Chocolate Figurines

In addition to being used to coat and dip pastries, cookies, or cakes, coating chocolate (dark, milk, or white) is very practical for piping various decorative ornaments. These can be piped either directly onto a cake or petit four freehand, or onto baking paper (sometimes with the help of a template) to place on the item after the decoration has hardened. Tempered chocolate may also be used. The latter method is an efficient way of making fancy decorations when you are not too busy, because they can be made up far in advance and stored in a dark cool place (but not in the refrigerator). If you want the chocolate to float out slightly, use it as is, but if it is important to the design that the chocolate stays in precise lines, use Piping Chocolate.