Resolution of the Day: Master the Advanced Chocolate Method

The Whimsical Bakehouse by Kaye and Liv Hansen has been singing a siren song from my bookshelf ever since Mom gave it to me for Christmas. With an acquaintance's birthday on the horizon, I resolved that today I would master the most prestigious-sounding technique this fantastic cake decorating book has to offer: the Advanced Chocolate Method. The goal here is to make chocolate into a glamorous piece of artwork that everyone is afraid to eat.

My roommate Jana reminded me that the birthday girl loves orchids and has several improbably monstrous ones rambling around her apartment. I found a simple drawing of orchids online at http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/unusual-pearl.htm, printed out two copies, and taped them underneath sheets of parchment paper. Then I traced the outline of the drawing using a piping bag filled with melted dark chocolate wafers. I squeezed the remaining chocolate into a bowl and used a paintbrush to feather it along the petals. Next I melted some yellow wafers, piped a little yellow onto the stamens of the orchids, and threw down some decorating dots for good measure.

I melted a few pink wafers and feathered some pink along the petals over the brown.

Finally, I poured a little melted white chocolate over each design and spread it out to the petals' edges with the paintbrush. After 10 minutes I carefully peeled the parchment paper off of each design, and voila - orchids.


This turned out to be a really easy technique with gorgeous results, and the decorations (assuming anyone gets up the courage to eat them) taste a whole lot better than fondant ever will. Chocolate wafers are usually about $2.00 a bag, can be found in the baking aisles of Michael's or Hobby Lobby, and can be melted in the microwave.