If you are interested in making your own chocolates or other shaped candies, you will want to learn how to use a chocolate mold. The most common type of chocolate molds are simple acrylic or metal trays that have little shaped indentations pressed into them.
To make each chocolate, you simple pour melted chocolate into each of the little indentations until it is almost full. Assuming your chocolate is warm enough, it should settle into the tray and create a flat surface on the top side. You will want to pick the tray up carefully and tap it firmly against a flat surface such as a counter, by tapping it straight down. You will have to be careful because you don’t want to agitate the chocolates or cause the liquid to spill over the side of the indentation. This tapping is to dislodge any bubbles that might be stuck, because when you go to unmold the little shapes, any bubbles will appear as spots on the final product. If you are in a hurry, you can also just pour chocolate quickly over the entire sheet, enough to fill each of the shaped and then more, and then take a flat knife or squeegee-like apparatus and wipe the excess chocolate off, leaving a flat back.
After these chocolates have solidified, you simply turn the tray over and tap them out. You are left with individual chocolates that can be eaten as-is, or you can use them for cupcake decorations by placing them on top of a frosted cupcake, or you can wrap them in colored foil to make them even more attractive.
The second most common type of chocolate molds that you will encounter are two piece molds that are used to make 3 dimensional shapes. These are molds that allow for more elaborate designs, because you don’t just turn the tray over and tap the chocolates out—you have to take the mold apart and remove the chocolate. This can be used to create almost any shape, and most people are familiar with chocolates that are made using this type of mold—the traditional Easter bunny chocolates are made this way.
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