Casting - Small Shells (Bonbon Shells)
+ What's Covered?
We will go over casting chocolate shells intended to be used for making bonbons. A bonbon shell requires an ideal even thickness around the shell with a lip that is neither too thin nor too thick.
Making bonbon shells is similar to casting large shapes and other molds, but can be a bit more tricky for beginners.
This lesson can also incorporate some tempering practice as well. However, if you are very new to tempering, or have never tempered before, I would recommend casting bars, 2D molds, and basic shapes instead before attempting small shells for bonbons. But this is up to you.
If you consider yourself pretty good at tempering, and may just need some pointers before we cast the shells, that will work just fine for this lesson.
This lesson does not incorporate colouring the bonbon shells. That usually requires a separate lesson. You can book that on a day prior to this lesson if you wish. However, if you wish to incorporate that into the same lesson you can.
+ Do I need to know how to colour molds to do this lesson?
No. Some people prefer not to colour their bonbons with cocoa butter colourings. There is a technique to making the perfect bonbon shell, so we can easily work on that with or without the need to colour the molds beforehand.
+ What if I want to colour my shells before casting them?
If you already know how to colour your shells, you can go ahead and have those ready before our lesson.
If you wish to colour your molds by hand or a spray gun before casting, we can incorporate that as well, but I would recommend at least 2.5 hours especially if you have never coloured molds before.
+ 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.