One of the advantages of painting in chocolate over, say, gouache, is that you can lick your fingers. Hell, you can lick the canvas.
I developed this way of amusing myself on a slow night in the pastry kitchen. There was no call to write “Happy Birthday” on the rim of the few dessert plates I was sending out, so I repurposed my chocolate cornets and improvised “jewelry” out of cut fruit.
I got a pretty good reaction out of my dishwashing test audience.
To make a chocolate cornet, you will need parchment paper, ordinary melted chocolate (dark or white work best; milk chocolate gets far too runny) and these instructions. No instructions exist, unfortunately, for developing the seriously steady hand required to use the cornet.
Once you’ve filled your cornet, you’re ready to start drawing. Paper towels and Q-tips dipped in a bowl of water and vinegar will erase mistakes and correct streaks; a metal or bamboo skewer will help with finer details. Have a selection of garnishes on hand for color–I used sugary things I had in the fridge: cherry sauce, candied orange zest and a strawberry I stole from my roommate. If you’re not concerned with the taste of your design, of course, there’s no reason not to apply ketchup lip gloss, make a pearl necklace out of frozen peas, or smear on stripes of mustard war paint.
One day I’ll have to draw a girl taking a bite out of the very dessert she accompanies on the plate.
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COMMENTS / 13 COMMENTS
[…] Humes has the most creative culinary mind I ever encountered. Her meatloaf cupcakes and the dessert plate paintings were just examples of her genius. She also uses her Eurasian background to create some exciting […]Yummy Mummy Got Some Love, I Got an Award | Red Cook added this comment on July 3, 2008 at 1:09 am
Is that white chocolate or mayonnaise hair?AppetiteforChina added this comment on Jun 05 08 at 12:43 am
These are very glossy-magazine worthy.
I like the orange peel hair very much. I’m envious. As I learned the other day when making a batch of book launch cupcakes, my piping bag skills are sorely lacking.rach added this comment on Jun 05 08 at 1:49 am
I was about to respond to your comment about sticky, gingerbread biscuits and the inaccessibility of the comments on my blog when I realised that, in fishing your comment out of the spam filter, i’d accidentally marked it as spam. I think that’s as good an illustration of the poor comment design as anything. I shall fix it promtly.
Also, I shall be making your meatloaf cupcakes tonight for the unsuspecting foreign man, which will be interesting as I’ve been a vegetarian since I was 12. We’ll see how it goes.
Natty: oh, they are.Michele Humes added this comment on Jun 05 08 at 7:14 am
Diana: “white” chocolate looks very blond indeed against a white plate.
Rach: book launch? Whose? Yours? Re: cupcakes, can’t you use a nutloaf/quorn base or something? In any case, good luck and have some gravy on hand.
Michelle how high was your fever when you perfected this craft? Looks good. Did you play with Mr. Potato head as a child?atalie added this comment on Jun 05 08 at 4:01 pm
Atalie,Michele Humes added this comment on Jun 05 08 at 4:03 pm
I expect people who aren’t already my very good friends to misspell my name.
Not you.
sniffle, sniffle. I tried to make a fashion plate on my desk, but ink makes a poor substitute for mayo. Seriously, I am going to try this at home with my nephew using only vegemite and dijon mustard.atalie added this comment on Jun 05 08 at 4:14 pm
You really rock Michele! These are just so beautiful.Kian added this comment on Jun 06 08 at 10:01 am
Wow, absolutely gorgeous. You are so talented. I love the cropping in the first shot.Christie @ fig&cherry added this comment on Jun 12 08 at 5:20 pm
That is way too cool for words….. mmmmm… chocolate!Iron Chef Shellie added this comment on Jun 12 08 at 7:50 pm
This is fantastic. I think maybe you should do something more with this idea. It makes for a wonderful presentation.Barb added this comment on Jul 20 08 at 8:09 pm
Kian, Christie and Shellie: thanks!Michele Humes added this comment on Jul 21 08 at 10:23 am
Barb, I have an idea for white frosted cakes with nothing but these drawings for decoration, since I absolutely hate the way fondant tastes and would like something more “organic”. I recognize that I am in the minority here, since everybody seems to go crazy for fondant flowers (which are, of course, beautiful)…
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