Technique: Making Chocolate Discs for Bases

When piping individual centers, such as butter ganache for Rainiers or cream ganache for Buckwheat Beehives, it is worthwhile to pipe them onto chocolate bases that in effect serve as the precoat for the finished pieces. The chocolate discs perform the two vital functions of a precoat: making the centers easier to handle for dipping and ensuring that the centers are entirely sealed with chocolate, thereby preventing loss of quality due to moisture migration and exposure to oxygen. If chocolate bases are not used, the artisan confectioner who is not using an enrober is faced with precoating each piece individually—clearly not an efficient technique. Two methods can be employed for making the chocolate bases. Either one works well, and it is up to the confectioner to decide which is more practical for a particular operation.