Brush for chocolate

What types of brushes are there and what are they used for?

Pastry brush

As the name suggests, these brushes are used in the bakery. Large ones or even soft brushes are often used to remove flour. Mostly, however, they are used to coat dough pieces with egg spread, water or milk. Fats are also applied in this way, for example oil for a delicious fociacca.

The pastry brushes are of course also suitable for other purposes. The soft bristles prevent the chocolate mold from being scratched when it is coated with couverture. This prevents the formation of air holes when depositing pralines, chocolate bars, bars and chocolate figures.

Fine brushes

Narrower brushes are ideal for drawing and painting with various powder colors and glitter, chocolate, royal icing and cocoa butter. The latter is melted and applied in chocolate molds. Once details such as the eyes and noses of an Easter bunny or simply more abstract patterns such as dots or stripes for a praline have been added to the mold, it is brushed with couverture and poured out. After moulding, the details can then be seen in bright color on the chocolate surface.

Glitter and powder colors can be applied dry to couverture or fondant and marzipan. When mixed with gloss varnish, an opaque and intensely shiny coating is created, which we particularly like to use for the chocolate high heels.

The brushes can also be used to make fine lines and dots with royal icing and couverture. For example, draw the rough outline of a flower on a fondant-covered cake using a piece of cornet paper. You can then use a brush to brush the lines towards the inside of the flower. This creates an elegant pattern.

Fan brush

The wide brush bristles make it easy to brush dry powder colors and glitter onto large areas of chocolate, royal icing and fondant-like masses. It is also ideal for dusting off powder residue.

Silicone brush

Silicone brushes are particularly easy to clean and are guaranteed not to lose any bristles. This makes them the perfect helper for work that does not require sensitivity or precision. We particularly like to use silicone brushes for brushing chocolate molds for later pouring with couverture and they are also often used for brushing dough pieces with water or egg.

What tools are needed to make pralines?

Depending on the type of pralines, you will of course need different tools. If you are making your own molded chocolates, the most important thing is of course the chocolate mold. You can find a wide range of great chocolate molds in our online store. A tempering device can be very helpful to keep the couverture at the right temperature during the process, but is not absolutely necessary. We recommend using a silicone brush to brush the mold. The mold is then filled with couverture and then emptied again to obtain a thin but even layer. A chocolate mallet is ideal for removing air bubbles and tapping out excess couverture, but a rubber scraper can also be used. A metal horn is used to clean the surface of the mold. From this point onwards, the same materials are required as for store-bought hollow praline molds.

Use a piping bag to fill fruit jelly, delicate ganache or even liqueur into the corresponding shells. Cornet paper is used to seal the shells.
Pre-form cut chocolates using baking paper, a rolling pin and, if necessary, a piping bag or spatula. The large slab is then cut into equally sized pieces either with a cutting harp or by hand.
As the name suggests, piped chocolates are made with a piping bag. Use a suitable nozzle to pipe the firm ganache onto a chocolate drop or other firm base such as a nougat flake.
Proceed in a similar way for truffles, sliced or piped pralines. Dip the praline upside down into the liquid couverture and then use a round or serrated stamping fork to turn it over and lift it up. Tap and scrape off any excess couverture and place the praline on a cooling rack or stamping paper.

The latter provides an elegant finish without the unwanted chocolate feet that can appear on baking paper. Rolling the truffles back and forth on a draining rack creates the classic hedgehog pattern with the characteristic spikes.
Use a cornet paper and some couverture to add further decorations as desired. For example, you can add pearls or pieces of nut, give the hedgehog chocolates little eyes or apply filigree stripes. Let your imagination run wild and discover how you can create your own perfect chocolates.
Finally, all you need is the right packaging or a beautiful bowl for serving, and your handmade chocolates are ready to be given away or enjoyed.