Chocolate decor (photos of ready-made desserts are presented in the article) is a delicious decoration for any dessert. Making intricate chocolate shapes is easy. Therefore, even a layman can do this. It’s enough to know a few secrets when working with chocolate. It will take and show imagination at the time of creating the composition.
Types of Chocolate Decorations for Confectionery
Professional pastry chefs and amateur bakers claim that chocolate décor can enhance the look of any pastry. It can be used to decorate any confectionery, as it is distinguished by an aesthetically attractive appearance, ease of manufacture and low cost. Any person at home will be able to cook decor from sweets.
Types of chocolate decor:
- Glaze.
- Shavings.
- Volumetric figures.
- Flat shapes.
- Glaze inscriptions.
To diversify the composition within the same product, several types of chocolate with different textures are often combined. Food coloring can be used, as the color contrast also attracts attention and causes appetite.
The easiest way to decorate a cake with chocolate
Sophisticated housewives can create unique compositions using chocolate. At first it’s hard for beginners to cope with the “material”. But do not despair, because you can resort to using completely simple options, which often do not even require tempering chocolate.
The easiest and fastest chocolate decor for cakes with your own hands is easy to do:
- Freeze a bar of chocolate and grate. Such “sawdust” can decorate the surface of the cake.
- Frozen chocolate can be randomly broken or crushed with a hammer to make chops. It is important that the crumb turns out shallow and without particularly sharp corners.
- Melt the confectionery glaze and, using a confectionery syringe, randomly paint the surface of the confectionery product.
You can use white, black and milk chocolate when decorating one product. A variety of products will satisfy tastes, and the color scheme will improve visual perception.
Event Chocolate Compositions
Each festive event involves the presence of a beautiful and delicious cake. But in every situation, chocolate decor is different in accordance with a particular event.
Selection of sweet decorations for cakes:
- The birthday cake may contain inscriptions made using liquid glaze.
- For everyday desserts, decor is possible through the use of original chocolates and chocolate chips.
- If dessert is served on the anniversary of an event, then any chocolate option can become a decor.
The inscriptions and volumetric compositions should fall under the peculiarity of the event.
What chocolate decoration can you make yourself
Do-it-yourself chocolate decor is quick and easy. Beginners will cope with the creation of the following chocolate decorations:
- Butterflies of various formats.
- Chilled sweets and tubes.
- Floral elements and particles.
- Leaves and flowers.
- Filling with glaze of various formats.
- Openwork motifs.
- Marble pattern.
When the cake is ready for decoration
In order for the decoration to fully fulfill its role, it is worth observing the rules regarding the preliminary preparation of the cake itself. If the dessert is formed and prepared correctly, then the chocolate decor for the cakes made with their own hands will look neat and elegant, hiding the flaws and mistakes of the pastry chef.
What should happen to the cake before you start decorating?
- Cakes should be completely chilled and preferably settled.
- Cakes should be laid out evenly.
- The surface of the cake is flat. This can be achieved with a cream coating.
It is better if the consistency of the base cream is not too thin. Also, the cream should not be in motion, that is, drain from the sides or surface of the product.
Tools and materials for making chocolate jewelry
Knowing how to make chocolate décor can be completely useless if you don’t have the right tools for each option.
For the manufacture of flat drawings, it is enough to use stencils. The device can be purchased in specialized stores or created independently. A food option is a pattern on perforated paper. Multi-element paintings are created using a pastry bag or envelope. More experienced housewives use cornetics for this purpose.
It turns out that the main tool in the manufacture of chocolate jewelry is just a stencil and a pastry bag or syringe. Supplement to the list will be perforated paper, food foam. It is these materials that can replace most of the professional confectionery tools.
In addition to correctly selected chocolate, other materials may be present in the work: food coloring, flavoring and flavoring agents.
Which chocolate is right for which job?
Professionals and experienced self-taught confectioners recommend choosing exclusively high-quality and delicious chocolate. This characteristic will guarantee aesthetically attractive appearance:
- Decor with chocolate icing is easy to make using confectionery glaze. This product is a substitute for real cocoa beans and has excellent fluidity.
- Tile can serve as the basis for any work and processing method to create new elements.
- Ordinary chocolates are suitable for elementary decorating options: crumbs, sawdust, tubes, broken parts.
- Filled sweets serve as a ready-made decor that complements the main cake composition.
You can prepare glaze for drawing and pouring yourself. It is enough to mix cocoa, sugar, butter and milk in the right proportion in a water bath.
What elements are combined with chocolate decor
Depending on the variety and type of chocolate, additional elements for decoration are selected. It is worth considering not only the appearance, but the combination of taste and characteristics. Chocolate looks interesting in combination with bright products.
Any chocolate decor looks appetizing and attractive in combination with exotic fruits: kiwi, pineapple, orange, banana. No less spectacular are cherries, strawberries, apricots. In addition to external attractiveness, such combinations can serve as effective aphrodisiacs.
The combination of chocolate and caramel in small quantities looks elegant. Mesh, cobwebs, caramel lattice emphasize the shape and texture of the main cake decoration. An additional option for a change can be jelly, light cream, bright powder, ice cream.
The latest in culinary fashion in the field of presentation is fresh flowers that can be eaten. It is not necessary to remove from view mint, which perfectly harmonizes in taste and appearance with almost any kind of chocolate.
Proper placement of the finished decor on the surface of the cake
To chocolate decor looked decent, it is worth considering several nuances in relation to the formation of the composition. It happens that in the presentation of the cake there are a lot of original and complex elements in terms of execution, and the appearance of the confectionery masterpiece is far from perfect.
Design taking into account the nuances at the time of creation of the compositions:
- All parts and elements of decor should be in harmony with each other. If the theme for jewelry is plant ornaments and figures, then you should not use, for example, tablets with a marble pattern.
- It is advisable to sprinkle the surface with chocolate chips initially. The layer should be thin, but not show the base cream.
- The smallest and lowest height elements are installed along the edges. It is advisable to minimize the presence of decor on the edges of the cake, as it may fall or deform during the cutting process.
- In the center should be placed the main decorations that form the basis of the composition. To the middle of the product, the size of the decor increases.
- To highlight several textures and textures, the finished composition can be glazed on top, forming subtle strokes. You can purchase food spangles and powders.
- Empty places are decorated with the help of additional elements: fruits, flowers, other sweets.
If the creator has a little artistic talent, then you can highlight the strokes with the help of white or colored chocolate. It can be elementary points, strokes and stripes.