After preparing a chic cake, the question arises regarding the decoration of the dessert. It is especially difficult to determine the "outfit" when a significant event is celebrated. Homemade chocolate letters and numbers can be an ideal option. There are several options for making such elements of a sweet decor. Only after studying each, you can understand how to make chocolate letters, and choose the appropriate method for yourself.
What chocolate to choose for work
It’s not enough to know how to make chocolate letters at home, you need to choose a good material and prepare it correctly. For simple manufacturing of letters, it is desirable to take into account such nuances:
- It is advisable to choose ready-made chocolate, which will be easier to work with. Homemade product is not always suitable for the manufacture of decorations for desserts.
- If you use dessert chocolate, then you should prepare for the fact that the figures turn out matte - without a mirror shine.
- It is not practical to make letters out of white chocolate, since this type of product melts quickly.
- Dark chocolate is the most difficult to work because its melting point is 55 degrees.
- It’s easy to work with drops - they melt quickly and without problems, solidify quickly and efficiently. But the taste of the product is inferior to the tiled counterparts.
The principle of choice may be based on experience and taste preferences. It is worth considering the difficulties and advantages in working with a particular version of the material.
Preparing chocolate for work
To make chocolate letters at home, you need to pay maximum attention to the preparation of the main material. If you lay the product in a bowl and heat on the stove, you get a heterogeneous mass with a smack of burning. There are 3 optimal options for heating a chocolate:
- A relevant and simple option will be a water bath. Pour water into a small pan to half the capacity, set on a stove. When the water heats up, set a metal bowl on the pan, the diameter of which will be less than the lower container. Pour the crushed product into it. Stirring the chocolate with a spoon, wait for complete dissolution.
- Preheat the oven to 55 degrees. Set a metal bowl below half full of water. Pour the broken chocolate bar into a second ceramic or metal bowl. Place the container on the grills at the very top of the oven. Periodically, stir the product. Wait until the ingredient is completely melted.
- A suitable option is a microwave. Lubricate the refractory glass jar with butter. Put crushed chocolate here. Set the defrost mode. Every 20 seconds, take out the container and mix the ingredient. Usually within 3 minutes the bar of chocolate is completely melted.
It should be borne in mind that the melting speed depends on the color of the product - the darker the chocolate, the longer it heats up and the higher the temperature is needed.
Special and interpreted forms for chocolate letters
The answer to the question of how to make chocolate letters for the cake is easy to find if you use forms to make such a decor. You can purchase special products from silicone, plastic or polycarbonate. Each type of form has its own characteristics regarding the principle of use.
If special equipment is not at hand, then you can use other options for the basics. The easiest solution will be to extrude cookies or crusts - often they are metal or plastic. You can make the necessary version of the mold yourself from improvised materials.
The easiest way to make letters
The easiest way is to make flat letters or numbers that will be the perfect decoration for any pastry. To make such a variant of the alphabet units, you need to prepare the following accessories:
- 200 g of chocolate;
- cut of cling film;
- paper;
- confectionery syringe or bag.
How to make flat chocolate letters using an elementary algorithm:
- On the sheet of paper, draw the letters you need, choosing the right design and thickness. You can print patterns on the printer.
- Lay a sheet with mock-ups on a flat surface (chopping board, baking sheet).
- Put cling film on paper. Carefully smooth its surface, minimizing the “wrinkles” of the surface of the material.
- In a pastry bag, fill the syringe with melted chocolate.
- Distribute the liquid product from the confectionery device along the outline of the letters.
- Place the workpiece in the refrigerator for 45-60 minutes.
After the allotted time, pull out the frozen letters and remove the film. Ready letters with forceps or tweezers to transfer to a confectionery product.
How to make a chocolate mold with your own hands
If there is no suitable form for creating a letter, then you can try to make a template yourself. There are several diverse solutions.
The easiest solution is to make a cardboard base. Cut a strip of cardboard from the main part. Make markings along the cut, each part of which is responsible for a certain part of the letter. Make marks at the marks that will help prepare the shape of the letter. To additionally fix each bend, thin strips of adhesive tape can be glued from the outside. On the inside of the wall of the cardboard part, cling with cling film.
If chocolate letters cannot be made with a cardboard base, then you can try to make a mold from a plastic bottle. The manufacturing principle is identical to the cardboard counterpart. The only difference is that the cling film is definitely not needed here.
Classic version
The easiest way to understand how to make chocolate letters in the form. There is a special algorithm of actions for this:
- Melt chocolate in one of the most suitable ways. The temperature of the product should not exceed 55 degrees.
- Cover the bottom of the smooth portion of the mold with pastry parchment. Pour chocolate on it, evening the mass with a wooden spatula. If significant alignment is necessary, it is worth distributing the product by raising the sides of the parchment.
- When the ingredient has completely cooled down (do not stick to your fingers), cover the workpieces with plastic molds with the shape of a letter. It is necessary to carefully press on the invoice part of the form.
Put the workpiece in the refrigerator for several hours.
The classic version of the manufacture of letters in silicone form
Working with such a framework is simpler and more efficient.
Therefore, even inexperienced housewives do not have a question about how to make chocolate letters in silicone form. The algorithm is as follows:
- Put the silicone mold on a flat surface.
- Pour melted chocolate into the recesses.
- Align the ingredient along the walls of the fixture, raising the edges of the silicone base.
- If the mold is completely filled with the product, then the excess chocolate must be removed with a knife or a wooden spatula, drawing along the surface of the silicone base at an angle of 30 degrees.
Allow to cool the chocolate, and then put in the refrigerator for complete solidification.
Chocolate letters with filling
You can diversify the taste of the scenery thanks to the original filling. For filling, you can use fruits, jams, creams, jellies. Making this decor option will take a little longer.
If the process regarding how to make chocolate letters with your own hands through the use of forms is mastered, then it is enough to decide on some manufacturing nuance.
At the first stage, you need to fill 1/3 of the whole form with chocolate. Wait for the product to freeze in the refrigerator (1 hour). Pull out the shape and place along the chocolate, the selected filling. 1/3 of the whole form should occupy the ingredient. Top with chocolate. Refrigerate until completely frozen.
Universal chocolate letters
Through the use of simple technology, confectionery art creates a universal version of sweets. You can use them for decorating cakes, pastries or present in the form of sweets in a box.
It is enough to make cubes of chocolate of any color. When they harden, you can start writing letters in the opposite color of chocolate. For this, you can use confectionery brushes, a syringe.
Having put the form with the inscription in the refrigerator, wait until the decoration completely hardens. You can, on the contrary, “blur” the letter on a smooth basis.
How to do without a special form
There is a way to make chocolate letters without a shape. More precisely, a shape will be needed, but one is a rectangle. Filling several elements, you can create any letters, adjusting the shape of each part.
Using a hot spoon, you can smooth sharp corners and give the desired shape. The remaining slopes and swings can be cleaned with a knife. To glue parts, you need to lean the chocolate part against a hot cup and quickly “stick” it to another part of the cube. Seams can be ironed with a hot spoon or knife.
Such letters usually require additional decoration. It is advisable to use massive edible jewelry that can block unsightly joints, clumsy transitions.
How can I decorate ready-made letters
The appearance of finished decorations in the form of alphabet units can also be improved. Before making chocolate letters, it is worth considering what chocolate will be used. If you apply several types of sweet material, you get a spectacular letter.
You can decorate the finished letter. Take the melted chocolate of a different kind and use a wooden skewer to make shadows, patterns, drops, stripes on a finished basis. Confectionery powders and sparkles will become relevant. Food coloring will also make the appearance of the product more spectacular.
It is easy to “stick” multi-colored candy buttons to the base of the finished letter. An additional decoration can be colored creams and other decorations made of chocolate. The choice depends on the theme of the event and the general idea.