I’m sure lots of you have seen the ThinkGeek Starfleet Ice Tray online. I had too - and recently I was able to purchase my very own. As an icecube tray it is serviceable - the ice cubes are quite small and it is hard to remove them without damaging the points - but overall it is fine. However, what I was most excited about was using it to make chocolates.
Having never made chocolates before, I was happily surprised with how straightforward it was. It helps to have a digital thermometer so you can properly temper your chocolate, but tempering is possible even without a thermometer. I used fondant gel colours to colour white chocolate into the Starfleet colours - apparently this can lead to issues but it worked fine for me. The best thing about making these is that they only took about 10 minutes to set, so I had insignia chocolates ready to eat almost as fast as a replicator would be!
Replicate your own
(Makes approx 40 chocolates)
200g / 7oz chocolate of your choice (I used 150g / 5.3oz dark chocolate and 50g / 1.7oz white chocolate)
Gel colours of your choice (or better still, chocolate colouring powder. The gel colours can apparently cause your chocolate to seize - I used minimal amounts and had no troubles but please be aware if you are going to use the gel colours)
Inclusions of your choice: chopped nuts, chili powder, etc. I used a small amount of chili powder for the red chocolates
Ideally, you will use a digital probe thermometer to check the temperature of your chocolate and ensure it is tempered. If you don’t have a digital thermometer, you can still temper the chocolate using the method below.
You need to ensure your bowl and utensils are all completely free from water, as any drops of water will cause the chocolate to seize.
Cut your chocolate into small pieces so it will melt quicker. Place about 1/4 of your chocolate into a dry microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Take the chocolate out, give it a stir, then replace for another 30 seconds. Continue to stir it every 30 seconds until the chocolate is all melted (the reason it is done in 30 second increments is so the chocolate doesn't burn).
When all the chocolate in the bowl has melted, check its temperature. Tempered chocolate should reach 48°C / 118°F for dark chocolate, 45°C / 112°F for milk chocolate and 42°C / 108°F for white chocolate. If your chocolate has gone higher than this, that’s OK - if it is lower, microwave for another 30 second and check the temperature again.
If you don’t have a thermometer, the chocolate should be tempered when it is fully melted and is warm to the touch. I found every time my chocolate was fully melted, it had reached the correct temperature.
Once the chocolate has reached the correct temperature, drop in a couple of unmelted pieces and stir until these have also melted. This is called “seeding” the chocolate and helps ensure a good crystal structure forms.
If you are using colours or additional flavourings, stir these into the melted chocolate.
Spoon the chocolate into the mold (you can also transfer your chocolate into a squeeze bottle). I found the insignia molds took 2-3 teaspoons of chocolate each. Use a toothpick to guide the chocolate into any small corners your mold has. In order to get the insignia design nice and sharp, i used a toothpick to fill this section first before spooning more chocolate over.
Fill to the top of the mold but try not to go over- the chocolate should take its own level. If you do go over, use a bench scraper or pallet knife to scrape off any excess chocolate.
Once your mold is full, tap it a few times on the benchtop (or drop from a small distance) to remove air bubbles. Refrigerate for 10 minutes approx before unmolding.
I found the best way to unmold these chocolates was to start from the top of the insignia and work my way around. The bottom arms were prone to cracking if I went too fast or started with them.
Making these chocolates was super fun and I can’t wait to make more. There will be no shortage of chocolate insignias in our house from now on!
