How to Use Plastic Chocolate Moulds for making homemade chocolates

Follow these simple steps when creating your next chocolaty masterpiece

1. Purchase specialty confectionary chocolate. Most grocery stores or craft stores carry this particular type of chocolate. 

2. Melt your chocolate in a the bain-marie. Use a cooking thermometer. Stir often to avoid hardening and overcooking of the chocolate. Add nuts if you like. When it reaches 40°C-45°C for dark, or 40°C-43°C for milk or white, remove the chocolate from the bain-marie.

3. Then quickly cool it. Stir often with a spatula. Dark chocolate should reach a temperature of 28°C-29°C; milk chocolate should reach 27°C-28°C; and white or coloured chocolate should reach 26°C-27°C. 

4. Heat the chocolate in a the bain-marie again. Stir until the right temperature is reached. Dark chocolate should reach 30°C-32°C; milk chocolate should reach 29°C-30°C; a white or coloured chocolate should reach 28°C-29°C.

Test: Dip a knife, spoon, or spatula into the chocolate and set it down at cool room temperature. If the chocolate is in temper it will harden quite quickly (within 3 to 5 minutes) and become firm and shiny. If you touch it, your finger will come away clean

5. Fill the Moulds. Check your chocolate molds for debris and wetness. If molds are dirty or wet, chocolate will not form properly. Remove all debris and wetness from molds before using. No need to spray or coat chocolate moulds with any type of oil. As long as you used the proper molding chocolate and let it completely set in the refrigerator, your chocolate will easily release on its own.
Place chocolate into a polypropylene bag, or use a small ladle or spoon to scoop warm chocolate from pan. If you are using a polypropylene bag, trim the bottom of the bag after it has been properly filled with chocolate. You can purchase specialty chocolate bags at crafts stores.
Pipe or scoop chocolate into the moulds. Fill the chocolate up to the top line of the mould. If some chocolate overflows, use a spatula to level off and scrape any extra chocolate from the surface.
Tap the molds on the countertop to remove any excess air bubbles from the chocolate. Air bubbles can cause cracking during the hardening process.
Wait until chocolate cools down and hardens.

6. Place chocolate moulds in the refrigerator on a level shelf. How long it takes for the chocolate to completely set up in the molds depends on the size of the plastic candy mold. Smaller molds might take 5 to 10 minutes and medium to large molds could take anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes.
 
7. Remove the chocolate molds from the refrigerator once hardened. 
Turn moulds upside down on a dry surface. Tap gently on the moulds. If completely hardened, the chocolate should easily come out.
Place the chocolate back into refrigerator if it does not fall easily out of the moulds. Pull molds out of refrigerator and repeat until all chocolate has come out of the moulds.