Chocolate Coated No-Bake Backwards Cake with gold Luster Dust Details

Two methods: Tempering and the Fast & Easy way

1. PAINT or PRESS
   A. Paint chocolate or confectionary coating into the mold
         or
   B. Roll out and firmly press edible clay into the mold (great method for kids).
   
   
2. FILL & CHILL
   Fill the interior of the mold with layers of store bought or pre-baked cake or ice cream and your favorite fillings -be creative! In warmer weather, chill before demolding.
   
   
3. DEMOLD
   To remove cake from mold, place serving plate over open mold, invert mold and plate togerther. Starting at rim, gently loosen the mold from the detailed areas of the cake and carefully demold.
   
   To add some glitz, finish by painting details with gold or colored Luster Dust. Use a small artist's brush or new sponge eye shadow applicator to apply a mixture of Luster Dust and a clear alcohol-based flavoring, such as lemon extract.

Chocolate Coating


Tempering

The best way to use chocolate in a mold is to temper it. This technique is a little fussy. Here are some websites with very good directions for tempering chocolate(scroll down for the fast & easy method):

http://www.ghirardelli.com/bake/chocolate_tempering.aspx

http://www.candylandcrafts.com/temperingchocolate.htm

http://chocolatealchemy.com/temperingmolding.php

Paint a shell of tempered chocolate into mold, being sure to cover all areas. Avoid trapping air in recesses of the mold when brushing in chocolate.



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Fast & Easy

Quick-Tempered Chocolate

Finely chop chocolate or use chocolate chips. Melt two thirds of the chocolate in the microwave for thiry second intervals, stirring in between with a silicone or rubber spatula (don't use a wooden utensil, it can introduce moisture which will cause your chocolate to 'seize'). Keep the temperature below 120F. When chocolate has melted, add the remaining one third in three batches, stirring until smooth after each addition.

Using a pastry brush, paint the melted chocolate into your mold. Be sure to brush into the crevices, brushing out any trapped air bubbles.

Choolate-Baker's Wax Method

Another easy way, or when you're in a hurry, is to add baker's wax or paraffin to the chocolate. This recipe was given to me by a wonderful person at a great chocolate shop in New London, CT. It gives a crisp, shiny coating without having to temper the chocolate:

Basic proportions are:

 1/2 block of paraffin to 1 pound of chocolate

The addition of wax gives the chocolate a nice gloss and helps it hold up better in warmer weather. Melt the wax and chocolate separately, over a double boiler or microwave on half power for 30 second intervals (I like to melt the wax in the double boiler and the chocolate in the microwave). Add the wax slowly to the chocolate, stirring constantly. Brush into the mold using a pastry brush, being sure not to trap air in the recesses of the mold. Chocolate coatings look great because they pick up even the finest details in the mold.


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Important points:

• Please supervise children when using this method.


• The wax is very flammable, use a very low heat when melting.


• Keep everything very dry when working with chocolate, even a tiny drop of water will cause the chocolate to "seize" and make it unusable for brushing into the mold (it can still be used for baking).