Can someone tell me what modeling chocolate is, what it is used for and where you buy it? Also what exactly is Marzipan?

Marzipan is a paste similar to fondant that is made from almond meal... modelling chocolate is basically just chocolate melted with glucose and then when it hardens it's pliable to be shaped.

HTH

-- Fi

I am going to give this another bump, because I am still unclear what they are and why one would use it over say chocolate fondant or even regular fondant or gum paste?

Modeling chocolate-wilton candy melts and corn syrup.
Melt one bag of candy melts, add 1/4 cup of corn syrup....let it set overnight...then ya can make stuff.

Sometimes, depending on what your making, its easier to use the modeling chocolate.

Marzipan....almond tasting stuff I know nothing about

Marzipan is typically used to mold fruits and also used to cover fruitcakes under fondant/royal icing on English cakes.

Ok, marzipan...
Marzipan is a paste made with ground almonds and sugar. It can be moulded into almost any shape you want, the shape is then sculpted and painted. The result is an edible decorative item.

Made of sugar, egg whites and almonds, this substance can be used as a base for icing, or to mold decorative forms such as flowers from, on the wedding cake

Made with almonds, sugar and corn syrup, this is a sweet, supple confection that is easily molded and shaped

A combination of almond paste, sugar and corn syrup. It is used to cover cakes (originally, to cover wedding cakes before a layer of fondant or icing but more currently as a final finish) as well as to mold, coloured decorative candies and figurines

Modeling Chocolate......
Got this from the Joy of Baking.....

This is a pliable chocolate paste made from just two ingredients, chocolate and corn syrup. It has the texture of a tootsie roll or marzipan and is very easy to work with. It can be used to make ropes, braids, ribbons, ruffles, flowers, or leaves. Can be made with bittersweet, semi-sweet, milk or white chocolate.

I made this chocolate clay and it was real greasy and so I just tried to need it back in. Has anybody ever had this problem?

I've only made it once and yes, it was greasy feeling.....I'm not experienced in this field....anyone else know why htis happens? Or is that the way its s'posed to be???

Bump.?

I've heard that the heat from your hands begins to melt the modeling clay.

You can use powdered sugar (or cornstarch) with the modelling chocolate/candy clay, just as you would with the fondants and gumpastes, etc.

The greasy feel is the oil naturally found in the chocolate, and released by the heat of your hands. Use the powdered sugar to compensate.

One of the reasons for this over fondant would be a different taste. It's not that any one medium is better than another, but for the flavor, look, etc.

For some people, I guess it would be "Oh cool.......that's chocolate?!? Wow!"

HTH

Interesting. I have only used this clay by rolling it out and cutting it out with cookie cutters. Any other idea's that candy clay can be used for?

If you ever watch "Ace of Cakes" on the Food Network, Duff uses modeling chocolate/candy clay on most of his cakes. He uses it to cover cakes and do accents, moulding, etc. as you would think to use fondant. He's used it to make figurines, cover "rice krispie treats" to form 3D pieces, etc.

I've never used it, but I'm inspired by watching what he and his team creates!

Wow that is so interessting. Love to try it does anybody know where I could purchase this?

Here's a link to Choco Pan: http://www.choco-pan.com/store/index.php?cPath=23&osCsid=e0905f9343ca066fcefef63725cd24f2

Thanks alot Miriel.

Do you think it's just equal parts of fondant and melted chocolate? I do that ratio with fondant and gumtext. It gives me a much stiffer medium to work with but can "wrinkle" if too much gumtext is used......Any thoughts on the Choco-Pan?

I stand corrected.
I emailed Charm City Cakes to ask what they use for modeling chocolate.
They use a product called Confiseur d'or, available through Albert Uster. Its about TWELVE bucks a POUND!!
That seems really expensive. Choco-Pan is about half the price. I have used the choco-pan to make figures and stuff like they make on Ace of Cakes and it works really well. People also like to eat it because it tastes like chocolate.
I always hated using MMF because no one would eat it!

We may start carrying the Confiseur d'or at www.cincicakeandcandy.com.

Does modeling chocolate melt? Can it be used for panels on a cake? For instance, if I want to wrap the sides of a cake with it with 2 inches above each tier to put in flower pedals, will it dry like fondant or gumpaste?