Dark Chocolate, Gotham City

I am swiftly approaching the end of my time in culinary school, and as the classes wind down we are taking on some very exciting projects. Dedicated to chocolates and cake decorating, mod 4 is all about you, dear student. Gone are the days of being terrified which partner you will be paired with, as this decision set the tone for the whole day. now we are working on individual projects, letting the creative juices flow, relying only on oneself to git 'er done. The first major project of mod 4 was a chocolate sculpture. Our class decided on the theme "cities" broad enough so that if someone really wanted to do a pirate theme, it could be arranged. and it was!
This little robot chose the most bad ass city of them all....GOTHAM.
The first step was to make a sketch, to show the chef you had a vague idea, and for him to be able to scale the ambition down a notch or two. ("the Batmobile might be a bit trickier than you think, Michelle") Once we got a practical sketch drawn, we had to make stencils for the buildings. The idea being, after you have tempered your chocolate, pour the chocolate onto an acetate covered surface, let it set, lay the stencils on the chocolate, and cut around.
I will now take you on a step by step journey, through time & space, chocolate stains, and a lot of fun:
my work station. ANTM and a glass of wine provided true inspiration.

laying down the tempered chocolate:

the buildings: Wayne Tower, the clocktower, and Arkham Asylum

the makeshift sugar mold for the Batman sign:

all the little details (thanks Nissa for help with the bat!)

it stands! everything you see here is held together by chocolate. an amazing thing. this stood 25" tall. It was the second tallest sculpture, because of course Sam had to one up me. (I'll get you, girl)

proud mama,


xo-TSR