Chocolate Molding 101: how to prepare chocolate for molds?

Why is it so hard to work with chocolate? Chocolate can be one of the most difficult ingredients to work with in the kitchen. Without a doubt, it is an ingredient that can make desserts spectacular, can impart both bitterness and sweetness, and can take a variety of shapes and forms. It is essential for many desserts, but what makes it so difficult?

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Working with chocolate can be frustrating, especially when you try to create solid chocolates like bonbons and bars, either because they stick to the molds, crack when removed from the molds, or melt as soon as you touch them.

But don’t worry, we’ll give you all the tips and tricks to make the chocolate molding process less stressful and more successful. Keep reading and find out all about chocolate molding techniques.

What is molding chocolate?

Molding involves shaping the liquid chocolate with the help of a form to achieve a desired design. The result of the molding process can be filled or solid chocolate shapes, bars, or various hollow figures for decoration. You can create chocolate objects of different shapes by using single molds or two-part molds (typically used for 3D shapes). The molds are typically made of a few different materials, such as silicone, metal, polycarbonate, or PET plastic.

Proper Chocolate Molding Techniques

When making bars, tempered chocolate is poured into a mold, the mold is then vibrated or tapped to ensure that the chocolate fills the mold and that any air bubbles are removed. It is best to put the mold on a scale so that the same amount of chocolate is poured into each well or use a device that measures the amount that comes out. The mold should be left undisturbed so it can harden before being demolded.

When molding, make sure the temperature of the molds is no higher than 79°F-81°F for milk and white chocolate and 83-85°F for dark chocolate. This will ensure that when the chocolate hits the mold that it won’t suffer from thermal shock and lose its tempering. Poor temperature control can also lead to unappealing lines on the surface of your chocolate. Ideally, after you’ve poured your chocolate into the mold, let the chocolate solidify between 59°F-64°F especially if you live in a warmer climate.

For hollow objects, the shells or chocolate figures are formed by filling the mold with chocolate and then flipping it upside down to pour out most of the chocolate. This process leaves behind a thin layer of chocolate in the mold wells. These hollow chocolates can be filled with ganache or other delicious flavors after which are then coated with a final layer of chocolate. If you are working with a two-part mold, the two halves can be “glued” together by applying a little heat to the edges and holding them in place until solid.

What is the best melting chocolate for molds?

Making chocolate confections at home can be quite a complicated task, especially if you want to make different designs and fillings. So it is important to choose the right chocolate. The best melting chocolate for molding is one that has a high percentage of cocoa butter. This chocolate will be easier to work with and is formulated so that it melts and sets nicely, providing a smooth finish. So, when trying to decide what type of chocolate to use for molds, consider not only the flavor of the chocolate but also how it melts.

If you are a beginner and looking for the best melting chocolate for your molding project, try couverture chocolate (available from suppliers like Valrhona and Callebaut). This is commercial chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa butter that gives the chocolate a high-gloss finish and it is perfect for melting and tempering as well. As your skills develop, you can try to work with single-origin or craft chocolate with fine flavor.

We’ve made a list of some good starting options for good melting chocolate for your molding projects:

• Callebaut Couverture Chocolate – Belgian 54.5% semisweet dark chocolate
• Valrhona – Guanaja 70% dark chocolate.
• Ghirardelli Melting Wafers – Dark chocolate and white vanilla-flavored wafers
• Guittard Organic Chocolate Wafers – 74% cocoa bittersweet chocolate wafers
• Baker’s Premium Chocolate Baking Bar – 100% cacao unsweetened chocolate

Once you have your chocolate selected, make sure that you are working with good-quality molds. Molds vary in size, complexity, and material, so make sure to start simple before experimenting with more challenging molds.

When you are buying chocolate molds, look for the following qualities:

1. Durability/flexibility
2. Temperature versatility
3. Nonstick properties
4. Mold shape – (straightforward shapes are easier for beginner chocolatiers)

Why does the chocolate stick to the mold?

There are 4 main reasons why chocolate may stick to the mold:

1. The mold is not completely clean
When pouring the tempered chocolate in the mold, make sure that the mold is completely clean. Remove any old chocolate from previous uses of the mold. It is also very important that there is no dirt, dust, or even fingerprints since that can cause the chocolate to stick. Therefore, it is recommended that you clean and dry the mold with a cotton cleaning cloth, preferably 100% polyester so that it does not leave fibers.

2. The mold is too hot or cold
It is also very important that the mold is near or slightly above room temperature when pouring the chocolate. If it is too cold or too hot it can cause the chocolate to stick or break when trying to remove it from the mold. Abnormal molding temperatures can cause the chocolate to solidify unevenly or even take the chocolate out of temper. Before unmolding, pay close attention that the mold is not still warm.

3. The chocolate was not tempered correctly
In this case, the problem is the chocolate and not the mold. If the chocolate being poured into the mold is not in temper, then the chocolate will not solidify properly and removal will be a challenge. Properly tempered chocolate will be firm and actually shrinks slightly, which aids in the demolding process. If your chocolate is soft and doesn’t have the typical shine of tempered chocolate, then your chocolate may be out of temper.

4. The molded chocolate needs to be cooled
If you are working with thick bars, larger molded shapes, or with a stack of molds, it may be that your molds are not cooling properly. Placing your molds in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes can help ensure that the chocolate cools properly. It may be difficult to comprehend, but as the chocolate solidifies from a liquid to a solid, it actually generates heat. When molding large chocolate objects, there is the potential that the chocolate might generate enough heat to take some of the chocolate out of temper. Placing the chocolate in the fridge helps to control the temperature and cool it more evenly. Just make sure not to keep it in for too long since you might get water droplets condensing on the outside of your chocolate when you take it out, which can ruin your glossy surface.

How to salvage stuck chocolate

If your chocolate is sticking and you’re having trouble getting it out of the mold, it is best to put the mold in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes. This will firm up the chocolate and get it to pull away from the mold. You may need to flex the mold slightly to get the chocolate to release from the mold. By turning the mold upside down and tapping gently, the chocolate should release more easily.

A new way to mold chocolate

If you’ve had a chance to check out the CocoTerra machine in action, you’ll notice that the machine molds in a very unusual way. The chocolate is centrifugally molded into a ring of chocolate. The CocoTerra chocolate maker tempers the chocolate before automatically molding it, so the hard part is handled by the appliance. So, if you want professional-looking mold chocolate make sure to try the CocoTerra chocolate maker.

But in the meantime, make sure to follow our steps for tempering and prepping your molds before you start pouring. As mentioned before, you should also pay attention that your molds are clean and at the proper temperature and that the chocolate has been properly tempered.

To sum up

The key to successful chocolatiering is getting good molds and buying the right chocolate. Before starting the procedure, don’t forget the molds must be clean, without traces of grease or stains, and dry.

We hope this post will get you started on your journey to becoming a chocolate expert. It may seem challenging at first, but with knowledge and experience, you will master the art of chocolate molding techniques.

I’ve seen over the years several customers playing with mold making with their CarveWright systems. The machine is so perfect for doing this kind of thing, but I had never experimented with it, until now. I’m going to explore actually making a complete product all the way to the packaging, using the machine to make production molds.

Step 1- Idea

Ok, to get started here, we need to decide on a product to cast.  I’ve seen a couple customers doing chocolate molds, so I thought this would be really fun.  Next we need a theme for the chocolates.  We could do something like this for gifts, or as a promotional item for a corporate event or some other kind of organization, or just for fun.  I’m a fan of Science Fiction, and in particular, I enjoy the vintage stuff from the 40’s and 50’s. So I decide to make rockets, robots. and raygun chocolates.

Step 2 – Design

Using the CarveWright Modeling Suite, I created some appropriately vintage looking pattern models. Of course you can find many patterns already modeled to use for your molds, but I had a vision and the tools to make it. These pattens I made are available in the CarveWright Pattern Depot for sale and download.

Step 3 – Experiment

Experiment 1 – Carving A Negative Mold

Now that I have my designs created and  ready to carve I need to pick a suitable material to carve these into.  I have a piece of 1/2″ Corian here that was a sample that one of the manufactures sent me awhile back.  I think I’ll carve my first mold into it.  Corian carves really cleanly without any sanding or fuzzies to worry about.  These chocolates aren’t very big, so I need to be able to get as much detail into them as possible.  Plus it is food safe, which is very important when you are casting any item that will be eaten.

Since I will be pouring the chocolates into the mold I’ll need to invert them, and lay them out to to maximize the use of the Corian piece I have. The Corian is 10×10″ and I made each mold pattern about 4″ in it’s longest dimension.  This should make a perfect size chocolate for what I’m doing. These patterns will need to be bit optimized.  I set these all to High, rather than best to keep the edges as clean as I could.  I also played with a small draft on some of these to try and make the casts release easier.  This is where you need to zoom in and play with these settings to make sure all the little details are going to come out as you want them.

Remember, if you see it on the screen, you will see it in the carving.

I’ll need a jig for the Corian as well, so I’ll use the machine to make it. The Corian piece is 10″x10″x1/2″ so I made a project board 7″ longer and and 1″ wider.  Then I drew a 10″x10″ square, made it a carved region at 1/2″ deep and centered it on both axes.  End result is a 17″x11″x.75″ board with my pocket for my Corian in the middle.

Now its time to upload these and head to the shop to do some carving.  The molds I will be carving in Optimal so I get as clean and sharp a carve as possible.  The jig, I’ll carve in draft, so it is fast and the quality doesn’t matter.

I found a scrap piece of MDF to use for my sled.  Looks like it had been used for this purpose before.  I keep alot of MDF around for making sleds.  It is easy to work and nice and flat.  As always with MDF I ran masking tape along the bottom edge that will be riding along the tracking roller.  Then I ran the project. Below is the finished jig.

Next is to place my Corian in the jig. You’ll notice, my Corian is actually Staron by Samsung. Same product, different manufacturer.

When I am carving corian, I always use a double stick tape to help hold down the corian. The last thing you want it to move during a carve.  I also shimmed the edges where I had gaps and put masking tape over the edges just to make sure it was all tight and secure.

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The carve is doing great! Nice and smooth and clean.  BTW, I’m using a DC Insert made by long time CarveWright user, Floyd Harris.  I won’t run a machine without a dust collection hood.  It just makes things so much easier and better.

The mold carve finished and looks perfect.  The corian and the optimal carve made the results nearly perfectly smooth.

Now it’s time to wash this thoroughly before making my chocolates. I think am going to run it through the dishwasher.

Experiment 1 – Pouring Test

Spent the weekend pouring chocoloates…

Using a double boiler to melt the chocolate. Put water in the bottom pot and the set a smaller pot with the chocolate into the water. You don’t need to boil the water, just heat it up. I used a candy thermometer to make sure the chocoloate didn’t get too hot. You want to be around 110º F.

Experiment 1 – Result: Failure

This mold did not work!!  Because the mold is so rigid, I couldn’t get the chocolates to release.  I ended up digging them out one small chunk at a time.

Experiment 2 – Carving A Positive Mold

Well, off to plan B.  I anticipated this and had another idea ready in the wings.

A lot of commercial molds you can buy are made of silicone rubber.  After looking into buying some food safe silicone and seeing the prices, I decided to try something else.  I had read about gelatin molds on Instructables.com awhile back and thought I’d like to try them for casting parts. Since gelatine is obviously food safe, I decided this was the time to play around with it.  After researching several recipes I found one that seemed easy enough and didn’t require ordering a bunch of stuff off the web.  I went down to my local supermarket and Hobby Lobby and picked up all the materials for about $12.  It requires only 4 ingredients.  Gelatin, glycerine, honey, and water.

Gelatin Mold Recipe

Here is the recipe that I used, borrowed from Instructables.com

The amounts are not too critical, but I used a half a cup as 1 part.

1 part honey
1 part water
2 parts gelatin (found at any supermarket)
2 parts glycerine (Found at Hobby Lobby for around $3 in the soap making section)

Measure out the water, honey and glycerine and place in a small plastic container.

Warm the container in the microwave, on full power for 20 seconds and give the mixture a really good stir. You want the mix warm to hot but NOT BOILING.

Measure out and add the gelatin to the container and start stirring it, you want all the crystals to dissolve. Give the mix another 20 seconds in the microwave if the crystals won't dissolve. Keep stirring and heating as necessary to dissolve the gelatin and give a uniform colour and consistency. DON'T LET THE MIXTURE BOIL!

Once the mix has become uniform and a sort of clear goldish brown colour, it's ready for cooling. Stick the container in the fridge or the freezer and leave it for a few hours. 

The basic mix is now ready. It will take fairly rough treatment at this stage, so force a finger between the mix and the side of the container and pull out the ‘puck’ of rubbery gelatin mix.

The pucks can be placed in a food bag and stored in the freezer until required. I make up 2 batches like this to get started.

Now I need to carve out a new mold.  This time I’ll need to carve the positive so I can cast the gelatin into it.

I want these chocolates to be around 1/2″ thick and I just used my only 1/2″ piece of Corian on the last mold.  I do have lots of 1/4″ scrap around however, so I’ll try glueing some together to make a 3/4″ thick board.  I am using liquid CA glue, applying liberally and clamping the pieces together.

I let this sit clamped for a day before carving.  To carve this, I’ll need a jig.  The size of the finished glued up corian was 7″ x 8″, so I built a jig with scrap material to fit this piece into.

Next, I need to redesign the mold files as positives.  This design is arranged with a 1/2″ deep carve region around the patterns.  The patterns are set to .35″ deep with a small draft on them and bit optimization best.  This should give me a lot of detail and the draft will help the mold to release.  I then saved and uploaded the files with the optimal setting. Should be about 4 hours of carving.

The carves came out really good.  The detail is amazing in this Corian, and my superglue seams held up.  ( I was a little worried it might come apart.)

Experiment 2 – Making the Mold

Now after a quick wash in the sink with soap and water, to make sure I’m keeping everything food safe, it’s time to pour our mold. I needed a little more of a form around the edges, so I created one real quick with cardboard.

Next I pulled out the gelatin batches I had in the freezer and put them into one container and placed in the microwave.  I cooked it for 20 seconds at a time until it was fully melted again and them poured it into my form. Then it goes in the freezer for an hour or more.

The mold came out prefect. It is very detailed and it is as tough as any silicone I’ve worked with.

Experiment 2 – Pouring Test

Now its ready for Chocolate.  I’ll double boil it again like I did before and spoon it into the molds.

After the mold is filled, place in the freezer for about 10 minutes to cool.

Experiment 2 – Result: Success!

The chocolates are finished and they look awesome.  The detail all came through perfectly.

Careful not to handle them without gloves as you will leave fingerprints.

Experiment 3 – Making Gummy Candies

I got to thinking about that first mold that didn’t work, and I came up with an idea of how to use it.  I have all this gelatin left over, so I researched some recipes for making gummie bears. I found several, so I chose the simpler solution and gave it a try.  Here is the simple recipe:

• 7 packets of unlfavored gelatin
• 1 packet of flavored jello (whatever flavor you prefer)
• 1/2 cup of cold water

Open all the unflavored and flavored gelatin and  place in a pot on the stove.

Add the the water and stir gently.

Turn the heat on medium and continue gently stirring until all the crystals are dissolved.

Pour the mixture into a measuring cup with a spout for easier pouring.

Pour the mixture into your molds.

Place the molds in the freezer for 10 minutes.

Take them out and remove them from the mold.

Experiment 3 – Results: Yummy Gummies

So now I have custom made chocolates and gummie treats all created with my CarveWright system.  Now all these need are some packaging and I have a product. See the next build on stamping to see how I do that.

After trying my gummies, you may want to add some sugar.  All that gelatin kind of diluted the flavor.  I’ve found several other recipes out there as well.  Here is one I think I’ll try for next time:

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Commercial Chocolate Molds(pl,da,de)(nl,cs,nb).