Many people think that you can only prepare high-quality chocolate. Sweets from the store may contain margarine and other vegetable fats, excess glucose syrup and other “surprises”. The composition is especially important when it comes to children’s desserts. We will tell you how to make chocolate candies in molds using simple tools and quality ingredients.
Rules for making chocolates
Keep in mind that there are certain rules for working with chocolate. The prepared mass may exfoliate or not harden if they are not observed.
Follow these tips:
- Observe the temperature regime. The melting point of dark chocolate is +32°, white – +28°, and milk – +30°. If overheated, a white coating will appear on the finished sweets. To melt chocolate without burning, in the simplest version, use a water bath. Under no circumstances should it be brought to a boil.
- Avoid contact with water. Moisture should not remain even in molds. If water gets into the melted mass, it will crystallize and spoil the result.
- If you want the finished sweets to shine, use special icing.
- When choosing recipes for do-it-yourself chocolates in molds, do not forget that a lot depends on the quality of the selected ingredients. So, you will need cocoa butter and cocoa paste (or grated cocoa) as a base. In addition, you can take drops (special chocolate for melting). Some recipes also use cocoa powder and butter.
- You can diversify the taste of desserts using various fillers. Nuts and dried fruits go well with chocolate of all varieties. In addition, you can use nougat, jam, and fresh berry puree.
- Ready-made sweets are cooled directly in molds. To make the process faster, they can be placed in the freezer. But then cover the surface with cling film so that the mass does not pick up unnecessary odors.
What tools and molds are needed for chocolate candies?
The minimum “homemade confectioner’s kit” should include:
- A heat-resistant container for melting chocolate in a water bath (a plastic bowl will do).
- A spoon for stirring.
- Candy molds.
As for the “containers” for pouring, they can be plastic or silicone. The theme is any, from geometric shapes to flowers, hearts and marine life. Silicone molds are the best flexible, and the frozen sweetness will be easy to get.
If you have already tried to cook desserts and plan to develop in this direction, you should purchase professional tools for making sweets. Two of them are considered the most important. The first is a confectionery thermometer, which accurately measures the heated mixture’s temperature. The second is the steam baths for tempering. They can be set to the desired temperature.
Recipes for homemade chocolate candies in molds
1. Cooking sweets according to the classic recipe
You will need cocoa butter and cocoa paste in a 1:1 ratio, powdered sugar, honey or maple syrup (as sweeteners), and fruits, nuts or other toppings to taste. So, if you take 50 grams of the main ingredients (pastes and oils), you get about 20 small sweets.
The cooking process itself is as follows: the mass is melted in a water bath (always stirring), after which they begin to add sweeteners. Its volume is determined to taste: put 1 teaspoon, mix, try, and so on until the satisfactory result. The finished mass is poured into molds, putting nuts, raisins or pieces of prunes inside.
2. Recipe for chocolates in silicone molds based on cocoa powder
You will need the following ingredients: 100 grams of cocoa powder – 200 grams of butter, 250 ml of milk and 250 grams of sugar. Dry crushed biscuits, shredded coconut, whole dried fruits, or sliced bananas can be used as fillings here. To prepare the chocolate candies mass according to this recipe, it is enough to mix cocoa powder with sugar, pour warm milk over the mixture and cook until the sugar dissolves. Soft butter is added to this hot mixture and mixed thoroughly.
Try to cook! We are sure that your homemade chocolate candies sweets will turn out delicious!