(Life Size) CHOCOLATE HIGH HEEL SHOE

WILL NEED THE FOLLOWING:
A high heel shoe mold
8 oz. of “tempered” chocolate Chocolate paste
Rolling pin
Plastic wrap
Scissors
Inner sole pattern
Black clips for mold
Cotton balls
Exacto knife or pizza cutter
Small paint brush

Prepare your new mold:
Your new mold usually arrives in an “unusable”state and needs to be prepared for use. Take your scissors and begin cutting your new mold to within 1" to 1 ½" from the actual shoe cavity all around making sure you keep the two (2) plastic “nubs” within your 1 ½" margin. Discard all unnecessary plastic pieces from your work area. Take two (2) or three (3) cotton balls and begin cleaning and buffing the inside of your mold to get a better shine on your finished shoe.

Pouring the mold:
Once your chocolate is properly tempered and ready for use, fill one-half of your shoe mold to the top (do not over fill). Place the empty half of the mold over it making sure that the two halves are well aligned, using the little “nubs” on the molds to assist you. The proper alignment of the 2 parts of the mold are critical to the finished shoe. Now using the clips, begin fastening the mold together to prevent the chocolate from leaking out of the seams. You need to work quickly during this phase. Now “flip” the clipped mold over, onto the other side, to distribute the chocolate “evenly” within the cavity. Look the mold over and check for “air bubbles” (little holes within the inside of the mold where the chocolate may have not completely filled in) and if there are any, gently tap that area with the back of a spoon and the bubble(s) should disappear. Now rotate the mold in every direction to continue to evenly distribute the chocolate inside the mold. This process should last at least 5 minutes by the clock! This step should NOT be rushed. Taking time now, results in a beautifully molded shoe later. The shoe is now ready to rest for a while on your counter top. Stand the mold (with the clips in place) upright, as though it were a real shoe, making sure that it is level. If a clip or two prevents you from thinking the shoe is truly level, then prop something under it to make it level. The mold should remain at rest for approximately 20 minutes. If your kitchen is hot (over 70 degrees) 30 minutes is best. Now place the mold in your refrigerator for 20 minutes. NOT THE FREEZER! Also, make sure your mold is not touching anything already in the refrigerator or the cold from that item will transfer onto your shoe and leave a white stain on the chocolate.

Time to de-mold:
Take your shoe mold out of the refrigerator and allow it to acclimate to your ambient room temperature for 5-10 minutes. Then carefully remove the clips and de-mold. Your shoe should pop out easily and be very shiny.

Cleaning the shoe:
Take a pointed steak knife and turn it over, dull side up. Begin scraping off the excess chocolate from all visible seams, top and bottom. Do not worry about scratching that beautiful shine on the shoe. Once all excess chocolate has been well removed, smooth over the seams with your finger, by gently rubbing over the seams in a back and forth motion. Slowly but surely all seams should disappear. Now let’s open the center of the shoe. With your steak knife dull side up again slowly begin by scoring the visible line outlining the center of the shoe. This procedure should happen very slowly and with almost NO PRESSURE. Just keep scoring over the line over and over again. Eventually the center portion should drop into the center of the shoe exposing the inside, just like a real shoe! Now, remove this center part. With your finger, rub the edges of the resultant opening, very gently. It will eventually become smooth. Then, clean the rest of the shoe, removing all visible fingerprints, by rubbing the shoe with cotton balls a little at a time. You may want to hold the shoe with a paper towel during this step, so no new fingerprints are left behind. If you want to give your shoe that high luster look again, there are commercial products you can buy that can be sprayed on (See last page). Now would be the appropriate time to do this. Allow the shoe to completely dry before the next step.

The Trim:
Soften your chocolate paste by warming a piece about the size of a small fist in the microwave at 10 second intervals. Check each time for softness and work it a little before putting it back in for an additional 10 second interval. Chocolate paste is tricky and can appear hard on the outside, but once you work it you can begin to feel the softness inside. At this point if you put it into the microwave for more time, 10 more seconds could destroy it. Once chocolate paste has melted out, you cannot revive it and must make a new batch. This is the time to color your paste. If you start with dark chocolate paste, you may want to make some white chocolate paste also and add a little of the white to the dark to make a contrasting trim. Or maybe, if you begin with white paste, you may want to add another color. If you do add coloring, make sure you use “gel” colors and NOT regular food coloring. Any WATER BASED colors will ruin your chocolate paste and render it unusable. Coloring chocolate paste can be done by adding just a couple of drops at a time to your paste. Then kneed it completely, so all the color has been worked throughout the paste for uniformity. Better to add a little at a time until you arrive to your chosen color. Add too much, too soon, and you’ll have a very dark result. Now, assuming you have the trim color paste you desire, roll out a piece with your rolling pin to a ribbon like thinness. With a ruler, measure 14" in length and one and one-half (1½) inches in width. Using a pizza cutter or Exacto knife, begin cutting your rolled out chocolate paste to the desired dimensions. Now find the middle (7" mark) of your ribbon of paste and place it onto the center of the rear of the shoe opening. Straddle the ribbon around the opening of your shoe so that half of it is tucked “into” the shoe and the other half remains on the outside, as trim. If you have done this correctly, both ends of the ribbon should meet on the front of the shoe. Cut off any excess. Now for the bow. Cut another piece of chocolate paste ribbon one and one-half (1½) inches wide by 6" long. Bring both ends to the middle allowing some space to lift the two loops of the ribbon up. Place a cotton ball in each loop to hold it up. Then “glue” the two (2) loops of the bow in the middle, with some tempered chocolate. Cut a 3" piece of ribbon paste one and one-half (1½) inches wide and fold the long sides in about 1/4". This becomes your center loop of the ribbon. Place this loop in the middle of the bow (between the other loops) and glue the back of the bow with more chocolate. For the inner sole (pattern provided), roll out more chocolate paste the color of the shoe. Using the pattern, cut out the form and slide it into the shoe. There should be no need to glue it in. However if you wish to anchor it, just add a little chocolate to the inside of the shoe (a small paint brush works well for this) and slip the inner sole over it.

CONGRATULATIONS, YOU’RE DONE!! 

 

SUPPLIERS

The Shoe Mold: Life of the Party

The “Shine” spray (Chocolac): Pfeil & Holing            

Valrhona Chocolate: Chocosphere Trader Joe’s

Mold Clips (Binder Clips): Staples Office Max