Chocolate Wood Grain Recipes

CHOCOLATE-ALMOND WOOD-GRAIN BARK

Steps:

• Melt white chocolate in a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring. Spread white chocolate onto an 8-by-12-inch food-safe plastic wood-grain texture mat using a small offset spatula. Scrape off excess chocolate, using spatula, until the thinnest layer possible is left on mat. Transfer mat to a baking sheet and freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.
• Melt bittersweet chocolate in a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring. Mix in almonds. Spread mixture onto white chocolate in an even layer. Refrigerateuntil firm, about 1 hour. Peel away mat.

CHOCOLATE WOOD-GRAIN

Steps:

• Cut a thin piece of acetate into a 13 1/2-by-16-inch rectangle, and place on a clean work surface, with a long side facing you. Coat surface of faux-bois tool well with a thick layer of white chocolate. Starting at the left side and working from top to bottom of acetate sheet, rock coated tool back and forth while dragging it in one swift motion to make vertical striation. Continue making striations until the entire sheet is covered. Transfer acetate, chocolate side up, to an inverted rimmed baking sheet; refrigerate until set, about 6 minutes.
• Meanwhile, temper bittersweet chocolate: Melt two-thirds of the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water until it registers 118 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove bowl from heat, and add remaining chocolate to the bowl; stir with a rubber spatula (avoid using a wooden spoon which can impart other flavors) until the chocolate cools to 84 degrees. Remove any unmelted pieces; discard. Return bowl to pan; stir until the chocolate reaches 88 to 90 degrees.
• Immediately transfer acetate to work surface; pour bittersweet chocolate over the top. Quickly spread evenly over the entire surface with an offset spatula. Try not to spread it too much or white chocolate will smear. Use immediately.

CHOCOLATE SWAN, TREASURE CHEST, PICTURE FRAME, CHOCOLATE SLEIGH, AND DRESSY CHOCOLATE BOX

Steps:

• To mold the swan: Use a ladle to fill a mold with white chocolate. When it is full, empty it into the bowl of chocolate. The inside of the mold should be evenly coated with chocolate. Wipe the edge of the mold clean on the side of the bowl and place it upside down on a wire rack placed over a baking sheet. Once the chocolate starts to harden, about 5 minutes, scrape the edge clean with a paring knife. When the chocolate sets, it shrinks or retracts from the sides of the mold. A clean edge will keep it from sticking and cracking as it shrinks. You can place the mold in the refrigerator for several minutes to help the chocolate to harden. Depending on the thickness of the chocolate, you may want to repeat this step to make the swan thicker. Unmold the chocolate swan. When the chocolate has completely set, the swans are ready to fill with candy. To mold the treasure chest: Use a clean paintbrush or pastry brush to apply dark chocolate to the inside details of the mold. I painted the hinges and fasteners dark chocolate. Use a ladle to fill a mold with milk chocolate. Use the same molding technique as used in the swan. You can fill the chest with candy or any special treat. Tie it closed with a ribbon. To make the picture and frame: This technique can be used to make any painted design. I downloaded a clipart image from the internet. A simple design with a lot of color makes the best result. Place your design underneath a piece of acetate. Mix together a few tablespoons of the cocoa butter with a small amount of powdered food color. It will be easier if you use a yogurt machine to store and warm your paints. Use a fine-tipped paintbrush to trace the outline of the painting with a dark-colored paint. Use other paint colors to fill in the design. This will certainly remind you of paint-by-number. Use and airbrush if you want to give it an antique finish. Allow the paint to dry. Pour some white chocolate at the edge of the painted acetate. Pull the raplette through the chocolate pulling the chocolate over the painted drawing. This will spread an even 1/8-inch thick layer of chocolate over the painting. When the chocolate begins to set, use a sharp paring knife to cut the paint canvas to the finished size of the painting. Let this cool until the chocolate sets. When the chocolate has set completely, simply peel off the acetate. Use a brush dipped in dark chocolate to brush a very light layer of dark chocolate over the relief of the picture frame mold. Use a ladle or cornet filled with white chocolate to fill the mold with white chocolate. When the chocolate sets, unmold the picture frame. The dark chocolate will leave an antique effect. Use tempered white chocolate to glue the chocolate canvas into the frame. It is ready for display. Make the sleigh: Make a template for the sleigh skis and the sleigh bottom. You can make this any size that you like. The bottom of my sleigh measured 11 inches wide by 17 inches long. I used a wood grain tool normally used in house painting to give the sleigh the texture of wood. To make the wood grain chocolate, pour a little dark chocolate at the edge of a piece of parchment paper that measures at least 11 inches wide by 17 inches long. Use a back and forth rocking motion as you pull the wood grain tool through dark chocolate. Be sure to spread this chocolate all the way to the edge of the paper. Repeat the process until the paper is completely filled with the pattern. Repeat on more parchment to create enough wood grain pattern for all of the pieces in your sleigh.
• Use an offset spatula to spread a 1/4-inch-thick layer of tempered milk chocolate over all of the pieces that have the dark chocolate wood grain pattern. When cutting out the skis, use a paring knife to cut through the chocolate while tracing around the template. When the chocolate has set completely, remove the excess chocolate. When the chocolate is set, peel off the parchment. Make the sleigh handle: Roll parchment paper into a tight roll that is about 1/2-inch in diameter. Use a cornet filled with milk chocolate to fill the roll. Be sure to pinch the bottom to keep the chocolate from escaping. Set aside until the roll has set. When the chocolate is hard, remove the parchment paper. Use a hot knife to cut the sleigh handle to the size that will fit onto your sleigh. Assemble: Lay a ski pattern-side down on the work surface. Place tempered milk chocolate in a large cornet and trim the tip. Draw a line of chocolate along the edge of the sleigh bottom. Position the sleigh bottom onto the ski. Draw a line of chocolate on the other edge of the sleigh and position the other ski on top. When the chocolate sets, stand the sleigh upright. Use tempered milk chocolate to glue the sleigh handle into place. The sleigh is ready for any display. Make the Dressy Gift box: To make the strips on the top, you can use a tiling spatula with square teeth cut from it. My box measured 7 inches wide by 10 inches long. Use an offset spatula to spread a 1/8-inch-thick layer of tempered milk chocolate over a sheet of acetate. Pull the slotted spatula through the chocolate along the longest side. This will leave long straight lines. When the chocolate begins to set, use an offset spatula to spread a 1/8-inch-thick layer of tempered white chocolate over strips, being careful not to press into the milk chocolate strips. Let the chocolate set completely. To make the base, use an offset spatula to spread a 1/4-inch-thick layer of tempered dark chocolate over a sheet of parchment paper. Use a paring knife to cut a rectangle that measures 7 inches wide by 10 inches. Then cut 2 strips that measure 61/2 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. Cut 2 more strips that measure 91/2 inches long and 11/2 inches wide. When the chocolate has set completely, remove the base and strips. Use tempered chocolate to glue the strips onto the base to form a box. Place the strips just inside the edge of the base. Make the box decorations: Use white modeling chocolate to make the tie, collar, pocket and pocket square. I colored some modeling chocolate red for the pocket square. Get creative and have fun. Dust the work surface with cornstarch. Use a rolling pin to roll out the white modeling chocolate until it is about 1/8-inch thick. Use a paring knife to cut out the details of the shirt or blouse. Place the pieces on top of the striped chocolate box top. If you are inspired to do so, paint some patterns on the tie. When the chocolate has set completely on all of the pieces, the box is ready to be filled with any treat. Simply fill the box and cover with the top piece. SOURCES: Chocolate Melter: Demarle New Jersey, Demarle.com Chocolate Cold Spray: PCB in France 011 33 0388 587333 Swan mold: Tomric Plastics Treasure chest mold: Tomric Plastics Wood grain tool: hardware/paint store Grout spatula for tiling: hardware Modeling chocolate: Beryls

CHOCOLATE CRATE AND HAY

Steps:

• For the Base of the Crate: Using an offset spatula, spread a 1/4-inch layer of tempered white chocolate onto a sheet of parchment paper or acetate, being sure to spread it all the way to the edges. Lift the chocolate-covered paper by its corners and move it to a clean space on your work surface. Let the chocolate harden slightly, 4 to 5 minutes. Pour a little milk chocolate over one end of the slightly set white chocolate. Pull the wood grain tool through the chocolate to create a wood grain design. Let the chocolate set slightly, until firm but not hard. Using the tip of a sharp paring knife or an X-Acto knife, cut 4 strips of chocolate, 18 by 2-inches. Cut 2 more strips of chocolate, 11 by 2-inches each.
• For the Sides of the Crate: Repeat the process and cut 2 strips 18 by 2-inches and 2 strips 11 by 2-inches. Cut 8 pieces 2 by 1-inch. These will be the supports for the sides and will hold the base to the sides.
• Assemble the Crate: On your work surface, place 4 (18 by 2-inch) strips spaced about 1/2-inch apart. Place 2 (11 by 2-inch) strips across the 4 (18 by 2-inch) strips towards the ends. Use white chocolate to glue the 2 strips in place. Divide the 1 by 2-inch pieces into pairs and glue each pair together along the long side, creating a right angle, or an L-shape. Stand the L-shaped chocolate pieces on their ends on each corner of the base, and glue them down about 1/4-inch from the outside edge of the base. Allow the chocolate to set.
• To glue the sides onto the base, glue the 2 remaining 18 by 2-inch strips and the 2 remaining 11 by 2-inch strips perpendicular to the base on the reinforcement corner. Position them so the bottoms of the strips are one inch above the base. Allow the chocolate to set.
• For the Hay: Place a large block of ice on a sheet pan and place on your work surface. Make a cornet and fill with the untempered white chocolate. Drizzle long strands of chocolate directly on top of the block of ice. The chocolate will set immediately but remain flexible. Lift the chocolate hay off the ice and gently bend to fit inside the crate.
• How to Temper Chocolate(From Dessert Circus, Extraordinary Desserts You Can Make At Home by Jacques Torres):
• Chocolate is tempered so that after it has been melted, it retains its gloss and hardens again without becoming chalky and white (that happens when the molecules of fat separate and form on top of the chocolate). There are a variety of ways to temper.
• One of the easiest ways to temper chocolate is to chop it into small pieces and then place it in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time on high power until most of the chocolate is melted. Be very careful not to overheat it. (The temperature of dark chocolate should be between 88 and 90 degrees F, slightly warmer than your bottom lip. It will retain its shape even when mostly melted. White and milk chocolates melt at a temperature approximately 2 degrees F less because of the amount of lactose they contain.) Any remaining lumps will melt in the chocolate's residual heat. Use an immersion blender or whisk to break up the lumps. Usually, chocolate begins to set, or crystallize, along the side of the bowl. As it sets, mix those crystals into the melted chocolate to temper it. A glass bowl retains heat well and keeps the chocolate tempered longer.
• Another way to temper chocolate is called seeding. In this method, add small pieces of unmelted chocolate to melted chocolate. The amount of unmelted chocolate to be added depends on the temperature of the melted chocolate, but is usually 1/4 of the total amount. It is easiest to use an immersion blender for this, or a whisk.
• The classic way to temper chocolate is called tabliering. Two thirds of the melted chocolate is poured onto a marble or another cold work surface. The chocolate is spread out and worked with a spatula until its temperature is approximately 81 degrees F. At this stage, it is thick and begins to set. This tempered chocolate is then added to the remaining non-tempered chocolate and mixed thoroughly until the mass has a completely uniform temperature. If the temperature is still too high, part of the chocolate is worked further on the cold surface until the correct temperature is reached. This is a lot of work, requires a lot of room, and makes a big mess.
• A simple method of checking tempering, is to apply a small quantity of chocolate to a piece of paper or to the point of a knife. If the chocolate has been correctly tempered, it will harden evenly and show a good gloss within a few minutes.
• How to Make a Cornet(From Dessert Circus, Extraordinary Desserts You Can Make At Home by Jacques Torres):
• The Cornet: A cornet is a small piping bag made from parchment paper. It is usually used to make fine decorations.
• Cut an 8 by 12 by 14 1/2-inch triangle from a sheet of parchment paper. Hold the middle of the long side of the triangle between two fingers of one hand. Take the tip of the triangle on the short, wide end and roll it toward the other tip of that same end while simultaneously pulling it in an upward motion. The tip of a cone will form where your thumb and finger hold it on the long side. Release your grip from the long side, so that you are now holding the two corners where they meet. The paper will already resemble a partially formed cone. Roll the remaining tail until it is completely rolled into a cone. There will be one point sticking up from the open end. Fold it inside toward the center, and crease the fold. Now you should have a cornet. To close the cornet once it has been filled, fold it away from the seam; this will keep the seam from opening. Use a pair of scissors or a sharp paring knife to cut an opening at the tip of the cornet to the desired size.

CHOCOLATE GRAVY

Steps:

• Mix sugar, flour, and cocoa powder together in a saucepan. Stir in 1/2 cup milk slowly. Add egg. Stir in remaining milk. Cook over medium heat until thick, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat; add butter and vanilla extract.

GRAIN FREE GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease an 8 x 8" pan with butter or coconut oil.
• Combine the crust ingredients and spread into the pan, pressing the edges up to hold the filling.
• Bake for 6 minutes.
• While crust is baking, combine the filling ingredients except chocolate chips.
• Spread on top of crust, sprinkle the chips on top and pop back in oven.
• Back for 25-30 minutes or until top is golden and filling is set.
• Allow to completely cool before cutting in to squares.