A Chocolate Garden

Carol Duvall Show : Episode CDS-319 -- More Projects »

There may be millions of gardeners, but how many can "grow" a delicious and beautiful chocolate flower garden? Thelma Williams from Our Family Table Foundation shows how to create a chocolate box filled with fun white and dark chocolate flowers.

Materials:

cardboard piece 10" x 20"
parchment paper 10" x 20"
baking rack
three small microwave-safe bowls
serving spoon
aluminum foil
plastic wrap
flower-shaped cookie cutters
paper towels
knife
1 lb. dark chocolate coating
1/2 lb. white chocolate coating
eight to10 candy or pretzel sticks
1/4 cup light corn syrup
four chocolate cream wafers
shredded coconut
assorted candy buttons
green food coloring

Figure A

Steps:

Cut one piece of cardboard and one piece of parchment paper to 4-1/2" x 5-1/4" for the box bottom (figure A).
Cut four pieces of cardboard and four pieces of parchment paper to 3" x 5-1/4" for the box sides.
Put one sheet of foil under the backing rack.
Place the pieces of parchment paper on top of the cardboard pieces so they fit perfectly. Place cardboard pieces and wafers on the baking rack at least one inch apart.
Chop the dark chocolate coating into bite-size pieces, melt in microwave for one minute, remove and stir. Continue until the chocolate is melted and can be poured.

Figure B

With serving spoon, pour chocolate over each parchment covered cardboard piece and the wafers (figure B). With the back of the spoon, smooth the chocolate on the surface. Set aside to harden. Repeat chocolate coating process with parchment covered cardboard pieces.

Gently remove the chocolate pieces from the cardboard. Do not remove the parchment paper yet.

Using knife, gently remove wafers from the rack and put 1/2 teaspoon of melted chocolate on the bottom of each wafer. Place the wafers along inside edges of the chocolate base (bottom of box).

Figure C

Attach chocolate sides to bottom, one at a time, touching each chocolate wafer with melted chocolate (figure C).

When the sides are standing, drizzle melted chocolate on the inside seams to cover any openings.

In a separate bowl, tint coconut with green food coloring for the "grass." Put the colored coconut in the chocolate box and set aside.

Repeat step 5 with white chocolate coating.

Pour some melted white or dark chocolate onto a piece of parchment paper and let cool. Use cookie cutters to cut out flower designs. These designs can then be "glued" to the sides of the basket with melted chocolate. Use the same technique to make the flowers that will go on the pretzel and candy sticks. Just put a small amount of melted chocolate onto the back of the flowers and attach to the candy and pretzel sticks. Be sure to hold the flowers in place until the chocolate "glue" is dry.

Decorate flower cutouts with sprinkles.

Figure D

To make roses, heat corn syrup in the microwave for approximately 10 seconds. Pour the heated syrup into a bowl with melted white chocolate and mix until doughy. Roll the mixture into a ball, and refrigerate until cool. Shape the roses by hand as if using clay.

Attach roses to the gourmet chocolate candy sticks with melted chocolate (figure D).

Place sticks in the chocolate flower box, inserting them into the tinted coconut.

Carefully remove parchment paper from the box.

Guests
Thelma Williams
Owner of Our Family Table Foundation Our Family Table Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit organization funded by a number of enterprises, including the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, proceeds from Our Family Table bakery, and by direct contributions from a variety of private and public sources.
2031 A Metropolitan Parkway
Atlanta, GA 30315
Phone: 404-765-0084
Fax: 404-765-0556
Email: oftf@mindspring.com
Also in this Episode

Carol Duvall Show : Episode CDS-319
•	A Chocolate Garden
•	Fantastic Photo Transfer

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A Chocolate Garden

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A Chocolate Garden

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