Chocolate House Mold

[In2Pastry]

I would love to do something different this year other than the same ol gingerbread house for Christmas and I thought chocolate would be a great idea. Years ago I remember seeing a chocolate house on a Jacque Torres TV special, but after searching and searching I haven't came up with a mold of any kind. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[highchef]

can't you use the gingerbread forms for chocolate? If you've been making the walls, roof etc. just in sheets and cutting, they do make pans to bake it to shape, why can't the pans be used for molding choc?

I think I saw that show too..but that man can make chocolate mold to anything, any size or shape. amazing.

[K8memphis]

Get some mylar from the craft store to pour out your chocolate on and cut it to the size of your pattern Or cut the mylar into the size of your pattern, lay those onto bigger sheets of mylar spread the choco all over and then at the right time pick up your pattern pieces. Maybe somthing like that?

I mean there's chocolate molds for houses though at cake and candy stores and sites.

[John DePaula]

Seems like I may have seen something like that at Tomric Plastics

[In2Pastry]

Highchef: Thank you, I have never used those pans, but I bet your right, I will give those a try.

K8memphis: The myler method is a little dangerous for me yet. I still haven't got my timing down for when the chocolate is the right consistency to cut. As for the house molds, the one I did find, was too small for what I was looking for.

John DePaula: Great, I will check Tomric Plastics. That's one place I haven't searched.

Thank you all for your help!!!

[K8memphis]

K8memphis: The myler method is a little dangerous for me yet. I still haven't got my timing down for when the chocolate is the right consistency to cut.  As for the house molds, the one I did find, was too small for what I was looking for.

←

I defer to your opinion.

However I do want to encourage you about it. Aincha never eaten an almost too melty chocolate bar? Anywhere along in there is the right time to pick your mylar pattern pieces up off the plastic. Then allow them to fully harden, peel off the mylar and viola.

Your learning curve is to get the chocolate the same thickness. (Not to mention proper temper of the chocolate.) But once you pour your stuff out and smooth with a spatula, just kinda take one corner of the mylar and tug it and the warm fragrant chocolate ooze will level itself out. I mean the chocolate does the work all you do is wait.

If you move the pattern pieces too soon, just wait a bit longer. If you blow it then just remelt. If the edges are messy after it hardens run a warm finger across or a warm knife - instant straight edge. The chocolate hardens on it's own. And truth to tell, assuming you can cut out a pattern, the mylar dealie is easier than using molds.

I mean a souffle is risky--you get it or you don't. Whipping egg whites you gotta be careful. Baking angel food cake, you don't open the oven door too soon. Bang something hard enough and poof you got angel food pancake. Chocolate is going to harden and get crisp all by itself all you have to do is watch it.

Chocolate is fat and it will harden at room temperature period. Just make sure you pour a test area where you can touch it to see how's it going. Edges firm faster than the middle. There's a time span for when you can move it around. All you need is some time. The chocolate does it for you. Mylar is easier than molds because mylar peels off--keep the choco on one side of the mylar, nick it off cleanly if it does get on the wrong side.

If you decide to try it, make tabs on the pattern pieces so you have handles to pick them up with and then later cut them off with a hot knife. Stuff like that.

It's much easier than you're thinking. But this is just to encourage you to try sometime. Chocolate is fun.

[In2Pastry]

K8memphis: The myler method is a little dangerous for me yet. I still haven't got my timing down for when the chocolate is the right consistency to cut.  As for the house molds, the one I did find, was too small for what I was looking for.

←

I defer to your opinion.

However I do want to encourage you about it. Aincha never eaten an almost too melty chocolate bar? Anywhere along in there is the right time to pick your mylar pattern pieces up off the plastic. Then allow them to fully harden, peel off the mylar and viola.

Your learning curve is to get the chocolate the same thickness. (Not to mention proper temper of the chocolate.) But once you pour your stuff out and smooth with a spatula, just kinda take one corner of the mylar and tug it and the warm fragrant chocolate ooze will level itself out. I mean the chocolate does the work all you do is wait.

If you move the pattern pieces too soon, just wait a bit longer. If you blow it then just remelt. If the edges are messy after it hardens run a warm finger across or a warm knife - instant straight edge. The chocolate hardens on it's own. And truth to tell, assuming you can cut out a pattern, the mylar dealie is easier than using molds.

I mean a souffle is risky--you get it or you don't. Whipping egg whites you gotta be careful. Baking angel food cake, you don't open the oven door too soon. Bang something hard enough and poof you got angel food pancake. Chocolate is going to harden and get crisp all by itself all you have to do is watch it.

Chocolate is fat and it will harden at room temperature period. Just make sure you pour a test area where you can touch it to see how's it going. Edges firm faster than the middle. There's a time span for when you can move it around. All you need is some time. The chocolate does it for you. Mylar is easier than molds because mylar peels off--keep the choco on one side of the mylar, nick it off cleanly if it does get on the wrong side.

If you decide to try it, make tabs on the pattern pieces so you have handles to pick them up with and then later cut them off with a hot knife. Stuff like that.

It's much easier than you're thinking. But this is just to encourage you to try sometime. Chocolate is fun.

←

Thank you so much K8memphis! With encouragement like that I'm going to HAVE to try it!! I have one question for now, probably more later, if you don't mind, but what thickness of myler should I be looking at getting or does it matter?

Thanks again!

[K8memphis]

Hmm, ideally something not super flimsy like mylar wrapping paper would be kind of flimsy. But just so it has nice body, something like stencil weight. In fact come to think of it, I've used mylar wrapping paper before. The wrinkles where it had been folded messed me up as I recall so I worked around the creases. So it doesn't totally matter--but I have stencil weight-ish.