Field Guide to Candy: How to Identify and Make Virtually Every Candy Imaginable (16 page)

General Description:

Hollow molded chocolates are three-dimensional shells of chocolate, perfectly and elaborately detailed on the
outside and hollow on the inside
. A child biting the ear off a chocolate Easter bunny discovers the pleasure of crunching through a crisp layer of chocolate to find the hollow center. Hollow molded chocolates come in a variety of novelty shapes like
solid molded chocolates
, but they are made like
filled molded chocolates
.

History:

The earliest chocolate molds were expertly handmade and elaborately detailed in France and Germany. Many of these beautifully detailed antique molds are now collectors’ items. Most giant molded chocolates, such as bunnies or Santas, are hollow.

Serving Suggestions:

Chocolate bunnies are the most popular hollow molded chocolate, but almost any three-dimensional mold can be used to make a hollow chocolate. Use your hollow chocolates as containers for other sweets.

Candy-Making Notes:

The key to making hollow molded chocolates is rotating the mold to coat all parts evenly. Get the melted chocolate into the most difficult-to-reach corners first, while the chocolate is still fairly liquid.

Recipe:

1.
Make sure the mold is completely clean and dry.

2.
Melt and
temper the chocolate
.

3.
Ladle tempered chocolate into the mold, covering the surfaces of all the cavities.

4.
Invert the mold over a clean baking sheet, letting excess chocolate run out until just a thin layer of chocolate remains.

5.
Refrigerate the mold to let the chocolate set, 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of the mold.

6.
When the chocolate shells look firm and are starting to shrink away from the sides of the mold, remove from the refrigerator. Flip mold onto clean surface to unmold chocolate shells.

7.
To join the two shells, warm a clean baking sheet in the oven. Press the open side of one shell to the sheet until the rim starts to melt.

8.
Quickly press the two shells together and hold until the chocolate sets.

Yield:

One large hollow chocolate

Storage:

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Variation:

Hollow
Easter Egg with Treats

Use a three-dimensional Easter egg mold with two half shells. Follow the recipe through step 6. Then fill one of the half shells with Easter candies of your choice: jellybeans, foil-wrapped chocolate eggs, marshmallows, or candy eggs. You can then place the other half shell on top and seal it shut (steps 7 and 8).

General Description:

Mendiants made of dark chocolate studded with nuts and dried fruits are one of France’s most colorful and elegant confections
. Tempered chocolate is poured into small disks and then sprinkled with chopped nuts and other goodies. The traditional toppings for mendiants are almonds, hazelnuts, dried figs, and raisins, which correspond to the colors of the robes worn by the Roman Catholic religious orders of Carmelites, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Dominicans.