Upgrade your confections with a cool,
glimmering hologram. For this week’s blog post, Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate
shares a simple technique that gives chocolate a dazzling, rainbow effect
without the use of colored cocoa butter or pigments.
How does it work?
A diffraction sheet is made of plastic
which consists of micro-etchings, which are tiny grooves that causes white
light to disperse into a rainbow of colors. When liquid chocolate meets a
diffraction sheet, the chocolate takes on the sheet’s micro etchings as it
solidifies. These etchings in the chocolate replicate the dispersion effect of
the sheet and separate white light into individual colors, which gives the
lovely rainbow effect. When selecting a diffraction sheet (also known as a
gradient sheet), the greater the number of lines, the more of an
opportunity for the light to diffract and give a stronger iridescent look.
Diffraction sheets can be found from a number of online retailers, such as Amazon.
How to do it?
There are a few ways to make this
dazzling design.
The first, is using a magnetic transfer
mould. Place the diffraction sheet into your transfer mould, similar to how you
would use cocoa butter transfer sheets or other traditional design
applications. Once placed, proceed to pour tempered chocolate into your mould.
Be sure to knock the air out of the mould to ensure a seamless transfer of the
design. When the chocolate cools, the liquid will mould around the micro
etchings allowing the rainbow shimmer to be present on your chocolate.
Another method is to apply chocolate
directly to the diffraction sheet. The easiest way to utilize the sheets
directly is to slightly melt the top of an already moulded or enrobed product,
place the melted side onto the diffraction sheet and let it cool. This way you
can design items that have already been completed, like chocolate chip bottoms
or chocolate enrobed cookies. Chocolate can also be poured directly onto the
gradient sheet. When slightly cooled, the diffraction sheet can be bent or
curled to add a shimmer to chocolate curls or tubes.
As discussed above, you aren’t
transferring the design but instead, transferring the grooves into the
chocolate. Because of this, the sheets can be used multiple times. As long as
the micro etchings are clear, the design can continue to be moulded onto the
product. Gently wash the sheet with soap and water after use. Make sure that
the sheet is completely dry before the next use. A dry wipe down can also be
completed between batches.
How can it be applied?
There are an endless number of ways to
apply this shimmering design. Moulded truffles, chocolate curls, and enrobed
treats can be elevated with holographic effects. The possibilities are only
limited to your glittering imagination!
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