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Use Chocolate to Create an Elegant Cake Topper

 

 

You can create an elegant cake topper by using molded chocolate.  I made a thin chocolate cake topper for a Father’s Day Cake by melting Ghirardelli double chocolate candy and pouring it into a 8 inch by 3 inch cake pan; the same pan that I used to make the cake.

To Melt the Chocolate:

Estimate the amount of chocolate needed to fill the mold. I like to use Ghirardelli double chocolate candy.  It tastes good and does not need to be tempered. I melt it in a small microwave safe bowl. If you overheat chocolate in the microwave, the chocolate will change consistency and will not be good. So you need to warm it just a little.  Stir any melted or soft chocolate and then heat it just a little again.  Here’s what I do.  I warm the chocolate for 45 seconds and then I stir any soft or melted chocolate.  After that I switch to heating the chocolate for 15 seconds and then stirring the chocolate. Repeat this cycle until most of the chocolate is melted.  By stirring, you should be able to melt the last little bit of chocolate without heating it again.

To Mold the Chocolate:

Pour the chocolate into the cake pan so that the chocolate is about one-quarter inch thick. If it is too thin, it will break. Make sure to tap the pan on the table several times to knock out any bubbles from the chocolate so that the chocolate will not have holes left from air bubbles. Keep tapping the pan on the table until you do not see any more bubbles coming to the top. Let it sit in the refrigerator for about 45 minutes until the chocolate has hardened.  To remove the chocolate circle, place a cardboard cake circle into the pan up against the chocolate and support it with your hand. Carefully turn the pan over.  Tap lightly on the pan with your other hand until the chocolate releases.  Use cloth gloves or paper towels to handle the chocolate so that you do not get fingerprints on it.

Placing the Cake Topper:

For the Father’s Day Cake, I made an 8 inch by 3 inch chocolate cake. I used chocolate ganache frosting to frost the cake. Make sure to frost the cake while the chocolate ganache is still warm because it dries firm. 

I placed the thin chocolate cake topper on the frosted cake and then added additional frosting to the sides as necessary to make the chocolate top even with the sides of the cake.