Recipe 3: Chocolate modeling clay

Another simple recipe, modeling chocolate is extremely easy to make, and yet the possibilities of using it is endless.

For those with little kids, it can make a fun and tasty (though sticky!) edible clay.

I've found it's most valuable use to be for cake decoration (see White Chocolate Roses and White Chocolate Bows).

While any type of chocolate will work for this recipe, white chocolate allows you to add color, which is what I did to make blue and pink decorations.

Ingredients

• One 12-oz bag of chocolate chips, or 10 ounces baking chocolate bar
• 1/3 cup light corn syrup
• Plenty of powdered sugar for dusting and to make handling less sticky

Supplies/Utensils

• Double boiler set up (small pot and glass bowl)
• Plastic wrap
• (For examples of decorations):
• Rolling pin
• Knife
• Toothpicks
• Scissors

 Directions

1. Set up a double boiler to melt the chocolate. This is important, because melting chocolate through direct heat will cause chocolate to burn and become clumpy.  To set up, put enough water in a small pot so that it just barely touches the bottom of a glass bowl, which will be put on top. The hot water will be what gently melts the chocolate, but make sure that none of the water gets in to the chocolate! This causes chocolate "curdling".
   
   
   
2. Add the chocolate chips to the glass bowl of the double-boiler once the water starts to steam.
3. Make sure the water doesn't bubble up too much, while gently stirring the chocolate until it is melter consistently smooth.
4. Being careful not to touch the hot glass bowl, using a towl or oven mit, remove the bowl from heat
5. Add the 1/3 cup light corn syrup to the mixture (If you're coloring white chocolate: Prior to adding the corn syrup, add a small amount of food coloring to the syrup.  Add color slowly; a little does a whole lot!)
6. Stir quickly so it is completely blended, then transfer the warm mixture to another bowl with a plastic wrap covering (this will make dough easier to remove when ready for use)
7. Allow the clay to harden overnight, or for at least 4 hours

When the dough has set, it will at first pretty firm.  With a little bit of handling, it becomes pliable, and eventually even gooey.  Using plenty of powdered sugar helps to make sure it won't stick.  Placing the dough back in the fridge lets it harden back up in 5 minutes

Decoration Suggestion 1: Chocolate Roses

 

(Throughout this recipe, if the dough becomes sticky, use powdered sugar, or put dough back in the fridge for a couple of minutes.  You might have to do this in the middle of making a rose, because the dough softens with handling)

1. Using powdered sugar, dust a sheet of plastic wrap (makes a quick clean up!) roll a golf-ball sized amount of the chocolate clay with a sugar dusted rolling pin, until quite thin.  
2. You can improvise, but use a small circular object to cut pieces of the rolled out clay in to circles about the size of a nickel (I used the cap of a water bottle).  Use it like a cookie cutter; if the dough becomes stuck, you can use toothpick to scoop out the dough.  You don't need a perfect circle because you're going more for a consistent amount, not perfect shape.
3. Once you have about 15 circles, you can start on your first rose! 
4. Take one circle, and pinch it to flatten in slightly, making the top edge thinner than the bottom.
5. Wrap around the top of a tooth pick
6. Using the same method, wrap the first petal around the center, and sort of press in the bottom of the petal to seal it to the center.
7. Continue, until the rose is the size you want it!
8. Use scissors to cut off the rose from the excess dough at the bottom, being sure not to accidentally cut off part of the toothpick
9. Set bottom flat on a plate, and let harden in the fridge
10. Keep using dough to roll flat, cut circles, and assemble for as many roses as you'd like
11. Use to decorate a cake (icing can act like glue!), or give a dozen as a sweet box of candy :)

 Decoration Suggestion 2: Chocolate Bows

1. Roll a small a golf ball sized amount of dough in to a log on a powdered sugar dusted sheet of plastic wrap
2. With a sugar dusted rolling pin, flatten the log so that it is pretty thin, but thick enough that it can be peeled up easily
3. Next, cut the dough in to about 12-14 equal sized strips 
4. Fold each strip in to a loop
5. Press a little ball of dough on to a plate, and start arranging 6-7 loops around in a circle by pressing the pinched ends in to the dough on the plate
6. Once the first layer is laid down, take 4-5 loops and stagger them as the second layer of the bow
7. For the last layer, stip one loop pinched side down
8. Refrigerate and use to decorate!

If you roll enough dough, you can cut strips to make "ribbon" and decorate a cake like a present