Modeling chocolate, also called chocolate leather, plastic chocolate or candy clay, is a chocolate paste made by melting chocolate and combining it with corn syrup, glucose syrup, or golden syrup. Primarily used by upscale cakemakers and pâtisseries to add decoration to cakes and pastries, modeling chocolate is formed into a variety of shapes and structures that cannot be easily accomplished with other softer edible materials such as buttercream frosting, marzipan, or fondant. Modeling chocolate can be made from white, dark, semi-sweet, or milk chocolate. Source

Adding water in chocolate is against the basic rules because even the smallest bit of water starts to makes chocolate creamy, and more water turns the chocolate into a greasy paste that’s not very useful. However, if we also add glucose, the result is a smooth plasticine like texture. The issue is that there will be no single recipe that works for every chocolate. Couvertures will need more liquid then compound chocolate. 30 to 35 percent glucose and water mixture will give a reasonable texture depending of the hardness of the chocolate which is called (snap). This paste can be used for coating cakes, making centrepieces look like curved chocolate, modelling figurines and also cutting shapes from rolled sheets.

Ingredients

The weights in the recipe table below will yield the following 'weight per unit' and 'number of units'. If you would like to change the recipe to cater to a different 'weight per unit' and/or 'number of units', you can use the Recipe Calculator Tool below the ingredients table.
Weight Per Unit: 2150
Number of Units: 1
WEIGHT
(grams) 		ALTERNATIVE METRIC INGREDIENT IMAGE CONDITION
A 1500 Dark Chocolate (Couverture) Couverture chocolate is a very high-quality chocolate that contains extra cocoa butter (32–39%). The higher percentage of cocoa butter, combined with proper tempering, gives the chocolate more sheen, firmer "snap" when broken, and a creamy mellow flavor. In a bowl.
B 500 Glucose Syrup

Glucose syrup, also known as confectioner's glucose, is a syrup made from the hydrolysis of starch. Glucose is a sugar. Maize (corn) is commonly used as the source of the starch in the US, in which case the syrup is called "corn syrup", but glucose syrup is also made from potatoes and wheat, and less often from barley, rice and cassava.


Glucose syrup containing over 90% glucose is used in industrial fermentation, but syrups used in confectionery contain varying amounts of glucose, maltose and higher oligosaccharides, depending on the grade, and can typically contain 10% to 43% glucose. Glucose syrup is used in foods to sweeten, soften texture and add volume. By converting some of the glucose in corn syrup into fructose (using an enzymatic process), a sweeter product, high fructose corn syrup can be produced.

 (approximately 43BE) 		In a sauce pan.
C 75 Water
D 75 Sugar Sugar is the generalized name for sweet, short-chain, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. They are carbohydrates, composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. There are various types of sugar derived from different sources. Simple sugars are called monosaccharides and include glucose (also known as dextrose), fructose and galactose. The table or granulated sugar most customarily used as food is sucrose, a disaccharide. (In the body, sucrose hydrolyses into fructose and glucose.) Other disaccharides include maltose and lactose. Longer chains of sugars are called oligosaccharides. Chemically-different substances may also have a sweet taste, but are not classified as sugars. Some are used as lower-calorie food substitutes for sugar described as artificial sweeteners.
2150

Recipe Calculator Tool

Using this tool, you can alter this recipe for your own requirements. Use the two fields below to generate new weights for the ingredients above.

STEP 1. Enter your Custom Weight Per Unit
The 'Custom Weight Per Unit' is already loaded with the weight per unit for this recipe but can be changed if required. If all you wish to do is change the number of units (or servings), just leave the current weight per unit.

STEP 2. Enter your Custom Number of Units
This is the number of units (or servings) you want this recipe to yield.

STEP 3. Click Calculate
The new weights for your adjusted recipe will be displayed in the table above.

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Method

STEP ACTION DETAIL CONDITION
1 MIX Mix the glucose, sugar and water in a sauce pan.
2 BOIL Bring to a boil for a few seconds.
3 POUR Pour the mix on the chocolate (in a separate bowl).
4 MIX Mix till the chocolate is dissolved.
5 STORE Store overnight in room temperature or 1-2 hours in the fridge. Covered with cellophane or cling wrap.
6 KNEAD Knead before use.

Important Notes

  • The paste can quickly become softer then the desired texture in a warmer room. Working with gloves minimizes this problem as there is less heat transferred from your hands.
  • You can roll the paste with starch but white dust will be visible. Rolling in between 2 sheets of baking paper gives a cleaner result.
  • You can knead the paste with additional icing sugar and starch to make it dry more quickly.
  • For small amounts, you can place all ingredients in to a glass bowl and heat for 30 second pulses in microwave till everything incorporated.

18 comments

  1. Ammad Ali says:
    January 5, 2020 at 6:12 am

    Hi chef I’m a big fan of yours.. Your work is mind blowing. I wanna meet you once Tim in my life.. May Allah Give me chance to see u… Love from Pakistan?? ??

  2. Angelica Hernandez says:
    November 15, 2017 at 9:33 am

    Also how do you store the modelling chocolate and how long can it last stored?

    Thanks

    1. Serdar Yener says:
      November 25, 2017 at 9:22 am

      In the plastic bag and airtight container. Room temperature for a few weeks if longer in the fridge, but you have to take day before out of the fridge and open next day.

  3. Angelica Hernandez says:
    November 15, 2017 at 9:30 am

    Dear Chef,

    First of all thank you for sharing all your knowledge, I enjoy all your tutorials very much.

    Secondly, could you please explain what 43BE means, for the glucose syrup, how do I know I am using the correct one? Where can I find it, can it be substituted for something else in case I don’t have it?

    Thanks in advance.

    1. Serdar Yener says:
      November 25, 2017 at 9:27 am

      B is the consistency of substence. The 43B glucose is very thick and you can not just pour it. If you use corn syrup from supermarket it is porable. You can use that but replace the glucose AND the water in my recipe with the corn syrup.

  4. ZIYAD LOURAOUI says:
    November 15, 2017 at 7:26 am

    what is the volumic mass of modeling chocolate please?

    1. Serdar Yener says:
      November 25, 2017 at 9:32 am

      My best guess is 1L modelling chocolate = 1350g.

  5. Therese Brausch says:
    October 22, 2017 at 1:49 am

    does a ganached cake have to be refrigerated? how long can it sit out at room temp?

    1. Serdar Yener says:
      October 27, 2017 at 9:10 am

      The cakes done with ganache filling can stay at the room temperature easily long enough to cover decorating and presentation time. It still depends what else been used inside the cake. Mud cake sponge and ganache no problem. How long depends room temp. Aircondition room no problem.

  6. Milvia Orellana says:
    July 17, 2017 at 2:05 pm

    Hello Chef.
    Can I use whip cream, to make a chocolate
    ganash?
    Thank you.

    1. Serdar Yener says:
      July 18, 2017 at 8:07 am

      Hi Milvia, it has to be 35% real natural whipping cream or thickened cream ( this is just real whipping cream with a bit of added gum ). Do not use any kind of mock cream which is not real cream. Thanks

  7. mukhrismanggeng says:
    December 27, 2016 at 1:15 am

    Hi chef, if i use the low quality chocolate can it work?

    1. Serdar Yener says:
      December 30, 2016 at 11:41 pm

      You can try . If turns out too soft increase chocolate and you can add also up to 1% tylose.

  8. Marilyn Turner says:
    September 8, 2016 at 7:43 pm

    How long will it last

    1. Serdar Yener says:
      September 10, 2016 at 10:53 pm

      Keep the unused paste in the fridge in a plastic bag air tight container, a year is no problem

  9. Nyl_87 says:
    September 4, 2016 at 12:10 am

    Hi Chef, can i use cadburry dark chocolate melts?

    1. Serdar Yener says:
      September 4, 2016 at 7:17 am

      Yes please .

      1. Nyl_87 says:
        September 4, 2016 at 9:42 am

        Thanks chef

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