Painting with Chocolate

 Chocolate Painting by Jennifer W Mark 2013

I promised after my "The Delicious Art of Painting with Chocolate" talk at this year's Portland Chocolatefest that I would post some of the painting techniques on my blog.  There was high interest in this technique for kids projects and a lot of people loved hearing about the unusual history of chocolate.
The above portrait is of young Queen Victoria who loved chocolate so much that she gave over 30,000 tins to each of her soldiers fighting in the Bohr wars of 1900 in South Africa.

How to paint on Canvas with Chocolate 

• Mix dark unsweetened cocoa powder with an egg yolk and a little water until it is the consistency of light cream.  Once this is mixed up it should be good to paint with for several hours, but no longer because it is a raw egg yolk.
• I make sure my eggs are organic, very fresh and I clean the outer shell with vinegar to kill any bacteria that might get in the egg yolk
• I separate the egg yolk from the sack by gently puncturing the sack and pinching  on to it as the yolk spills out.  If you wish to learn more about painting with egg tempera it is a fascinating technique and very ancient.  Egg tempera is one of the most durable painting processes known!
• I use regular watercolor brushes to paint with on gesso covered canvas or  gesso covered cardstock 

Chocolate Painting by Jennifer W Mark 2013
Cortez   actually discovered cocoa in the new world and chose to plant a cocoa plantation in present day Mexico.  After cultivating his crop for 10 years he finally brought all the cocoa pods and tools back to Spain to share the ddelicious discovery and make his fortune. Drinking chocolate with sugar added became a big hit with the royalty of the time. It was very expensive and exclusive.  They loved chocolate so much that they actually kept it as their little secret for over 100 years until the secret spread to Great Britain in the late 1700's.

 

 Chocolate Painting  on white chocolateby Jennifer W Mark 2013

 

How to Paint an Edible Chocolate Art Piece

• When painting on white chocolate I first temper the chocolate. Here is a link to David Lebovitz'  great post on exactly how to temper chocolate and why it is important.
• I also add what are called crystals ( which is basically palm kernal oil) to the chocolate to give it body and gloss
• I draw the image on with an edible pen. (you can buy these in the baking section at any craft supply store such as Michael's) 
• I then fill in all the darks using a good quality synthetic acrylic paint brush
• Place the piece in the freezer for 10 minutes and it should set up and be ready to wrap up as a gift or place on a dessert
• You can trace anything onto your white chocolate, but I find these strong light and dark images are the most effective.

Join me this spring for a special "Chocolate Lovers Unite" creative workshop 

at Sweet Wares in Portland.

 

What you will learn-

Join us for a fun, informative and creative class where we will focus exclusively on  white and dark chocolate and how to use it as an edible art form.   We will share secrets on how to create chocolate  creations that are not only beautiful, but taste amazing. We also will pass on some a simple tips for making everyday desserts look incredible. We will finish up with a chocolate tasting paired with a glass of local Pinot Noir. You can discover for yourself the subtle differences between some very special local craftsman chocolates and what truly brings out these chocolate’s greatest qualities.

Menu-

White/dark chocolate art piece you get to take home , chocolate dessert embellishments , tasting of a variety of wines and chocolates and a special Baker and Spice surprise.

Price- $85

Sweet Wares

Chocolate Painting on white chocolate by Jennifer W Mark 2013