa butter/colored cocoa butter to try this on my acetate...

[cocoa-lulu]

You're right about the potato stamping! I guess everything I need to know I did learn in kindergarten! You're also right about the size of the stamp, I bought the smallest I could find. About a 1/4" wide. I'm working on a 26" rabbit right nw. I stamped on a starburst pattern on her apron before going over it in white chocolate. Once that sets a while I'll fill with milk chocolate. Keep your fingers crossed, I'm not so good with these huge molds. I'm going to try the acetate later. Thanks, Lulu

[alanamoana]

with the larger molds, some people brush the tempered chocolate in a thin layer into the mold first. then fill with the tempered chocolate and dump. i guess the brushing helps get your initial coat bubble free and to make sure you've filled every crevice...

good luck!

[Wendy DeBord]

I'm most curiuos about how this works out for you. I had limited success doing similar. I never got a great image reproduction on acetate with a stamp. I found it easier and cleaner to stamp, stencil or airbrush onto the completed item, whether it be a piece of chocolate, fondant or other surface.

I'd love to see photos if you get this worked out.

[Sebastian]

I tried this just last week, borrowing a stamp from my daughters collection - while it worked ok, i didn't have great consistent results. I've been thinking about it, and I think if there was more 'depth' in the relief of the stamp, I might get better results (ie, there's more distance between the 'highs' and the 'lows' of the stamp). I think i was getting pooling in the crevaces of the stamp - while i could blot that out prior to stamping, it never quite got to where i wanted it to be...

[alanamoana]

i thought about that too...some of the stamps they sell for crafting are very detailed and i imagine the cocoa butter would be a little too viscous for some applications. it would have to be a pretty simple and clean edged stamp to produce a good image.

wendy, on the stencil and airbrush idea...could you stencil/airbrush a really cute design onto acetate to create your own transfer sheets? i'm thinking this would work best on little squares of dipped ganache where you take a cut piece of the sprayed acetate and apply it to the top while the tempered chocolate is crystallizing?!

i've been shopping for transfer sheets lately and the minimum purchase is usually 25 sheets of the same design. i just want to experiment a little and this is just cost prohibitive. i'm thinking i'll just make my own.

does anyone know where you can purchase an assortment or smaller amount?

sorry, maybe this should be another thread.

[FistFullaRoux]

I've seen the airbrushed/brushed/stamped patterns on acetate done before on one of the Food Network pastry competitions things. I've also seen Jaques Torres do it on his Halloween special. So it works.

[stscam]

There is an earlier thread about making your own transfer sheets here:

Making Transfer Sheets, How?

Following Lloydchoc's example, I've been trying to make silk screen transfers. Because of the press of business it's been slow going, but I did transfer a couple of good images to acetate and they read okay on dark chocolate.

One point Lloyd makes is using titanium dioxide to make your cocoa butter more opaque. This is really important if you want bright, contrasty colors. You can actually find this stuff on Ebay. Just make sure you get food grade (most is, because it's used in lipsticks, makeup and other semi-edible stuff). Add it to your liquid cocoa butter and stir well to completely incorporate.

Cheers,

Steve

[duckduck]

A word of caution about posting pictures from a long time rubber stamp artist...a lot of stamp companies are "angel companies" meaning a company that will allow you to use their stamps and sell a handmade product. Some are not. But most of them have issues with any of their images being copied by any mechanical means because they have a copyright on the images. Before you post any photos, make sure that it is either your own personal stamp that you have made or had made for you or check with the company that manufactures the stamps and get permission to post the image. My understanding is that some of them can get a little nasty about this issue.

[WhiteTruffleGirl]

duckduck,

How does one make a rubber stamp? I'm think this might be a really good way to go about making some transfer sheets for personalized chocolates I'm making for a friend's wedding favors.

I've been planning on trying my own transfer sheets with screen printing (just got some titanium dioxide), but the rubber stamp sounds like it might be a simpler approach for this one-off application.

[tmgrobyn]

White Truffle Girl, the easiest way to make your own rubber stamp is to use your computer to print the image you want. Using any graphic or font and make it look exactly as you would want it to print out. Then take it to your local rubber stamp store and have them make it up for you. I do this all the time. It gets a bit pricey if you make it intricate, but if it's a simple stamp it shouldn't cost you more than $10. Hope that helps.