Molding Chocolate Candy

Creating candies of molded chocolate is easy once you know how to do it.  The easiest way to melt chocolate for molds is to buy a double boiler, which is a pot stacked on top of a pot.  You heat water at a low heat and the steam will melt the chocolate.  (Yes, I said “steam”.  The way I melted chocolate with the bowl in the water resting on the bottom of the pot was a bad idea as the white streaks in my candies a few days later proved.  I burned my chocolate this way but it did melt.)  If you don’t have a double boiler you can use a pot over water and a glass or metal bowl that rests on the rim of the pot so the water doesn’t touch it.

Chocolate popsicles and a mold with peanuts awaiting chocolate.

Once the chocolate is melted you need to wipe the condensation off the bottom of the bowl or pot before carefully pouring the chocolate into your chosen molds.  Be very careful that no water touches the water or the chocolate will become chunky and less manageable.  If you do accidentally mix some water into the chocolate, add some vegetable oil and stir until smooth.    If desired, you can put things like peanuts or raisins in your molds. To do that I would recommend pouring a thin layer of chocolate into the molds before dropping the candy or fruit in and filling the molds with the rest of the chocolate.

If the weather is cold enough, you can leave the chocolate to set on a counter top or table.  If it isn’t cold enough in your house you can just put them in your refrigerator for a while. and take them out when they’ve set enough to be easily removed from the mold.

Enjoy making your new treats and remember that you can make almost anything.  If you decide to play with colored chocolate be careful with white chocolate.  It easily clumps up and creates a flaky texture.  I also discovered that decorating gel doesn’t stick to chocolate very well.  Enough came of with the chocolate to have cute colors but not enough to make all the time I’d spent decorating the molds worth it.  You may want to decorate the chocolates after they’re set or using colored chocolates to decorate your candies.