Modelling Chocolate Recipe

How to make perfect modelling chocolate, and how to work with it.

I was attracted to working with modelling chocolate because it doesn’t dry out and it sets very solid at room temperature allowing sculps to be built quickly. Best of all, edges blend perfectly so there are no seams and details can be remodelled and reworked, built up or shaved down repeatedly until they are perfect.

I experimented a lot to get a modelling chocolate recipe that performs well for me, is cheap to make and can be consistently and quickly made in large quantities to use on the same day.

Video below showing the whole process in real time from start to usable product in 20 minutes. It’s a fairly rough video but it covers everything.

The recipe I use is a simple ratio of 4.5:1 by weight of white compound chocolate to light corn syrup. This makes a very firm, all-purpose modelling chocolate. I’ve found it’s easier not to use expensive couverture chocolate, a good white compound chocolate works best for texture and still tastes pretty good.

In general corn syrup produces smoother, stretchier sugar products than glucose. Fondant I make with corn syrup is stretchier and smoother than fondant made with glucose, which is “shorter” and more brittle. I found it was similar for modelling chocolate when I was developing this recipe. Karo corn syrup was the best, but it can be expensive in some countries.
I experimented to find an alternative when a friend suggested Korean corn syrup. You can find Korean corn syrup at most local Asian grocers for a lot less, and nearly every Korean grocer will have it. I buy 5 litres for $15 and every brand I have tried has performed better than glucose, been a cheaper than glucose and performs as well as the more expensive Karo Corn syrup.

Bulk compound white chocolate is the best way to lower the cost. You can get 15kg of Callebaut white compound chocolate for $130 ($90 on special) at most baking shops and likely cheaper again elsewhere. This makes a firm, easy to work with modelling chocolate that tastes really as good, easily as good as cadbury and it’s much easier to mix and work with. Mixing at a ratio of 4.5:1 means you can potentially make 18Kg of modelling chocolate for around $105. Other bulk white chocolate brands can be bought for $79 for 15kg – dropping the cost further.

Firm Modelling Chocolate Recipe

Ingredients:
450g white chocolate to 100g of corn syrup.

Method:
Weigh the white compound chocolate out in grams. Divide the weight by 4.5 and weigh out that amount of corn syrup.

If you have 600 grams of white compound chocolate you will need to weigh out 133 grams of corn syrup.

Weigh the chocolate and break it up into a clean, dry microwave proof bowl.

Microwave in bursts of no more than 30 seconds stirring in between blasts. The time in the microwave will need to be reduced if you are working with smaller portions. I usually work in batches of 2 kilos grams or more, so I can put the chocolate in for longer stretches. 600 grams usually only takes a total of 90 seconds.

Do not overheat the chocolate. Ideally, use the residual heat from each interval in the microwave to melt the chocolate by stirring it.  A plastic bowl can help to prevent “hot spots” that sometimes happen from a glass bowl getting too hot, but I like to use the residual heat from a glass bowl to finish melting the chocolate and have it in the microwave for less time.

Ensure the chocolate is completely melted and all the lumps are gone. Do not try to rush the melting.
Allow the chocolate time to cool down slightly, it should be approximately body temperature or slightly cooler before combining.

 

In a smaller bowl weigh out the correct amount of syrup for the amount of chocolate you’re using. If using glucose, warm the syrup in the microwave for a few seconds, do not overheat it and never boil. 

Corn syrup is already liquid at room temperature so it doesn’t need to be warmed. Scrape the syrup into the melted chocolate and gently, but thoroughly fold through using a spatula. Scrape the chocolate off the sides and bottom folding through carefully until there are no large streaks of unmelted chocolate left. Ensure nearly all the chocolate has been mixed through, it is crucial at this stage not to over stir. The chocolate will begin to seize up very quickly. It only takes a few strokes through the chocolate and in just a few turns the mixture will lose its shine start to look rough and slightly crumbly. The aim is to make the chocolate seize up evenly. Do not stir any further, or the fat will separate, it’s better to stop stirring earlier and work the lumps out later than risk separating the oils from the chocolate. Transfer the mixture to a large ziplock bag or two and press flat to fill the bag.
If the mixture starts to look greasy or the oils begin to separate then stop immediately and transfer the mixture to a large ziplock bag and press flat.

Other recipes suggest the chocolate should now be wrapped and put aside to cool and set overnight, but I rarely have the time, and in my usually hot kitchen it would take days to set… So I speed up the process – interestingly, my impatience and need to speed up the process resulted in a better product.

I usually make and use a very large quantity of modelling chocolate on the same day. The only way to do this is by using a freezer. Once mixed I spread the mixture into a thin sheet inside a very large zip lock bag (or a couple of them) and lay the slabs of chocolate in the freezer for 10-15 minutes until most of the mix is firm and leathery. Once the chocolate has fully set it will be very firm and a little crumbly. Knead small pieces of it until you have a smooth plasticine like mixture. If the chocolate is too firm to knead, pop it in the microwave for 3 or 5 seconds to soften it up slightly. If the mixture has a few small lumps you can work them smooth by pinching them flat with your thumb against the work surface, melting them a little with the heat from your hands and working through the modelling chocolate. If there are a lot of lumps, pop the whole mix in the microwave and heat gently for a few seconds at a time until the mixture is soft, knead it just enough to mix the now slightly melted lumps through and again set the chocolate aside in a zip lock bag to set up before using it.

Occasionally I have had to repeat this process a couple of times to remove lumps or because I have overheated/overworked the chocolate with my hands at the initial kneading stage and made the oils start to separate, but the freezer fixes everything.
Using a combination of the microwave and freezer I can get excellent modelling chocolate made in well under half an hour while I’m doing other things and have is coloured and ready to use right away.

NB: When you are making the modelling chocolate, if the oils start to come out of the mixture, you have likely overheated the syrup or the chocolate or over-stirred the mixture or kneaded it too much while it’s warm. When you see oil come out of the mixture, stop immediately, transfer it to a zip lock bag and put it in the freezer and repeat the setting and kneading process until the mixture is smooth, or if you’re working on a piece and it starts to get oily stop and let it cool down, or pop it in a fridge for a few seconds before continuing.

Some recipes recommend squeezing the oils out of the chocolate and soaking them up with a paper towel – Do not do this! The cocoa fats/vegetable fats are what makes modelling chocolate so amazing to work with. If you remove the fat you have not made modelling chocolate, you’ve made sugar paste. It will not smooth and blend as well as real modelling chocolate.
The main and most important two things to remember when making or working with modelling chocolate are to never overheat and never overwork the mixture when it’s warm. Additionally, use tools instead of hands where possible and on extremely hot days have a shelf in the freezer set aside so you can pop the piece/pieces you are working on in the freezer for a few minutes to firm up before you continue to work on it. Be careful not to leave the piece in the fridge/freezer to get too cold as you’re working or it might start to sweat and will become sticky. If too much water gets incorporated/absorbed it won’t set as well.

Glucose Instead of Corn Syrup

Corn syrup can be hard to get hold of in some countries. If you can only get Glucose you can still make an excellent modelling chocolate, but the ratios are very different.

Ingredients: 
500g white compound chocolate
135g glucose syrup – barely warmed
1/2 tsp water – more as needed

Method:
As above- melt chocolate. Gently warm the glucose. 
Mix together until combined. Bag up and chill until leathery or set. 
Knead, warm it in the microwave in 5 second bursts if necessary, work in 1/2 tsp of water, add more drop by drop if needed until the modelling chocolate is no longer dry and brittle feeling. Set aside to cure, (cool back down to room temperature) for an hour. Knead briefly before using, add more water if necessary. 

Colouring Modelling chocolate:

Modelling chocolate takes regular liquid gel paste colours extremely well. I get more vibrant and dark colours in modelling chocolate than I ever have with fondant.

A few drops of gel paste colour will work through easily and give a very vibrant result. However, for very dark colours like bright reds or black it can help to mix in a bit of fondant, it’s not at all necessary, it just allows the chocolate to take a lot more colour without getting too soggy. Firm modelling chocolate will take a huge amount of colour without any issues and doesn’t need the added fondant.
For bright white modelling chocolate add a few drops of Americolor white, some food grade titanium dioxide colouring powder or just use a lighter coloured compound chocolate. For race-car red or jet-black knead in about 1.5 tsp of gel colour to 150g of white modelling chocolate then set it aside in a cool place or the fridge for 15 minutes to firm up again before kneading to use. The colour darkens up further after a few minutes resting.

You can also colour modelling chocolate with edible petal dusts or by painting with decorating alcohol mixed with gel, liquid or powdered colour.  

Counter-intuitive texture fix:

I noticed my dark red and black modelling chocolates had a better texture and were easier to work with than the uncoloured mix. That’s when I realised I could use a tiny amount of water to correct the texture. I occasionally make white modelling chocolate with “real”/eating chocolate, made with cocoa butter instead of vegetable fat. This usually results in a dry, brittle,  rough-textured paste. A couple of drops of water kneaded in smooths the mix out and makes it easier to work with. This is particularly useful with dark chocolate and most brands of white compound chocolate benefit from a drop of water. Just a few drops of water will smooth the mix and make it less crumbly. Do not add the water until the mixture is made, and be very sparing with the amount of water added, you can always add more, but can’t remove it. To correct the texture of 250 grams of brittle modelling chocolate dip a fingertip in water, then knead it through. set aside to firm up and test for texture, repeat if needed.
Some brands of chocolate are terrible for making modelling chocolate with, especially regular eating chocolate like Lindt. If the mix is too crumbly, a tiny amount of fondant will help emulsify and smooth out the mix.

Hot hands/hot climate:

If you have extremely hot hands and want a more stable mixture that needs to stay flexible for longer, add a little fondant to the mixture, just keep the ratio to, or below 5:1 modelling chocolate to fondant. Modelling chocolate mixed with fondant in a ratio of roughly 5 parts chocolate to 1 part fondant has some interesting and handy properties. It can be smoothed and joined seamlessly by applying gentle heat or with little water, it’s also easier to paint with liquid colours or lustre dust/alcohol paint than straight modelling chocolate and it is more heat resistant when you are modelling pieces with your hands. In extreme humidity, modelling chocolate can sweat and get sticky,  dust your hands and the chocolate with cornflour to stop it sticking while working with it.

 

Ratios to use for different kinds of modelling chocolate.

I prefer a very firm setting modelling chocolate, often stabilised with a little fondant because I have super hot hands, and I live in Perth, WA, where the weather is insanely hot nine months of the year and it’s still hot inside for the other three months because everyone else in the house actually feels the “cold” and insists on heating the house… I don’t want my figures to droop in the heat or melt too quickly while I am trying to shape them, so I make a slightly firmer mix than most European recipes would recommend.

For firm/warm climate white modelling chocolate, the ratio should be between 4.5 and 5 parts white chocolate to 1 part corn syrup.

Medium setting/cool climate white modelling chocolate: 3.5-4 parts white chocolate to 1 part corn syrup.

Soft white modelling chocolate: 2.5-3 parts white chocolate to 1 part corn syrup.

Firmer modelling chocolate is more structural, I prefer using a 4.5:1 ratio as it provides the structural integrity I like and is still just soft enough to be able to add detail to and smooth the surface. I use it to make ultra detailed thin petals for flowers and sculptures, I use it for nearly everything.

I would only ever make soft modelling chocolate if it is going to be used to very thinly cover another surface or to cover a firmer part of a figure, the softer chocolate is easier to smooth, and easily takes a lot of detail but it is not useful for structural parts or pieces. Soft to medium setting modelling chocolate is nice to cover cakes with instead of fondant.

Medium firmness modelling chocolate is nice for ultra detailed less-structural pieces.

Ratios for dark modelling chocolate:

I use Cadbury Old Gold dark chocolate (40% Cocoa product) or Callebaut Dark Chocolate Callets for best taste and smoothness. They’re both really nice to work with and both taste great.

Firm: 3-3.5 parts Dark chocolate to 1 part corn syrup
Medium: 2.5-3 parts Dark chocolate to 1 part corn syrup
Soft: 2 parts Dark chocolate to 1 part corn syrup

I tend to use firm dark modelling chocolate for most things.

Tips for working with Modelling Chocolate:

The key rule is to not work on warm modelling chocolate. Once it’s warm stop moving/sculpting it, leave it alone or the oil will squeeze out. Chill or leave to rest for a while if the surface becomes greasy or oily while working to stop too much fat from escaping. A pasta roller can be used to help roll out thin sheets of chocolate and is used by some people to mix and further knead their chocolate without adding extra heat from their hands. I don’t use a pasta roller because I can’t be bothered setting it up and a small nylon rolling pin works just fine.

Modelling chocolate can be rolled very thinly, to the point the chocolate is fabric-like and nearly transparent. Dust the surface and the rolling pin generously with cornflour to stop it sticking.I use thin modelling chocolate for super detailed flowers and for clothing figurines.  Super thin sheets of modelling chocolate are perfect for making letters with Clickstix and Tappits, dust the chocolate and the cutters with cornflour and they’ll pop out easily. If they start to stick then place them in the fridge to set and they will release from the moulds more easily, but I don’t need to do this if I avoid handling the paste as much as possible and use a lot of cornflour. The writing on the banner on the Tigger cake to the right is made with Windsor Clickstix.

Use a gas gun or barbecue lighter with a focused flame to gently warm the surface the letters will be fixed to, or gently warm the backs of the letters. They will then stick firmly to fondant, chocolate or modelling chocolate. You can get a focussed flame (windproof) gas lighter from a hardware store, they work like a mini crème brûlée torch, but they’re a lot more accurate and gentle for detailed chocolate work, and they’re cheaper. Use the tip of a scalpel or a scribe tool to lift and move the letters around so they don’t melt from your hands and stretch out of shape. The letters can also be fixed to fondant or chocolate with a tiny amount of water, royal icing, or piping gel. Pass the torch over the surface of the letters a couple of times to make them go shiny, the cornflour will be absorbed leaving no white marks and the letters will round off slightly.

Surfaces can be shaved down, built up and smoothed with your hands or very basic tools, once the surface is near smooth it can be further smoothed further with a little water and pressure or by applying heat with your hands or by passing a mini blowtorch over the surface a few times quickly, then using hands or tools to finish smoothing. Once the surface is very smooth, passing a torch over a few more times will bring fat to the surface and start to crystallise the sugar in the chocolate forming a tough shiny shell. This makes for an attractive finish but will make the surface prone to cracking if it is remoulded.

Impression mats and moulds work well with modelling chocolate, and most are a lot faster and easier to use with modelling chocolate than with fondant. Dust the mould with cornflour, press the chocolate in with a palette knife, smooth off the excess with the knife then peel/pop the piece out. Freeze more complex or detailed work for a few minutes to make removing the mould easier.

Modelling paste

Mix a small amount of firm modelling chocolate into fondant to create a modelling paste with similar properties to Saracino, Cake Duchess or Laped Daisy modelling paste. Weigh out ready to roll fondant then knead in roughly between one fifth and one quarter the fondant’s weight in modelling chocolate. It will depend on the fondant used, as to how much chocolate is needed. Do not add any additional tylose or the mix will become very rubbery and unusable.
I don’t use modelling paste very often as I prefer working with straight modelling chocolate, but it is super handy.

 

Covering cakes

Modelling chocolate on its own has no stretch, so cakes need to be covered using the paneling method. This method works well as seams and joins can be blended out completely. 3D cakes can be covered in patches, again the ability to blend joins makes a super smooth finish. I often use a half-half mixture of fondant and modelling chocolate to make a stretchier version. The 50/50 mix takes colour more easily than fondant alone and is very easy to work with. It’s great for creating vibrantly coloured super shiny cakes like car cakes or the suitcase below where a bit of extra stretch was handy to create the smooth covering quickly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making modelling chocolate start to finish in real time

 

 

My experiments with supermarket chocolate.

Testing a few different supermarket white chocolate brands.

I used to be just a home/hobby baker, I don’t have time to source specific couverture chocolate or search for a specific brand, so I tested a few of the chocolates that I can get at a local supermarket at short notice if I need to. Another bonus of this is that Cadbury chocolate goes on special regularly, so do the nestle baker’s choice white melts and a few others so it was worth testing to see what I should grab when it’s cheap and I’m out of my regular bulk chocolate. I tested for taste, how easy it is to get a smooth and seamless shape and how crumbly they are when reshaped. Chart of results below:

 

I tested Cadbury Dream white chocolate, Cadbury Melts white chocolate, Nestle Baker’s Choice white melts – these are a kind of candy melt not actually white chocolate, and Nestle Milky bar.

In short, the best texture and mouldability was the Nestle baker’s choice white melts, but they tasted pretty average at the time. Just slightly behind for texture was the Cadbury white chocolate melts, these had the best flavour by far and had an okay texture but the oils separate out easily and it’s brittle and more temperamental. The Cadbury dream was almost identical to the Cadbury melts for taste, texture, and usability. The milky bar had horrible texture, would not set and didn’t taste good as modelling chocolate. The milky bar was so bad, I repeated the experiment twice to make sure it wasn’t just a result of bad preparation, it still did not set, had horrible texture and tasted gross… which was pretty unexpected as I normally like this chocolate bar…

I concluded at the time that for structural elements that aren’t designed just to be eaten, Nestle baker’s choice melts are an excellent option, they updated the recipe recently so it now tastes good as well. For element’s that where flavour is more important I used to mix the Nestle and Cadbury together, the flavour was better and the texture was all right, and can be further corrected with a drop of water.

For the majority of my work I like to use bulk Callebaut white compound chocolate, it’s the most delicious, easy to work with and I can buy it in 15kg lots making it super affordable. But If I run out of my bulk chocolate now I know I can use what’s on special, Nestle, or Nestle blended with Cadbury to produce a great tasting and great textured product.

The best way to become good at making modelling chocolate is to buy a few blocks of different kinds of chocolate and experiment 200 grams at a time. I have tried a lot of different recipes including ones with glucose instead of corn syrup, ones with water and glucose and all sorts of other variations. Generally, I avoid candy melts, but the nestle bakers choice ones just happened to be excellent and all the other bulk compound chocolate I have used have been excellent, especially Callebaut. This recipe and these techniques work for me, give it a go. Experiment, keep notes and find what works for you.

For a laugh, here were my first experiments
Experiments by weight:
180g Nestle Milky Bar: 38g Corn Syrup
182g Cadbury Melts Real White Chocolate: 40g Corn Syrup.
182g Nestle Baker’s Choice Melts – white: 39g Corn Syrup.
182g Cadbury Dream white chocolate: 40g Corn Syrup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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