***what Is Modeling Chocolate Or Candy Clay???***
Decorating By cupcakesnbuttercream Updated 19 Jul 2009 , 6:50pm by toodlesjupiter
If you use these, could you tell me a little more info about the product? Is there a difference in candy clay & modeling chocolate? Which is easier to use?
modeling chocolate/chocolate clay/chocolate plastique are all the same thing: melted chocolate mixed with corn syrup which is then allowed to harden. then it is kneaded into a workable consistency that is similar to fondant and can be use for many of the same things as fondant is.
candy clay is the same thing but with candy melts and corn syrup instead of chocolate.
they are both super easy to make and if you can use fondant, you can most likely handle it with ease. semi-sweet chocolate is going to be the easiest to make and use the first time because of its lower fat content (relative to white or milk chocolate).
i love making flowers and ribbons with it but you can do so much more. it tastes great and people really do enjoy eating it.
diane
Thank you so much for your help. When I see bakers use it on tv I always thought it was hard and how do they shape that?
So it's similar to fondant and I can make it myself! That's good to know.
I love when you can make your own product and choose your own ingredients. Does anyone know how much corn syrup to how many oz of chocolate (semi-sweet) that makes the clay? I have never used modeling chocolate but chocolate sounds tastier than fondant...
if you use the wilton candy melts, the recipe is right on the back of the bag
i use Toba Garretts chocolate plastic which i love and has never failed me:
1 pound semi-sweet (dark) chocolate
5 fluid ounces (7.5 oz or 210 grams by weight) of light corn syrup...this is about 2/3 cup
1. Chop chocolate finely and place in a bowl over simmering water. Stir to melt chocolate evenly. When three-quarters melted, remove from heat. Continue stirring until all the pieces are melted.
2. Use a rubber spatula to stir in the corn syrup. Continue to stir until the chocolate starts to leave the sides of the bowl (about 60 seconds for dark chocolate, 20 to 30 seconds for white or milk chocolate).
3. Scrape chocolate mixture onto plastic wrap and spread out to about 1/2 inch thick. Place another piece of plastic wrap directly on top. Refrigerate or let rest in a cool place for 24 hours.
4. Once aged, cut into smaller pieces. Microwave the pieces for just a few seconds to take off the hard edge. Knead thoroughly with the heels of your hands until the chocolate has elasticity and a shiny coat. Wrap in plastic wrap until ready to use.
Keeps for several weeks without refrigeration provided it is placed in a cool, dry area.
For white or milk chocolate, use 1 oz less than you would for dark chocolate. Thus, use 4 fl. oz corn syrup or 6 oz/168 grams by weight for 1 lb. white or milk chocolate.
here are some more tips, most learned the hard way 
....most recipes you find are going to have just about the same relative porportions of chocolate to syrup. i usually cut this recipe in half. there are also some good recipes on CC.
....milk choc/white choc (and candy clay i find) all have more fat, so you will want to adjust the recipe a bit as she mentions. you may also need to blot fat...el yucko. start with the semi-sweet, lol.
....a lot of recipes don't have the aging and i think this is important.
....easier if you let it come to room temp instead of microwaving before kneading because it is very easy to overheat and then you have to rip off a new piece and start over again because if it overheats it will get greasy, grainy, and floppy. don't throw the too warm stuff away. just tuck it back in fridge for later use.
...just knead until glossy. then STOP.
...i put the chocolate decorations right on top of my smbc and they stay very pliable (and tasty). my 5 year old peels them right off and eats them if i don't run interference...
....roses left out to dry will get hard...not hard like gumpaste, but hard enough to keep their shape.
....i have used petal dust on white choc flowers successfully.
ok, that's all i can think of for now 
.
oops, one more thing (sorry, i did not mean to write a novel).
here is a link to a website where the decorator/chef uses modeling chocolate for just about everything, including covering the entire cake).
http://www.dessertworks.net/weddinghome2.html
diane
I never had luck using chocolate chips. It turns crumbly.
so you use bricks/bars of chocolate instead?
Wow this thread is amazing! Drakegore thank you so much for that information! I have been looking for something to make chocolate brown flowers out of for some cupcakes I am making and was going to try MMF, but this sounds so much easier and yummy 
I can't wait to try it.. infact I bet I have all of the ingredients already!!
hi rylanty! i use the garden variety nestle chocolate chips (i am sort of embarrased to admit, lol). i have never gotten crumbly clay. hmmm. are you aging it? i age a minimum of 12 hours and if i can, i do 24.
lee15 - i am so jealous...toba garrett is my cake (and cookie) hero. her books are the best and i can only imagine how great it would be to have a 5 day class with her.
i have used gold luster dust on chocolate clay and i recently used the PME pearl spray on some white chocolate flowers that i dusted with pink petal dust and they looked so good (i might be biased, lol).
you can tint white chocolate but you need to use candy colors which are oil-based. the regular wilton and americolor gels will not work. i know you can use the regular gels with flo-coat but i have not tried this yet, so i cannot speak to it. but i love the candy colors and actually love them for my buttercreams and fondant too because the colors come out so vibrant.
another way to get color, is just to make the clay using the already colored candy chips. stores like michaels and acmoore carry a range of colors, but the colors you can get in cake supplie stores are usually more varied and also more vivid.
I've tried to make this stuff before and followed the directions (I thought) and it still got crumbly. You all have inspired me to try again. I am impatient by nature , so I probably didn't knead it long enough. Thanks Drakegore!
ok, what about this - I've got 5 packs of white and regular "chocolate bark" on hand that I got super cheap after Christmas...would these work for candy clay? (I'm dying to use them for something before they go bad...)
Does anyone have issues with chocloate clay melting out of it's shape?
Does anyone have issues with chocloate clay melting out of it's shape?
Wow! This was at the top of my list for new things to try! I just love CC!
ok, what about this - I've got 5 packs of white and regular "chocolate bark" on hand that I got super cheap after Christmas...would these work for candy clay? (I'm dying to use them for something before they go bad...)
Hey yellowbutterfly there's a recipe by Sugarflowers on here that uses almond bark. Here's the link:
http://cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-6383-4-Chocolate-Leather.html
and here's another one that mentions that you can substitute with almond bark:
http://cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-1608-3-Chocolate-Clay-Modeling-Chocolate.html
HTH!
sweetideas - so far i have not had any melting issues with branches, ribbons, roses, other flowers, or plaques that i have made with the clay.
because i use smbc as my base, i apply my chocolate to a fridged cake. and usually, i stick the cake back into the fridge after i decorate (i don't put my roses in the fridge though unless they are totally dry...and i usually prefer them not totally dry). i bring to room temp is a cool room. but i have had the cakes in warm rooms after they come to temp and the chocolate is fine.
when i make roses and branches, i usually air dry them for a bit before putting them on and this dries them a bit (just like it would fondant) and they become even more durable. i have never had anything go "floppy" on me, lol.
it's a pretty stable medium to work with despite its melty origins .
diane
Another option you have is JenniferMI's Pearl Clay. It's a hybrid candy clay/fondant mixture that has an awesome taste and is great for things like pearls and accents on cakes. In my pix I used it for the "tissue" part of the Tiffany Box cake. Delicious!!
I have successfully used the Americolor Flo-Coat to emulsify Americolor gel colors into both white chocolate clay and candy melt clay. I have also added gel colors to the corn syrup before stirring it into the melted candy or chocolate - just be aware that it will be greatly reduced in intensity of color and the yellowish color of white chocolate and most "white" melts will affect the final color. I have actually added just gel color to candy clay, too, and it kneaded in just fine. Guess the corn syrup makes that work....
Hey Drakegore-
Is it easy to mold things out of like let's say.... a 6" foot? Or would I be better off making it from rice crispy treats covered in fondant? I've been wanting to try it but didn't know how easily you could model with it - other than flowers/ribbons, etc. TIA!
hi toodles,
i am sorry for the delay in responding. we took an unplanned family road trip and got away for 2 days!
you could model with it easily. i think you could do a 6" foot with just chocolate and not need a rice crispie treat (i am not an expert on modeling, but i see folks like mike mccarey model amazing things with it).
diane
Hi Diane!
Good for you! It's always good when you can get away with the family for a couple days! I'm trying to set something up for our family to do within the next couple of weeks, before the kids have to go back to school.
Thanks for the info. My biggest problem is the heat. I hope it doesn't melt, and droop out of shape. I'm going to try it. Wish me luck!
i am all for get aways, lo, but i don't get as many as i would like
after you model the foot, you can air dry it for a day or two in a cool spot and that will harden it up a bit before you put it on the cake. although, i would bet you won't need to even do that. it is pretty "model-able" (i am sure that is not a word, lol) stuff.
diane
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