Chocolate photos

About this article

FIGURE A

RIGHT (click for larger image)

Over the years, we at ZATZ have had the opportunity to publish articles by some well known authors and true experts in the field. As digital technology has grown, it's moved out of the lab and out of the studio into the home. Crafters have made digital photography their own, creating a new genre of crafting: computer crafts.

Creative Computer Crafts published by No Starch Press (at http://www.nostarch.com/creative.htm), provides readers with 50 fun and useful projects you can make with any inkjet printer. Marcelle Costanza, the book's author, has gracefully consented to provide us with additional projects, exclusive to Connected Photographer.

And now, the most important article we've ever published (yep, it's about chocolate)...

Even before the advent of the digital camera, computers and inkjet printers and some special inkjet media made it possible for folks to put their favorite photos on lots of things, from mousepads to mugs to T-shirts and tote bags and tons of other stuff as shown in Figure A.

Well, have I got a photography craft for you! Chocolate photos! Over the past few years many companies have come out with special papers, mostly rice papers, that you can print photos on using inks that are actually food coloring.

But one company -- PhotoFrost (at http://www.computercakes.com) -- went one step further by making their edible sheets out of actual frosting! Rice paper is ok, but when you print on it and apply it to a cake top they tend to make a mess when you try to cut the cake. PhotoFrost's sheets melt right into the frosting on your cake (which has to be white, by the way) so that when you cut the cake the photo and whatever other design you have printed is actually part of the frosted cake.

I have used them often and absolutely love them. But I decided to take it one step further and thought, "What about putting the frosting sheets on chocolate?" I did some research on the Web and it turns out this is not a new idea. And once I started, I was hooked!

Important safety tips first

There are a couple of things to keep in mind. First, the edible ink cartridges are only made for Canon printers. I was lucky enough to pick up a BJC 2100 a few years ago in a drug store for about $30. If you can find an inexpensive Canon, grab it.

Keep in mind that the printer must be used only for edible inks. You cannot switch between regular ink and edible. It will contaminate the printer and could make someone sick. So your edible ink printer has to be dedicated solely to printing with food coloring cartridges. Don't take a used printer and convert it -- it must never have had printing inks pass through its jets.

On to the chocolate printing

You're not actually printing on the chocolate, but adding an edible layer to a chocolate mold. Again, since the frosting sheets are white and will melt into whatever they are on top of, you will need to "paint" a thin layer of white chocolate over the frosting sheet before you pour on the milk or dark chocolate.

You'll need a few supplies besides the printer, edible inks and frosting sheets. These include candy melts in white and chocolate. They can be found in any craft store.

Then you will need candy molds and if you are making lollipops, you'll need the sticks, also available in the craft stores. Some of the larger craft stores like Michaels have a decent selection of candy molds, but if you can find a candy-making supply store nearby, you might want to check it out.

Just be careful, I went in for one mold and came out with 12! The last thing you will need is a paint brush. I found it much easier to paint the white chocolate on than trying to smooth it on with a spoon.

Then it's just three simple steps -- print your edible photo on the frosting sheet and cut it out. Place it face down into the chocolate mold. I used lollipops to make favors for my niece's communion as shown in Figure B.

Use the paint brush and paint a think layer of melted white chocolate on to the back side of the frosting sheet. Your microwave is the easiest way to melt the candy. Then place the lollipop stick into the slot in the mold and pour your melted chocolate -- milk, dark, mint, the melts even come in cool colors like purple and blue -- into the mold.

Let it set (I usually stick them in the fridge for about five minutes) and then pop them out of the mold.

Voila! Edible chocolate photos. Guaranteed to have your friends and family wondering how you did it!

Marcelle Costanza started crafting as a hobby over 20 years ago, making holiday gifts for family and friends and selling some items at local flea markets. When she got a PC in 1995, she became hooked on computer crafting. With the skills she acquired from computer crafting, she made a career change from medical practice administrator to graphic designer, desktop publisher, and webmaster. She launched her business, The Crafty PC, in 2000. For more information, visit http://www.thecraftypc.com.