Chocolate (pralines)

Needed:
* moulds for chocolates (pralines)
* ladle
* melting pan or tempering machine
* small palette knife
* triangular palette knife
* paper
Temper the melted chocolate.
Ensure that the moulds are at room temperature and warm them lightly with a hot air
blower (the ideal temperature of the moulds is 26 to 27C ). Avoid the moulds becoming
warmer than the tempered chocolate.
For the filling:
* Ganache, praline or filling of choice
* piping bag with plain tip
* small palette knife
Optional:
* Plastic gloves or a good quality brush with medium hard bristles
Step 1
Pour the mould full of tempered chocolate. Hold the mould at an angle and, with the
small palette knife, scrape the excess chocolate from the top and sides of the mould.

Step 2
Tap the mould firmly against the marble or worktable to remove any possible air bubbles
from the chocolate.

Step 3
Pour the excess chocolate out of the mould ensuring that all the corners or sides of the
mould are evenly covered with chocolate.

Step 4
Remove the remains of the chocolate from the top and sides of the mould with the small
palette knife.

Step 5
Let the chocolate set for about 5 minutes: put the mould on a paper sheet (open side
down) and allow the excess chocolate to drip onto the paper (until the dripping chocolate
begins to set).

Step 6
Scrape the last remains of chocolate off the mould and leave the mould to harden for a
few minutes in the refrigerator (10C). The moulds are then ready to fill with a ganache
or other filling.

Step 7
Fill the moulds with a ganache, a praline or any filling you wish. You should use the
piping bag with a plain tip (or no tip at all). Fill to within 2mm of the edge. Otherwise it
becomes impossible to close the mould. Make sure the filling is not too warm (max
25C). Once filled, let the filling set.

Step 8
Close the pralines: warm the top of the mould very briefly with the hot air gun. Then
apply a small quantity of tempered chocolate with the small palette knife and spread it

over the top. Do this a little at a time rather than putting too much chocolate into the
mould at once.

Step 9
Smooth over the top and scrape away any excess chocolate from the top and edges. Now
place for 30 minutes in the refrigerator (10C).
Step 10
First tap lightly with the back of the palette knife against the mould . Then release the
chocolates gently from the mould onto a sheet of paper on a stainless steel plate.

Tip:
Wear gloves to avoid leaving fingermarks on the moulded chocolates. Ideally, place the
mould on a cleaned surface to avoid attracting dust or chocolate crumbs. The pralines and
moulds are always electrostatically charged for a short time and easily attract unwanted
dust and crumbs.
Optional
Before the pouring you can create an attractive tint difference through Fingerpainting the
mould. This you do as follows:
1. Before the moulding, put a little dark, milk or white chocolate on your fingertip (For
hygiene reasons, you are advised to wear a latex glove). With one quick finger movement

draw a chocolate smear in the mould. Choose a colour that contrasts with the chocolate
you will be using later for the pouring.
For praline moulds this is best done with the fingertips. You can also use this technique
for larger moulds and hollow figures. For this you should pour a little tempered chocolate
into the mould and spread it out with a brush. You'll find more details in the main section
Decorating with Fingerpainting.
2. Allow to harden at room temperature.
3. Scrape the edges of the mould clean with the triangular palette knife. You can now cast
or pour as described earlier.
Tip: when you fingerpaint with white chocolate, you should let it harden well before you
continue with moulding in a darker colour. Most importantly, do your moulding using a
thinner layer of milk or dark chocolate. If you add too thick a layer of chocolate, the heat
is retained too long in the mould and the white chocolate will melt away. This would lose
the effect.
Is the layer too thin and therefore too difficult to get out of the mould? You should let it
harden until the chocolate feels dry to the touch and then apply a second layer. (For very
large moulds you may even need a third layer.)
Which chocolate types are best suited to moulding pralines?
* For a medium chocolate shell:
All chocolate types with a basic viscosity ( ) are suitable. They allow a chocolate layer
with the perfect thickness. You have less chance of unwanted airbubbles than with a more
fluid chocolate.
* For a fine chocolate shell:
Some chocolate lovers and craftsmen want the chocolate shell to be as fine and crunchy
as possible. A more fluid chocolate containing 2% to 4% more cocoa butter is best for
this. You can identify these types by the number 2 to 4 before the basic code (
).