Best Way To Apply Luster Dust To Chocolate?
Decorating By kkhigh Updated 15 Jun 2006 , 4:42pm by Katskakes
Hi
I want to make some chocolate pieces for a cake and am trying to figure out the best way to 'paint' them with luster dust. When I have tried before with dry dust, my brushed got gummed up due to the 'oily' nature of the chocolate and it did not go on smoothly. Do you think mixing the dust with almond extract will work? I wasnt sure if it would adhere since it is a liquid? I plan on experimenting of course but wanted to get some ideas where to start first. 
Thanks for any help,
Kim
Dust should be mixed with an alcohol based liquid, it will blend with the dust and it evaporates quickly. Vodka, Gin, Everclear, lemon extract, clear vanilla are all alcohol based.
Take a small amount of dust on a plate or mixing dish and add one drop at a time to make your paint.
i'm glad to see this question. yesterday i was trying to do some seashells. I added a bit of crisco when melting chocolates, as i have read before. when i tried dusting the shells, it didn't work well. Im not sure if it's the oil or the brush. I was hoping to dust them, not paint them.
I don't have any problems with just dusting the dust on with a brush. I use a pretty stiff brush. I make dusted shells all the time & have never had a problem.
One thing I learned when doing the seashells for a wedding cake I did recently(in my pics) was that once the chocolates came out of the freezer/fridge and out of the mold, I had to let them sit for a while for the condensation to evaporate and then dusted them. I didn't mix the dusts with anything and they turned out beautiful. I tried to dust one before it was dry and it was a mess.
helen,
do you add crisco to melt the chocolate? maybe that's where I went wrong.
No. I just melt the chocolate wafers. Then I mold the chocolates. When they are completely dry and at room temp, then I brush the dust on.
Don't know everything. But, the only time I add Crisco is in the hopes of getting some melts to melt. Once I must have gotten an old box of Merkens and it was a nightmare. Kathy Scott gives instructions to use paramount crystals when making the Tiffany boxes to make the chocolate more "bitable."
I just dusted a whole lot of seashells for a wedding cake last weekend! I used Merckens; I've also used wilton's brand. You don't need to add crisco to it. Like the others mentioned, let the shells come to room temperature and are completely dry before dusting. I dry brushed them. Last year i tried vodka mixed with dust, but it kind of "melted" the details of the molded candy.
I made shells out of candy melts, as soon as I took them out of the molds I dusted them with dry powder, put them in a ziploc and put them back in the fridge (it pretty hot and humid where I'm at) I had no problems with them. If you brush it on dry it really gives a nice affect and brings out the grooves and ridges in the shells, if you add the liquid and paint it on, it will be solid colored not like an accent. Also, you should NOT add shortening to candy melts. You can add shortening to chocolate, but it doesn't set up (in my opinion) as well as if you just leave it out. If you look in my photos. My newest cake, the shells are brushed on with the powder still dry and the hibiscus and flipflops are painted on with the dust mixed with vodka. Just to give you an idea of the difference.
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