Since I had a disposable pastry bag still filled with chocolate, I set out on another chocolaty adventure: flowers.
I love flowers on cakes. The diversity added to the design by something as simple as flowers, each with their own unique petals, draws the eye so fluidly across a cake display. Also, I had just watched an episode of Sweet Genius with a chocolate artist as one of the contestants. Needless to say, I felt inspired.
I was unprepared for the obstacles that would present themselves. I blame the chocolate artist for not expressing in any of his candid moments that chocolate has adverse characteristics.
After viewing a couple of instruction videos online, I felt I had a plan in mind. The counter was covered with strips of parchment paper, a rolling pin, and my freshly melted chocolate.
Attempt #1: Dollops of chocolate spread out in a row on the parchment strip. About the size of a quarter, I tried to shape the dollops to mimic petals. As seen on YouTube, I pressed a second strip of parchment to the top of the dollop-petals and gently ran my fingers over the tops to thin out the petals. I picked up the parchment-chocolate sandwich and laid it along the rolling pin, tucking the lengths under the rolling pin to hold the curl. On a second strip of parchment, I made smaller dollops for the central petals. After creating another parchment-chocolate sandwich and wrapping it around the rolling pin, I set the rolling pin with both sets of petals into the freezer.
Twenty minutes later I retrieved the rolling pin and its crew from the freezer. I had a small square of parchment on the counter that I intended to build my flower on. I peeled the top sheet from the smaller petals slowly, happy as each petal seemed to jump off the bottom sheet with excitement. Freedom!!!
Sadly, I discovered the large petals had been made from too large of dollops. Each petal had reached for at least one neighbor and joined hands against the cold of the freezer. Bloody useless sheet of chocolate, now. To top it off, they resisted the procedure to remove them from the parchment. I think they knew what they were in for: broken down, back in the pastry bag, and into the microwave.
Attempt #2: I decided that my batch of small petals from Attempt #1 would proceed to be the large petals for Attempt #2. I realized that I just didn't have enough space on the parchment strip to make that large of petals. So, more smallish dollops of chocolate and pop into the freezer. This time, however, I rolled the strip around itself starting from one short end. This should give me some nice dynamic petals!
Indeed it did! Twenty minutes later I had lovely, curled up little petals bounding off the parchment strip.
Attempt #3: Before constructing my little chocolate flower, I decided to play with one more petal idea: petal outlines. I was concerned about the lines being thin and brittle so I did not make a sandwich, just drew each chocolate petal outline on the parchment and stuck the sheet in the freezer.
Attempt #2, cont: As I said, I had a small square of parchment just for building my flower on. Too lazy to reheat the chocolate, I decided it was warm enough for this quick build. Projects would go faster if I didn't do things like that.
I started with a small dollop on my parchment, set the pastry bag to the side and grabbed two sweet little petals. The two nestled so cozily together that I quickly added a third and then counted to ten as with super glue before I released the petals. A lovely trio.
Sorting through the remaining petals, I decided which would be next. Add fresh chocolate to the base, settle petal where it needs to be, count to ten. Queue famous last words: Oh, this is easy.
Next petal chosen, I added chocolate to the base of my flower and settled my petal onto... mostly solid chocolate. The surface of the added chocolate was just slightly gooey. I held the petal and attempted a quick mend by adding more chocolate to support the petal. It seemed to work.
I flopped my hand to the side with a sigh and then a grunt of frustration: while I had fumbled with the base of the flower, the petal had melted to my finger. The flower, attached to its parchment, flopped across the counter along with the finger it was attached to. The offending petal snapped free of the flower although it hung on for dear life to my finger.
Did I mention this was really tasty chocolate? Damn petal.
Reheat the chocolate, take a lighter to the metal pastry tip to melt the chocolate caught there, rub the heated tip against the chocolate base where the now departed petal had once clung, start again.
Eventually, I made a lovely flower. The outline petal flower - less lovely but looks nice if you squint.
Time Spent: Approx 1 hour, mostly due to set backs
Tip: Do not remove petals from freezer until you are ready to handle. Wash hands in ice water to cool skin down before handling thin chocolate. Make sure your melted chocolate is at the right consistency before you start to build.
Technique Source: Ann Reardon - How to Cook That
NOTE: I did not have the support cookie cutter ring Ann used; I did not peel my two layers of parchment apart as I wanted thicker petals.
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