White Chocolate Plastique Recipes

PLASTIC CHOCOLATE

Steps:

• Melt chocolate in a large metal bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in the corn syrup. The mixture will become sticky, but keep stirring until very well blended.
• Spoon onto a piece of plastic wrap, and wrap tightly. Let stand at room temperature until firm before using. Overnight is best. Use unsweetened cocoa powder on work surfaces to prevent sticking.

WHITE CHOCOLATE CANVAS AND CHOCOLATE PAINTS

Steps:

• You can make this "canvas" any size you would like.
• There are two options for making a chocolate canvas. The first one requires a plastic deli tray, on which you pour a 1/4-inch-thick layer of white chocolate (remember, the chocolate canvas will assume any pattern that exists on the tray). Allow it to set, and when it hardens, the chocolate will retract from the sides of the tray. To unmold the canvas, simply overturn the tray, being careful to support the chocolate.
• The second way is to use an offset spatula to spread a 1/4-inch-thick layer of tempered chocolate onto a sheet of parchment paper, 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. The chocolate will be firm enough to cut but it will not be hard. Use the tip of a sharp paring knife or X-Acto knife to cut a square or rectangular "canvas".
• Paints: Mix cocoa butter with food coloring until it has the viscosity of cooking oil.
• 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.

WHITE CHOCOLATE PLASTIQUE

Steps:

• Melt the chocolate over in a stainless steel bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, and stir in the corn syrup, then the cornstarch. Allow the mixture to come to room temperature, stirring occasionally. If your room is warm, put the plastique in the refrigerator for 10 minutes or so for it to firm up. If you plan to add food coloring to part of the batch, this is the right time to knead it in. It should come together with the consistency of a pie dough or a slightly melted Tootsie Roll, and it will become more flexible as you work with it. Store the plastique wrapped in plastic or in a sealable plastic bag.

DARK CHOCOLATE PLASTIQUE

Steps:

• Melt the chocolate in a stainless steel bowl over a pan of simmering water. Once the chocolate is melted, stir in the corn syrup. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to come to room temperature, stirring occasionally. The chocolate plastique should come together with the consistency of a pie dough or a slightly melted Tootsie Roll, and it will become more flexible as you work with it. Roll it out on a work surface covered with parchment paper. Roll it thin (about 1/4 inch) in order to cut designs with cookie cutters. Store the remaining chocolate plastique covered at room temperature or in the freezer in a tightly wrapped sealable plastic freezer bag.

PLASTIC CHOCOLATE

Steps:

• Melt chocolate in a double boiler, in a metal bowl over (not in) a pot of boiling water, or carefully in the microwave.
• Remove from heat and stir in the corn syrup until very well blended.
• Pour onto a big sheet of plastic wrap and wrap tightly. Allow to come to room temperature before using. This is important. It may take overnight.
• Use cocoa powder to prevent sticking while you work with it.

WHITE-CHOCOLATE SPHERES FILLED WITH CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

Steps:

• Place 2/3 of the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan with 1 to 2 inches of water to a simmer; turn off. Set bowl of chocolate over saucepan; melt. Stir gently with a rubber spatula until it reaches 118 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Remove bowl from saucepan; add remaining 1/3 chocolate to melted chocolate. Stir with a rubber spatula until melted chocolate cools to 84 degrees; remove unmelted pieces. Place bowl over pan; stir until thermometer reaches 88 degrees to 90 degrees.
• Using a very small pastry brush, brush a streak of red cocoa butter on each half of four 2-part 2 1/2-inch sphere-shaped molds. Repeat process with white cocoa butter. Using a larger pastry brush, brush entire mold with chocolate. Transfer mold to freezer until chocolate is firm, 3 to 5 minutes. Carefully remove chocolate from molds, and place the bottom half of each mold onto a plate.
• Fill a disposable pastry bag with mousse; cut tip off bag. Pipe mousse into the bottom half of each chocolate mold. Add 2 quince balls to mold and top with a tuile.
• Working with one chocolate mold at a time, hold the top half of the mold, bottom side down, over a warm surface to soften slightly, about 10 seconds. Top bottom half of chocolate molds with top halves.
• Pipe two small dots of mousse on the top of each mold; attach a heart tuile to each. Heat poaching liquid from quince and drizzle over chocolate molds; serve immediately.