Skip to main content

How to Make Chocolate Easter Candy

by Laura Giletti


chocolate-eggs9


The fun thing about making chocolate and molding it is that you can adapt the same skill for any holiday, as long as you have the molds.  Some molds allow you to place a lollipop stick to make chocolate lollies.  Some molds are for solid shapes, giving you the chance to fill them with safe treats like marshmallow or to use your safe peanut butter or peanut butter substitute to make a Reese's® peanut butter cup style treat.  Of course you can also simply fill them with chocolate too!  Other molds are two halves of a shape which you can choose to have either solid or hollow.  Hollow molds allow for filling with fun treats too!

Here is my setup for today: a hollow mold and a solid mold, a pastry brush, a microwave-safe bowl, a spoon and chocolate chips safe for your allergies.

chocolate-eggs1

Start to melt the chocolate gently in the microwave.  Start by microwaving the chocolate for 30 seconds.  It will come out looking just like it did before, but give it a good stir to mix the warmer chips and the cooler chips together.  If you do not stir the chips you can burn them.  Ask me how I know.

Give it another 30 seconds and stir.  Depending on your microwave, you might need another 30-second burst or more.  When it starts to melt, but before it is mostly melted, give it good stir and then let it rest for a minute.  You can see how my chocolate is starting to melt but is still not ready to be molded.  Your bowl will hold some heat, and you want to give the chocolate a chance to absorb that heat.  We are aiming for all of the chocolate to be the same temperature as we go and for none of it to get too hot.


chocolate-eggs2

You are ready to continue in the microwave when the outside of the bowl is comfortable to the touch.  Give it another good stir and put it back in the microwave for 15 seconds.  Now it needs shorter bursts because you don’t want to overheat the chocolate.

chocolate-eggs3

If you look closely you will see there are still a few bits that are not melted, but they will melt soon from the warmth of the rest of the chocolate.  This chocolate is ready to mold.


MOLDS come in different types:

Clear, plastic molds are cheap but have a tendency to crack or split easily and cannot be used for other candies (due to the high temperature of hot sugar).

Polycarbonate molds are what professionals use. With longevity comes a price as these molds are expensive.

Silcone molds are affordable and can handle hot sugar for making other candies and can also go into the freezer. Silicone is flexible, making the removal of the chocolates much easier.

To make a single-use mold, you can use aluminum foil and press the foil around a cookie cutter to take the shape. The candy will have a wrinkly texture as it is nearly impossible to get the foil flat.



First the larger mold.  I started to use the pastry brush, but actually the spoon worked better for smoothing the chocolate onto the curves of the egg shape.  If you have a mold with little details, a pastry brush can ensure that the chocolate gets into every nook and cranny.  An air bubble can ruin the effect.

chocolate-eggs4

Continue until the mold is filled.  This particular mold will obviously be used by putting the two halves together.  Be sure to coat the sides thickly so that the chocolate is structurally sound.  You will also want a thick edge so that you have good surface to glue the two halves together.

If you want you can stick the mold on ice packs—the blue things are reusable ice packs from the endless sports injuries DH and I have had over the years.  If you don’t have reusable ice packs, you can use a zipper lock bag filled with ice cubes.  For better stability, make sure the cubes are an even, single layer.

chocolate-eggs5

Solid molds are fairly self explanatory.  Fill the holes.  The ones I have here are fairly small and the pastry brush is not necessary, but it can be helpful for larger detailed molds.  This part is pretty fun and yummy looking.

chocolate-eggs6

When I move the silicone molds, I like to put them on a cookie tray.  It eliminates the worry about those rubbery soft molds coming apart in an unfortunate manner.  Move the molds to the fridge for about 30 minutes to firm up.  You want to refrain from keeping them in the fridge too long or they may develop a “bloom” which is a whitish layer on the outside of the chocolate.  It’s not harmful, it just makes the chocolate less appealing to look at.

Take them out promptly and unmold.  This is when you will be really glad you bought the silicone version!  Look how easy this is.  In fact, they were coming out a little too easily for me to get many photographs.

chocolate-eggs7

I am still puzzled why this egg mold makes five halves, since clearly you need them in pairs.  The extra half must be a treat for the chef!

chocolate-eggs8

Store the chocolate at room temperature—remember the stores all keep the chocolate bars out at room temperature.  There is no need to refrigerate chocolate.  And as a last note, if you find you have some chocolate left after filling your molds, find some cookies and spread the chocolate thickly on top.  Allow to cool and you can thank me later.  These cookies are for the cook, she gets the best sneaky snacks.

chocolate-eggs10

Laura has been a member of KFA since 2005 and has volunteered to help us with our community and statistics for the past several years.  She is the mother of 2 young girls and is an avid cook.  

Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.

Attachments

Images (10)
  • chocolate-eggs9
  • chocolate-eggs10
  • chocolate-eggs1
  • chocolate-eggs2
  • chocolate-eggs3
  • chocolate-eggs4
  • chocolate-eggs5
  • chocolate-eggs6
  • chocolate-eggs7
  • chocolate-eggs8

Add Comment

Comments (13)

Newest · Oldest · Popular

Definitely how you handle the chocolate makes a difference. You want to warm it slowly and only til it all melts. I've taken chocolate out temper by handling it badly. Then it won't set up right and the texture gets grainy and it really blooms!  

I used one of the Wilson warming pots working with a friend once and I didn't like it. It was definitely too hot for the chocolate I had. I did much better slowly warming in the microwave 30 sec at a time on half power. Stir in between. And at the end, just stir. Don't be tempted to put it in for more time, just keep stirring when you are close.

If I'm working on a lot of small stuff, I'll put my bowls or pastry bags of melted chocolate on a heating pad on the lowest setting. I can even toss in a small amount of new chocolate and stir til it's melted.

Kathy P
Last edited by Kathy P

I've only used Enjoy Life chocolates to make molded chocolates, so I have nothing else to compare to, but I've had some times where my chocolates developed quite a bloom and other times that they didn't.  I think the difference was how I handled the chocolate--if I was a bit more gentle with it (heating it more gradually, heating the bare minimum necessary, no rapid temperature changes, etc.) it seemed like the bloom wasn't as noticeable.  If I remember correctly, the bloom is just the cocoa butter separating out, so I suppose it makes sense that treating the chocolate more delicately would keep the emulsion intact (the fats stay incorporated) better.   They do have little warming pots you can buy that probably accomplish this more easily, but at this point I don't mind using the microwave 15 seconds at a time. 

Starkled

I have never tried the Enjoy Life brand, but I have made dairy, soy, nut-free molded chocolates many times using chips from Chocolate Emporium.  The problem I experience is that the molded chocolates looks wonderful at first, but they develop a 'bloom' (the whitish coating mentioned in the original post) very quickly, even when stored at just room temperature.  In fact, I can only make the chocolates a day or two ahead because of this discoloration.  Do any of you know a way I could prevent that?  I wondered if I could paint the chocolates with a very thin layer of Karo Syrup as it would harden quickly and add shine?  I wold love any suggestions!  Do the Enjoy Life chips resist the bloom any better?

E
Originally Posted by Momma2Joey:

I've been doing this for every holiday for years now. the silicone molds are awesome because the chocolate comes out with a nice shiny coating. I usually make a mock peanutbutter cup filling using margarine, graham crackers, powdered sugar and sunbutter and fill the chocolates. They are so delicious! I actually made a big sunbutter cup bunny the past couple years for Easter. Bought the mold online, super cute and pretty easy.

Can you share the ingredient measurements for the mock peanut butter cup filling?

Y

I've been doing this for every holiday for years now. the silicone molds are awesome because the chocolate comes out with a nice shiny coating. I usually make a mock peanutbutter cup filling using margarine, graham crackers, powdered sugar and sunbutter and fill the chocolates. They are so delicious! I actually made a big sunbutter cup bunny the past couple years for Easter. Bought the mold online, super cute and pretty easy.

Momma2Joey

 Welcome momof2girls!  It is possible to make the eggs stuffed with a filling.  Laura showed us how to make plain, solid chocolate eggs.  You could take a pastry brush and brush a layer of chocolate into the mold.  Make a filling (I prefer Sunbutter) and put in the middle.  Cover with more chocolate.  Yum!  Similar to the Mock Buckeye recipe found here: http://www.kidswithfoodallergi..._buckeyes_recipe.php

 

For more ideas, please post in our Food & Cooking forums.  We can help brainstorm safe and fun ideas!

cheymom

 Paolabea!  We are glad you found us!

 

I have found that the chocolate is rather soft.  I usually keep them in the fridge. 

 

You can try posting on our Food & Cooking forum for further assistance.  Someone may have a trick to help: http://community.kidswithfooda...rum/food_and_cooking

cheymom

Hi! This is great! But I tried it last year with Enjoy Life mini chips and the chocolate didn't seem to stay hard when taken out of the fridge. Did you use Enjoy Life chips? Did you put anything else while melting it?

 

Thanks!!!

P
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×