Modeling chocolate 101: How to make and use it, and why it's easier ...

Decorating cake is no easy undertaking, especially if it’s for a special occasion. There’s pressure to pull out piping bags, create elaborate swirls of frosting, and complete things with an impeccably written message on top.

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It’s time to forget that. There’s a technique for decorating cakes that only requires two ingredients, no fancy tools, and can transform any cake into a gorgeous creation: modeling chocolate.  

The first time I saw a cake decorated with modeling chocolate in our test kitchen — featuring a professional-looking finish topped with adorable pink polka dots and cheerful yellow stars — I immediately thought, why are we using fondant? To me, it’s all looks, no flavor. But instead of shortening-and-gelatin-based fondant, this cake was topped with something I know is hands-down delicious: chocolate. 

What is modeling chocolate? 

Modeling chocolate is made from a simple mixture of melted chocolate and corn syrup. The ingredients are heated and then combined, resulting in chocolate that's the consistency of Play-Doh; it’s easy to sculpt and shape with your hands, and it becomes moldable the more you work it.   

The resulting chocolate can be rolled out and cut into shapes and designs of all kinds. It’s the perfect edible topper for cake, cupcakes, or any dessert you’re looking to dress up. 

How to make modeling chocolate 

You’ll need 1 1/3 cups (227g) of chopped semisweet, bittersweet, or white chocolate. Avoid using chocolate chips here — chips contain a stabilizer that makes melting challenging.   

Melt the chocolate slowly using a double boiler (also known as a bain-marie) or in the microwave at low power. Read our blog post for tips about how to melt chocolate if you’re new to this process.

Heat the chocolate until it melts without letting the temperature go above 110°F. (Bottom line: Slow and steady is the name of the game.) Once the chocolate is melted, add 1/3 cup (103g) of light corn syrup that’s also been heated to 110°F.  

I made the mistake of overheating the corn syrup during my first attempt at making modeling chocolate, and the ratio of ingredients was thrown off. (Too much water in the corn syrup evaporated during the heating step, which left me with a greasy, grainy mess that didn't stay emulsified.) Lesson learned: Keep the corn syrup below 110°F.  

Once you’ve added the corn syrup to the melted chocolate, stir until combined. The chocolate may look grainy after a couple of stirs, but it should become smooth, shiny, and slightly thicker as you continue stirring.  

Once the modeling chocolate starts to clean the sides of the bowl, it can be covered or rolled into a log and wrapped with plastic or your favorite reusable wrap. It needs to rest at room temperature for at least two hours before it’s ready to use.  

In the meantime, bake your cake, cupcakes, or another dessert that will be decorated with modeling chocolate. 

How to use modeling chocolate 

Once cool, the modeling chocolate will become quite stiff. Work it with your hands and begin to knead it; the warmth of your hands will help soften the chocolate and make it easier to shape. 

Depending on the percentage of cocoa butter in the chocolate you use, the modeling chocolate may start to look a bit shiny or greasy. If this happens, simply dust your work surface and the chocolate with unsweetened cocoa powder (for dark chocolate) or confectioners' sugar (for white chocolate). This will help reduce the shine and make it easier to handle.

At this point, the modeling chocolate can be colored or left as is.  

How to make colored modeling chocolate 

If you’d like to add even more flair to your decorations, consider coloring your modeling chocolate. Here, we use natural food coloring in a gel form so that it blends into the modeling chocolate easily. 

Wear gloves if you want to avoid staining your hands, and simply add a few drops of food coloring to the center of the cooled (room temperature) modeling chocolate before folding and kneading it together.

Knead the modeling chocolate for a few minutes until the color has evened out — or use it when there are still some streaks remaining for a more textured, marbled effect. 

If the shade of your modeling chocolate is a bit too light, add more dye to intensify the color. Add just a few drops at a time to the center of the chocolate until you achieve the desired hue. 

Now your modeling chocolate is ready to be rolled out and cut into shapes. It can also be transformed into flowers, letters, or any other adornment you can dream up! Treat it like edible clay and let your inner artist run wild. Here are a few ideas to get you started: 

Stencil or press  

Treat modeling chocolate like pie dough and roll it out evenly and thinly (about 1/8” thick) using a rolling pin. (Working on a silicone baking mat is helpful here.)

Use pop-out cutters to make embossed designs or use letter-shaped cutters to spell out a special message. (Heads up: At King Arthur, we only recommend the products that we, as bakers, truly love. When you buy through external links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.) 

Arrange the cutouts on the top and/or the sides of your cake or cupcakes in any way you like — a polka-dot pattern is easy to achieve and especially fun.

Make roses and other flowers 

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If you’ve always wanted to make edible flowers but have been too intimidated to try making buttercream roses, now is your time! Modeling chocolate can be used to make a variety of flowers, both simple and complex.  

For a simple flower, use a toothpick like a pencil to draw the outline of a flower on rolled-out modeling chocolate. Retrace the lines using a small, sharp paring knife to cut out the full shape. You can use the knife blade to add additional texture to the petals. You can also complete it by adding a small circle to the center of the flower or cutting out a few leaves to place around it. 

For a more complex design, try making roses. (It’s easier than you think!) Start with rolled-out modeling chocolate about 1/8” thick. Use a round cutter (or the open end of a large piping tip) to cut out about nine circles of the same size. 

Once all the circles are cut out, begin pinching the edge of one of the circles, using your thumb and forefinger to flatten it and make the edge quite thin. Do this about halfway around the circle, leaving the bottom edge as is. Repeat with the other rounds until you have nine partially pressed circles; these are your petals. 

Now it’s time to make the center bud. Start with just one petal and roll it up so that the thinly pressed edge is facing up. You should have something that looks like a cone with a swirl on the top; this is the center of your rose. 

Next, add another petal, overlapping the edge of the first petal slightly. Curl the second petal around the first so that it forms a second layer. Pinch the bottom of the petals to keep them in place. Repeat with another petal, pausing to flare out the top edges of the petals slightly before adding another. Continue adding petals and pinching them near the base to adhere to the layers.

Once you get to the final layer of petals, pinch the thinner top edge of some of the outer petals in a few places to make small points. (This is similar to the motion you’d use to crimp pie crust, just on a smaller scale and only in a few places.)

Depending on how you layer the petals, there may be some extra chocolate at the base of the rose. You can snip off any excess using a pair of kitchen scissors; just be sure to cut below the place where the petals meet or all the petals will fall off. 

Two ingredients, endless designs 

These are only a few of the decorating possibilities that modeling chocolate offers. Using just chocolate and corn syrup — ingredients you might have in your pantry right now — you can make an edible canvas that’s perfect for transforming into countless designs that also taste delicious. (It’s chocolate!) 

Don’t shy away from letting yourself dream up elaborate options: penguins, nonpareil-covered numbers, colored flowers, or shiny stars. It’s all thanks to homemade modeling chocolate. 

Tell us about your favorite way to decorate a special occasion cake or cupcakes in the comments, below.  

Modeling chocolate is one of the most versatile and easy to use products in a cake decorator’s or sweet maker’s arsenal. It is rigid enough to hold its shape when cutting out intricate details yet pliable enough to mold into beautifully sculptured pieces.  But modeling chocolate can be frustrating to make, yielding a lumpy or broken final product for no apparent reason.  In this post I hope to demystify some of the problems common with modeling chocolate and give you the tools to create a perfect product every time.

In order to provide you with the most in-depth understanding   I made 19 batches of varying types of modeling chocolate. Along the way I learned how to ruin and fix modeling chocolate by multiple methods. I also examined how varying the ratio of chocolate to corn syrup affects the consistency of the final product.

Let’s start by looking at modeling chocolate making basics.

1. Weigh.  Measure out the amount of candy melts or chocolate you wish to use in a microwave safe bowl that will allow enough room for stirring. I weigh my chocolate on a food scale to allow the most predictable and desirable result.

2. Melt. Heat your melts or chocolate on high heat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes depending on your microwave strength and the volume of chocolate you are using. Stir and then heat again for 20-30 seconds and then stir to melt. If you still have lumps heat in 15 second intervals until you it is lump free. Be careful not to overheat. If you see chunky golden bits in the chocolate throw it out and start over or you will be sorry.

3. Add. Now is the time to add your corn syrup. The ratio of chocolate to corn syrup depends on your desired outcome.  I will discuss this shortly and provide a chart of measurements. Some people like to heat their corn syrup briefly to warm it. I find it is unnecessary and squirt it straight from my bottle into the bowl of melted chocolate. I also weigh the corn syrup. It is less messy and more accurate that way.

4. Fold.  Begin gently folding the corn syrup into the chocolate. I sweep the outside edges of the bowl and then swipe across the middle.  You will see streaks of corn syrup intermixed with the chocolate that will grow more and more fine until it is all incorporated.

5. Watch. This is the time where you have to be cautious. Too little stirring and you will get chocolate chunks in the final product, too much stirring and your modeling chocolate will break and leach out liquid fat. Both extremes lead to lumpy modeling chocolate. Never fear! Either can be fixed (I will get to that!) but starting with the right consistency will make your life easier. Perfectly seized chocolate will loose its shininess and start to get chunky and firm but will not be extremely curdled or greasy looking. If you are going to err one way or the other it is better to over stir than under stir.

6. Remove. Scoop your modeling chocolate out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Try to avoid much manipulation at this point to preserve the state of the modeling chocolate.

7. Wrap. Seal up the modeling chocolate in plastic wrap to avoid drying on the surface as it cools.  Allow the modeling chocolate to solidify or “cure” for a period of time. For candy melts, I like to leave it until the edges look a bit dull (an indicator the fats have become solid) but the middle is still a bit soft. This takes an hour or so at room temperature. For real chocolate, this takes much longer. If you mess with it too early it gets persnickety and will be sticky and clumpy. Let it sit at room temperature for several hours or overnight.

8. Knead. When you unwrap your modeling chocolate it will be firm and chunky looking. In order to smooth it to a useful product you will need to knead it for a couple of minutes. If the modeling chocolate was ideally seized you should eventually be able to pinch it between two fingers and not feel any chunks. You can use your modeling chocolate now or wrap it well in plastic wrap for a later time.

9. Fix. If your modeling chocolate is lumpy, now is the time to repair it.

• If you feel you under stirred and you have very firm, opaque chunks that do not melt in the heat of your hand you will need to partially remelt the modeling chocolate. Spread the modeling chocolate out in the bottom of a bowl and heat in the microwave for 10-15 seconds. It should remain solid but have a slightly molten core (see above). Knead the product until smooth. If it starts to break, let it cool slightly and then knead again. Wrap the kneaded modeling chocolate in plastic wrap and cool to room temperature before using.
• If you over stirred  and the modeling chocolate broke emulsion, you will likely see an opaque border of fat around the edges when cooled. When kneaded the fat will often remain in solid chunks throughout. To reincorporate them you will need to briefly warm the modeling chocolate on high in the microwave for 4-6 seconds. You just want to soften the fat but not melt it. Then knead until the product is smooth. You can also use the heat of your hands to warm the fats and knead extensively but it takes much longer. Wrap the modeling chocolate and cool to room temperature before using.

Choosing How Much Corn Syrup to Use

Most modeling chocolate recipes give a set ratio of chocolate to corn syrup to use, but I like to vary the amount of corn syrup based on my project needs. These are some factors to consider.

• Using less corn syrup yields modeling chocolate that is more firm and less elastic.
• Conversely, more corn syrup yields a softer, more pliable and elastic product.
• The type of candy melts or chocolate you choose will alter the amount of corn syrup needed. White chocolate is more firm than candy melts and dark chocolate is more firm than white chocolate. You will need more corn syrup in white chocolate than candy melts for a similar final product.
• The ratio of melts or chocolate to corn syrup typically varies by weight from 5:1 (very firm) to 2:1 (quite soft).

Here is a chart of modeling chocolate ingredient quantities to make varying consistencies of modeling chocolate. Below is a recipe for medium-firm modeling chocolate.

I hope this has helped you gain some understanding of modeling chocolate. In my next post I will discuss the differences in modeling chocolate made with candy melts versus real chocolate and how to select the right product for you. Best of luck!

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