Last Monday the big day arrived: showpiece time. I had prepared several elements over the previous weekend so, when the day came, all I needed to do was assemble them into one finished piece.
I chose a simple palette for the showpiece — dark chocolate and white chocolate colored pink — so the dominant tones were deep brown and soft pink.
I began by working on the base and the ring, planning three chocolate layers: brown, pink, and brown. The dark chocolate layer went smoothly; I tempered and poured it into the molds without issue. Problems started when I moved on to the white chocolate. It was a little too warm, and it took much longer than expected to cool and temper, then to add the pink color. By the time the pink layer was ready, the dark chocolate had hardened too much. The pink overflowed slightly over the brown edge instead of sitting cleanly against it. It wasn’t perfect, but for a first attempt I still thought it looked quite good.
Because I lost so much time waiting for the white chocolate to temper, I didn’t get a chance to create the decorative curls I had planned. I had already made many components, so I wasn’t too disappointed. For added detail I made several small chocolates finished with piping chocolate so they resembled miniature cupcakes. I prepared quite a few of these but used only a handful on the final piece. I also molded a backplate intended to sit behind the showpiece, but ultimately decided it would make the composition too crowded and left it out.
In the end I had created a great deal but used only a few pieces. The result felt intentionally simple — a retro vibe with a modern twist.
I’m very pleased with the final result. Looking back, the only addition I might have made were the curls; I could have incorporated them without overwhelming the design. Other than that, I wouldn’t change much.
Creating this showpiece inspired several new chocolate ideas, and I’m excited to explore them.
What do you think of the final result?