Salted Egg Chocolates // 黃金流沙巧克力糖果 - chocolate moulds

 

Thank you for coming over from the video, if that's where you came to this page from. I'd just wanted to write a few words on chocolate moulds. 

There are several types of moulds you can find. 

Silicone Moulds

The first type is the flexible silicone moulds. They come in different colours, with price ranging from <$10 to ~$30 CAD. Anything costing more than that is not worth it and you are just paying for the brand. 

The pros of this type includes: inexpensive, easy to find, wide variety of shapes, sizes, and designs, and flexible applications (because they are temperature-stable, you can use these for candy-making and baking as well). 

The cons include: pliable mould (may require another tray to transfer and hold because these moulds are not stiff enough to hold their shape when filled), and difficult to clean (a fat bloom tends to form on the surface after a while). They also don't unmould as easily as you may think. 

Bottom line, if you find a good deal (or if cost doesn't matter to you), and you have other applications you'd like to use the silicone mould for, OR if you can't find any of the other options, then sure, get one of these. Otherwise, I'd choose to invest in one of the other options. If you are buying silicone moulds, shallow designs tend to work better. 

Plastic Candy Moulds

These are also pretty easy to find. They're stiff plastic sheets with the designs extruded out. These are also quite affordable with a more stable price range around $7-15 CAD. The expensive brands tend not to sell these because they can look cheap. In fact, they look like the same material as the disposable plastic clamshell boxes for holding bakery items. 

Pros: inexpensive, easy to find in stores, wide variety of shapes, sizes, and designs (these are easy for manufacturers to make and change the designs), and stiff enough to not need an extra tray. 

Cons include: curved lip (makes it difficult to get a clean edge from scraping), no sharp edges (you won't be able to make diamond shape chocolates with crisp corners), prone to melting chocolate (because the plastic is thin, often times you end up melting the chocolate with your hand when you hold the mould). 

Bottom line, if you're looking for an affordable, easy to find mould for chocolate making, once in a while, then this is a good option.

Curved lip

Plastic moulds

 

Polycarbonate Moulds

I'm biased, but I think these are the best. They tend to be harder to find. They are basically hard plastic, completely transparent. You can find these in specialty baking supply stores (not just bulk food stores) and online. In Canada, if you look for these in local stores or local companies (including from the US), chances are, they will be expensive. Prices usually range from $40 to ~$80 for one. If you look for ones that are manufactured in China, they will be much more affordable. I got mine from Hong Kong when I travelled there several years ago. There are these hidden wholesale bakery supply stores dotted in inconspicuous locations, most notably along a stretch of Shanghai St. If you are looking online, you can try Aliexpress. These are the ones I used in the video. 

Pros: durable and lasts forever, you get the most professional-looking chocolates with clean edges, and easy to unmould. 

Cons: hard to find, can be pricier if you don't know where to look for them. 

Bottom line: if you are serious about making your own chocolate candies, and you can get your paws on one of these moulds, then I'd definitely go for these ones!