Try These Ideas for Beginners

1. Purchase some chocolate molds to make sculptures as a beginner. Melt semi-sweet chocolate and pour it into the molds. Refrigerate until solid, then pop the chocolate out of the molds and your sculptures are complete.

2. Make chocolate "clay" by melting 10 oz. of chocolate in a microwave or over a double boiler. Mix in 1/3 cup of light corn syrup. Pour it 1/2-inch thick onto wax or parchment paper and refrigerate overnight. The chocolate will become flexible enough for you to mold it by hand like clay.

Use Advanced Techniques

1. Place semi-sweet chocolate over a double boiler. The bowl should not be in contact with the water and the water shouldn't be fully boiling. Allow the steam to melt the chocolate and stir the chocolate with a rubber spatula so it melts evenly.

2. Test the chocolate's temperature periodically with a candy thermometer. It should always be between 107 and 110 degrees F and should not exceed 113 degrees.

3. Pour the melted chocolate onto a sheet of parchment paper. Spread it with the spatula until it is about 1/4-inch thick. Work quickly because the chocolate will cool fast and become more difficult to spread.

4. Chill the chocolate in your refrigerator for about 15 minutes. Then remove it and let it set at room temperature for approximately another 15 minutes.

5. Use a knife to cut out the pieces you need for your chocolate sculptures. Glue the pieces together in whatever fashion you want using melted semi-sweet chocolate to hold them together.

6. Leave pieces that you're not working with in the refrigerator so they do not melt. Also, try not to handle the chocolate too much. The heat from your hands could melt the edges or leave fingerprints that are not part of your design.

7. Hone your art through practice. You do not need to be a professional pastry chef to become good at chocolate sculpture but it does help to make sculptures often to practice.