On Sunday, with the generous assistance of my friend CH (thanks CH!), I was able not only to make the second molded chocolate prototype of the 2008 chocolate wedding favor adventure, but also to photograph the process . . . to give you a little more insight into how molded chocolates are made.  Whereas my brother had requested a chocolate incorporating red wine, which I prototyped a couple of weeks ago (he has since changed his mind and now wants a caramel filling), my brother's fiancée has requested a lavender-flavored chocolate . . . so CH and I gave it a shot on Sunday . . . using Valrhona Equatoriale 55% Cocoa for both the shell and the ganache.

Given the level of uncertainty regarding how these may turn out in the long run (see this post about chocolate covered caramels that were great when made, but turned nasty and crystallized three or four days later), I'll refrain at this point from sharing the recipe for the ganache we used.  I started with a lavender ganache recipe from Greweling's Chocolates & Confections, but because the Greweling recipe was for slab ganache to be hand dipped and I wanted a soft ganache to pipe into molded chocolates, I modified the original recipe.  You may be wondering why I didn't learn my lesson with the caramel disaster.  The short answer is that I'm not too bright.  The slightly longer answer is that I simply needed a different recipe than the one I had on hand . . . and that I'm now armed with the confidence of science as presented in Greweling's Chocolates & Confections.  I'm pretty sure it's going to work out.  Yes, I increased the amount of cream in the recipe, which in turn increases the water activity level in the ganache, which if not offset would likely lead to crystallization of sugar like that which occurred in the caramels . . . BUT now I understand all of this . . . so I added glucose to the recipe in an amount equal to 30% of the weight of the additional cream I added.  Fingers crossed!

The initial results of the modified ganache are very good . . . I'm tempted to write very, very good . . . or even spectacular . . . but I'll try to retain a shred of modesty . . . so as not to tempt the spirits of crystallization.  The molded chocolate, on the other hand, had some minor imperfections . . . a bit of streaking that I'll need to figure out and correct in the next batch.  After all of the science classes that came and went in my youth with no affection from me, I've found a science class that I love and I'm teaching it myself with the help of a few books and you, kind readers/commenters.  So here are the basic steps to making molded chocolates.

First, buy some good books, like Andrew Garrison Shotts' Making Artisan Chocolates as and introduction, and Greweling's Chocolates & Confections as a more advanced book—and learn how to temper chocolate and/or buy an expensive tempering machine like the one pictured below.  (I did both . . . I first learned how to temper chocolate by hand and then bought a tempering machine to facilitate my wedding chocolate making project.)

Second, temper chocolate and ladle it into your mold.  



Third, after allowing the chocolate to settle into the mold, pour excess tempered chocolate back into the bowl of tempered chocolate.



Fourth, scrape excess chocolate from the surface of the mold using a scraper like the one pictured below, then turn the chocolate-coated mold upside down to allow the chocolate to set without pooling in the bottom of the mold.



Fifth, when the chocolate in the mold has set, pipe the ganache into the mold.



Sixth, ladle tempered chocolate into the mold to cover the ganache—forming the bottoms of the molded chocolates.  Once the chocolate has begun to set, but before it is fully set, scrape the surface of the mold again to remove excess chocolate.  When the chocolate has fully set, place the mold in a refrigerator for 15 minutes, which causes the chocolate to contract and release from the mold.  The final step is to remove the mold from the refrigerator, turn it upside down and tap it gently to release the finished chocolates from the mold.  Done!