Casting - Building Figurines With 3D Shapes
+ What's Covered?
We will go over casting and/or building chocolate figurines. Depending on how elaborate your project is, this may be covered in one session or two. I will let you know.
You will be required to understand how to temper and how to cast basic shapes such as spheres, eggs, and other 3D shapes.
This lesson does not incorporate colouring the shells before or after. That would require another lesson preceding or proceeding this one. Let me know if this is the case and I will assist you in planning out the lessons.
+ Do I need to know how to colour molds to do this lesson?
No. You may need to learn how to spray your molds either before casting, or after building your figurine. However, you can learn to cast and build figurines before colouring.
+ What if I want to colour my shells before casting them?
If you already know how to colour your molds, you can go ahead and have those ready before our lesson.
+ What Equipment Will I Need?
This is not an exhaustive list, but some main items you will need are:
2 wide scrapers: you can get them from the plaster section of your hardware store
Thermometer: Laser thermometers are ideal for chocolate. You can use a probe thermometer, but life will be easier with a laser thermometer. You can buy it online, or even at your local hardware store.
A rubber spatula
5-10 metal soup or teaspoons: Can also use metal dinner knives. This will be used for temper checks.
Molds: You will also need the molds to pour the chocolate in. Ideally hard polycarbonate molds, or clear plastic molds. Silicone will work as well, but they are not ideal as they are difficult to handle and don't produce the same shine as plastic or polycarbonate molds. They can be pre-coloured if you wish, or we can work on colouring them in the lesson.
Other helpful tools will be:
A ladle or reusable piping bags, parchment paper to line the counter, dry and wet cloths, room in your fridge to set the chocolate, a fan if your room is too warm (should be around 18-20*C)
+ How Long Should I Book?
This depends on how many molds you plan to cast, and whether or not you wish to go into detail on tempering or colouring.
If you know how to temper pretty well, and do not require the shells to be coloured, 1.5 hours is a good amount of time. Also, we could also attempt to temper and cast a couple of times, so 2-2.5 hours may suffice if you want to attempt it twice in one session.
If you wish to incorporate temper pointings, I would book 1.5-2 hours. I wouldn't recommend doing this twice.
If you wish to also incorporate colouring molds, I would book 2.5-3 hours for colouring, tempering, and casting them. We wouldn't be able to go through this twice in this case.
+ Is This Good For Beginners?
Not absolute beginners. It would be expected that you have a good idea of how to temper and/or colour your molds if you were wanting cololured bonbon shells.
If you just wish to cast without colouring and understand how to temper, then this lesson is for you.
If you do not know how to temper, I recommend a 2D or 3D objects lesson, or a general tempering lesson first.
If you do not know how to colour or temper, this lesson is not for you. If unsure where to start, contact me with what you wish to learn and I will lay out the lessons in the order you should tackle them.