Image is for illustrative purposes only.
This is about as simple as a coating gets: white compound chocolate loosened with a little neutral oil. The oil thins the melted chocolate just enough to flow off a ladle in a smooth, even sheet, and it keeps the set coating from becoming so brittle that it shatters when you cut a slice.
Poured over a chilled cake, mousse or a tray of small pastries, it sets to a pale ivory shell with a soft sheen and a clean snap. Compound chocolate is used here on purpose, as it needs no tempering and will set firm at room temperature, which makes this an easy coating for a home kitchen. Keep it warm and fluid while you work, and pour in one confident go for the smoothest finish.
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.
Note: The Recipe Calculator Tool is available to subscribers.
Weight Per Unit: 550
Number of Units: 1
Unit Size: batch of pouring coating, enough to glaze two 20–24 cm cakes
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WEIGHT
(grams)
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ALTERNATIVE METRIC
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INGREDIENT
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IMAGE
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CONDITION
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A
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500 |
17.6 ounces
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White 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.
buttons or callets
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chopped if in block form |
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B
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50 |
1.7 fluid_ounces
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Cooking Oil
Cooking oil is plant, animal, or synthetic fat used in frying, baking, and other types of cooking. It is also used in food preparation and flavouring not involving heat, such as salad dressings and bread dips, and in this sense might be more accurately termed edible oil. Cooking oil is typically a liquid at room temperature, although some oils that contain saturated fat, such as coconut oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil are solid. There is a wide variety of cooking oils from plant sources such as olive oil, palm oil, soybean oil, canola oil (rapeseed oil), corn oil, peanut oil and other vegetable oils, as well as animal-based oils like butter and lard. Oil can be flavoured with aromatic foodstuffs such as herbs, chillies or garlic.
neutral flavoured, such as canola or sunflower
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room temperature |
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550
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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.
Method
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STEP
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ACTION
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DETAIL
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CONDITION
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1 |
Prepare |
Chill the cakes or pastries you are going to coat and set them on a wire rack over a clean tray to catch the run-off. |
Surface cold and dry to the touch |
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2 |
Melt |
Melt A (white compound chocolate) in a bowl over a pot of hot water off the heat, or in the microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring between each. |
Completely smooth, no unmelted pieces, and no hotter than 45°C (113°F) |
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3 |
Mix |
Stir B (cooking oil) into the melted chocolate. |
Glossy and evenly blended, thin enough to run off the spoon in a ribbon |
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4 |
Cool |
Let the coating come down to about 30–32°C (86–90°F), stirring now and then. |
Warm to the lip, still fluid |
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5 |
Pour |
Pour the coating over the chilled cake in one steady movement, starting in the centre and working out, and let the excess run off the sides. |
Even, unbroken cover with no bare patches |
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6 |
Set |
Tap the rack lightly to settle the surface, then leave the coating to firm at room temperature, or refrigerate for a few minutes if the kitchen is warm. |
Dry to the touch with a soft sheen |
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7 |
Store |
Scrape the run-off from the tray back into the bowl and keep any unused coating in a sealed container at room temperature. Re-melt gently for the next use. |
Reheats smoothly; do not add water or it will seize |
Important Notes
Makes about 550 g of coating, enough to glaze two 20–24 cm cakes or a tray of small pastries. The sheet carried no method or notes, so the working steps here are standard practice for a compound coating. Compound chocolate does not need tempering, so it will set firm without any special handling — just keep it below 45°C (113°F) while melting or it will thicken and go dull. Never let a drop of water into the bowl. Leftover coating keeps for months in a sealed container at room temperature and can be re-melted as often as you like. For the cleanest finish, always pour onto a well chilled, smooth cake surface.
Tools & Arrangements
Heatproof bowl, saucepan or microwave, spatula, thermometer, wire rack, flat tray to catch the run-off, ladle or jug for pouring, palette knife.
