Peanut Butter Clay

Chocolate Clay (Dark)

Chocolate Clay (Milk and White)

Sugar Clay

1. PAINT or PRESS
   A. Paint chocolate or confectionary coating into the mold
         or
   B. Roll out and firmly press edible clay into the mold (great method for kids).
   
   
2. FILL & CHILL
   Fill the interior of the mold with layers of store bought or pre-baked cake or ice cream and your favorite fillings -be creative! In warmer weather, chill before demolding.
   
   
3. DEMOLD
   To remove cake from mold, place serving plate over open mold, invert mold and plate togerther. Starting at rim, gently loosen the mold from the detailed areas of the cake and carefully demold.

Chocolate Coating


Tempering

The best way to use chocolate in a mold is to temper it. This technique is a little fussy. Here are some websites with very good directions for tempering chocolate (scroll down for the fast & easy method):

http://www.ghirardelli.com/bake/chocolate_tempering.aspx

http://www.candylandcrafts.com/temperingchocolate.htm

http://chocolatealchemy.com/temperingmolding.php

Paint a shell of tempered chocolate into mold, being sure to cover the lowest (detailed) areas of the mold.


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Fast & Easy

Quick-Tempered Chocolate

Finely chop chocolate or use chocolate chips. Melt two thirds of the chocolate in the microwave for thiry second intervals, stirring in between with a silicone or rubber spatula. Keep the temperature below 120F. When chocolate has melted, add the remaining one third in three batches, stirring until smooth after each addition.

Using a pastry brush, paint the melted chocolate into your mold. Be sure to brush into the crevices, brushing out any trapped air bubbles.

Choolate-Baker's Wax Method

Another easy way, or when you're in a hurry, is to add baker's wax or paraffin to the chocolate. This recipe was given to me by a wonderful person at a great chocolate shop in New London, CT. It gives a crisp, shiny coating without having to temper the chocolate:

Basic proportions are:

   1/2 block of paraffin or Baker's Wax to 1 pound of chocolate

The addition of wax gives the chocolate a nice gloss and helps it hold up better in warmer weather. Melt the wax and chocolate separately, over a double boiler or microwave on half power for 30 second intervals (I like to melt the wax in the double boiler and the chocolate in the microwave). Add the wax slowly to the chocolate, stirring constantly. Brush into the mold using a pastry brush, being sure not to trap air in the recesses of the mold. Chocolate coatings look great because they pick up even the finest details in the mold. (Back to top)


Important points:

• The wax is very flammable, use a very low heat when melting.
• Keep everything very dry when working with chocolate, even a tiny drop of water will cause the chocolate to "seize" and make it unusable for brushing into the mold (it can still be used for baking).
• Please supervise children when using this method.

You will need:

• Confectionary coating
• Pastry brushes
• Bowls for each color used

1. Melt confectionary coating in the microwave, at 30 second intervals, stirring in between until melted.
2. Brush into the mold, making sure to completely fill the recessed areas, taking care not to entrap air bubbles.
3. You can use more than one color, by painting one color into the lowest points in the mold, wiping edges to remove any overpainting, allowing to harden, then painting a second color over the first. This is how the "Cameo finish" is made.
4. Make sure that your coating is thick enough, you should not be able to see the high spots of the mold through the coating.
5. For a very elegant finish, use gold Luster Dust to add highlights. Just use a small artist's paint brush and mix with a clear alcohol-based flavoring, such as lemon extract.

For the Unicorn Mold
use 2 bags of confectionary coating.

For the Carousel Mold
use 2½ to 3 bags of confectionary coating.


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EDIBLE CLAYS:


In addition to using confectionary coating and chocolate to coat your No-Bake Backwards Cakes and kid's projects, you can use these edible clays, too!

Kids can constuct a No-Bake Backwards Cake completely by themselves using the edible clays. Just roll out the clay with a rolling pin, press into the molds, fill with layers of cake and their favorite filling and invert onto a plate (young children might need a little help flipping the plate and mold over and de-molding). See the demo for more information.

Here are three recipes for edible clay:

Peanut Butter Clay

Chocolate Clay (Dark, Milk and White)

Sugar Clay

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 1/2 cup instant powdered milk
• 3 tablespoons honey

1. Mix peanut butter, powdered milk and honey together in a medium sized bowl.


2. If clay is too dry, add a little more honey, if too moist, add more powdered milk

• 1 pound (16 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate
• 2/3 cup light corn syrup
• Cookie sheet
• Paper towels

You will need:

• 1 pound (16 pounces) milk or white chocolate
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup

• Vegetable shortening (Crisco
• Light corn syrup (Karo)
• Powdered (confectioner's) sugar

1. Mix equal parts corn syrup and shortening.
2. Add confectioner's sugar. Use utensil or mix by hand.
3. Test consistency. Clay should hold its shape, but not be too stiff for modeling. If too soft, add a little more powdered sugar. It should be smooth, but not have a sticky feel.

• 1 1/2 cups corn syrup
• 3/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 1/2 bags powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla or your favorite flavoring

• 2 cups corn syrup
• 1 cup vegetable shortening
• 2 bags powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla or your favorite flavoring

1. Blend corn syrup, shortening and vanilla.
2. Add confectioner's sugar to form a stiff clay.
3. Test consistency by pressing a small amount against the mold. It should release easily, hold the detail and not have a sticky feel.