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: 1350
Number of Units: 1
WEIGHT
(grams) 		ALTERNATIVE METRIC INGREDIENT IMAGE CONDITION
A 1000 35.2 ounces Dark Chocolate (Compound) Compound chocolate is a product made from a combination of cocoa, vegetable fat, and sweeteners. It is used as a lower-cost alternative to true chocolate, as it uses less-expensive hard vegetable fats such as coconut oil or palm kernel oil in place of the more expensive cocoa butter. It may also be known as 'compound coating' or 'chocolatey coating' when used as a coating for candy. In a bowl.
B 275 9.7 ounces 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 2.6 ounces Water
1350

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Method

STEP ACTION DETAIL CONDITION
1 MIX Mix the glucose 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.

20 comments

  1. Mohammad Alkhateeb says:
    March 24, 2021 at 6:18 am

    Hi chef yener
    Why is there no recipe for milk chocolate

    1. Serdar Yener says:
      March 28, 2021 at 3:07 pm

      You take the white modelling chocolate recipe add a quarter of the dark modelling chocolate recipe the Total up all ingredients to a new recipe and replace the chocolate part with Milk Chocolate.

  2. Deirdre Kettle says:
    June 26, 2020 at 9:05 am

    Hi Chef love your tutorials and the ideas you have to make things simple for us all, I always tayed away from cake decorating as I am not very artistic but have tried a couple of your simpler ideas ie magnolia, roses, this has boosted my confidence enormously so thank you for that.
    my question is when I make this if I only use some of it can the remainder be stored in the freezer until I need it again and if so how long is it safe to stay in the freezer.

  3. Elaine Tubbs says:
    May 30, 2019 at 10:09 am

    I don’t know if you will get this in time to help me. I’m making the motorcycle cake for a grooms cake. I’m in the process of making the tires. The modeling chocolate is good consistency, but it is sticking to the table and Im having a hard time shaping it. The piece is long enough that the whole piece isn’t rolling all at once. One end stays stationary on the table. Or I will spread my hands and fingers out as far as I can so I can roll all the way to the ends, but the middle doesn’t roll. It sticks. Any tips?

  4. Suzy Zimmermann says:
    January 5, 2019 at 1:52 pm

    Is the compound chocolate you refer to the same as Wilton Candy Melts?

    1. Serdar Yener says:
      January 5, 2019 at 11:50 pm

      I did not try that but I believe it is similar.

  5. Mcconvillek says:
    September 25, 2018 at 5:56 am

    Chef Yener
    What do you add to dark modelling chocolate to make it black. I am about to make your film reel cake and I am following it as precisely as I can. Thank you
    Kathleen

    1. Serdar Yener says:
      October 9, 2018 at 1:11 am

      Black gel colour. Thanks

  6. Carmen Almeida says:
    October 2, 2017 at 11:59 am

    hola chef, he tratado de hacer todas las recetas posibles, y nunca tengo un buen producto final, ahora que encontre su lugar voy intentar con su receta, ojala me salga, muchas gracias por compartir.

    Google Translation: hello chef, I’ve tried to make all the possible recipes, and I never have a good final product, now that I’ve found your place I’ll try your recipe, I hope it comes out, thank you very much for sharing

    1. Serdar Yener says:
      October 5, 2017 at 1:29 pm

      Thanks, hope everything works, any question please ask.

  7. Patricia Walmsley says:
    September 27, 2017 at 9:32 am

    So glad l found and joined your site it’s absolutely fantastic and has built my confidence no end thank you so much

    1. Serkan Yener says:
      September 27, 2017 at 11:56 am

      Thank you Patricia, welcome to our site 🙂

  8. MaritzaBaez says:
    August 9, 2017 at 10:07 pm

    Hi Chef Yerner, does this recioe come out liquid at 1st? I followed the grams measurements to the T.

    1. Serdar Yener says:
      August 10, 2017 at 8:05 am

      Yes, not liquid but sloppy. Keep it at the room temperature until next day or in the fridge for an hour then knead.

  9. antonieta says:
    June 5, 2016 at 4:11 am

    Hi Chef, I love your site. One question , I would like to know if Glucose sirup is the same as Corn sirup? Thank you

    1. Serdar Yener says:
      June 6, 2016 at 8:37 pm

      The answer to this question is a little more than I am going to but basically Corn syrup is extracted from corn only Glucose could be corn and or others. Glucose ( 42B) is much thicker than Corn syrup. Glucose has needed a scraper to transfer from one dish to another unless heated. Corn syrup is pourable as it is. First, we have to worry what is the physical function of the ingredients than the taste of it. If I use in a solution like a jam I will not worry about which one to use, I just use a little more corn syrup instead Glucose. But if I use for making pastillage or modeling chocolate I will need thick glucose.

  10. Jeya Mary says:
    September 23, 2015 at 6:50 pm

    Hi Chef Yener, thank you for this informative site – I simply love it. read your autobiography too. I just started baking about a year and few months after going for a basic baking class. before I bake I read a lot always wondering how the formula works and what makes the formula work. there must be a formula.. which I have not found yet coz I am following someone’s creation. my first bake was a lemon cake which everyone enjoyed..
    just one question.. dark chocolate compound melted and combined with white chocolate, it became hard – what happen?

    1. Serdar Yener says:
      September 23, 2015 at 11:04 pm

      somewhere somehow water got in to it.

  11. susan coleman says:
    March 23, 2015 at 1:07 pm

    Hi Chef Yener, I love your site and all the beautiful artwork.
    Thank you so very much for allowing us to learn from you in this way.
    I do have a silly question, I have never made Modelling Chocolate and I see you have
    a recipe available to us. My question is “what is chocolate compound” ?
    I’m from the U.S and not sure if this is something I can find here or if it’s called
    something else here. Thank you and I cannot get enough of your tutorials.
    Sue

    1. Serdar Yener says:
      March 23, 2015 at 9:39 pm

      Hi Susan
      Try cooking chocolate or use expensive couverture , you will get results.

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