The best things about using Candy Melts for creating sails is there’s no tempering necessary and the colors are already so vibrant. While they have the look and consistency of chocolate, Candy Melts aren’t a true chocolate and are designed in such a way that they can be melted down without having to worry about tempering. And with such a wide range of colors, you never have to worry about adding food coloring. In the past, I’ve had problems with white chocolate seizing when adding food color gel, but it’s so nice to not have to add a drop of that to Candy Melts.

It was so hard to decide what colors to choose for my sail, but in the end I decided on Royal Blue, Turquoise, and Bright White. I wanted to create a marbled effect, and these three colors paired so well together. I’m sure this chocolate sail technique will work with so many color combinations, but you could also just use one color if you don’t want the marbled look. Either way, here’s a quick video of the technique so you can see how it works before you read all about it below:

You Will Need:

• 8 oz of Candy Melts (I used a combination of Royal Blue, Turquoise, and Bright White)
• Bowls for and spoons for melting and mixing
• A microwave (a double boiler will work as an alternative)
• Parchment paper
• Binder clips or clothespins

Step 1: Melt The Candy Melts

Divide the Candy Melts into separate bowls and microwave one at a time according to the instructions on the package: one minute on high, stir, microwave for 30-second intervals and stir after each round until fully melted. In my experience, it took two 30-second intervals (after the one minute) to fully melt the Candy Melts.

Alternatively, there are instructions on the Candy Melts package for melting them in a double boiler if you don’t have a microwave.

Step 2: Spoon Onto Parchment Paper

Spread out a sheet of parchment paper on a moveable flat surface (like a baking sheet). Then, spoon a little bit of each Candy Melt color onto the parchment paper.

The more you add, the larger your sail will end up being, so it’s best to just eyeball how much you’re adding.

Step 3: Create The Marbled Effect

Once the Candy Melts have been added, grab the edges of the parchment paper and gently rotate it around at different angles to help it spread and marble.

You’ll want it to be about ¼ inch thick before shaping, but you might end up with thicker areas once you shape it and that’s ok!

You can also tap the baking sheet on a hard surface to flatten out the Candy Melts on top.

Step 4: Shape The Sail

When you’re happy with the marbled effect, use some binder clips or clothespins to crinkle and pin the parchment paper together, shaping your sail as you go. There’s no right or wrong here, and you can feel free to use things like small rolling pins and bowls to place underneath your sail to shape it.

I didn’t really have an end shape in mind when I set out to create this Candy Melt sail, I just kindof went with the flow and kept shaping until I liked what I saw.

Step 5: Refrigerate and Remove The Parchment

Once your Candy Melt sail is looking perfectly shaped, place it in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes, or until it’s really firm to the touch. After your sail has set in the refrigerator, carefully remove the parchment paper backing and marvel at your creation.

I ended up breaking the sail apart to create some added dimension before placing the sails on top of my cake, so feel free to get creative with that part. You can leave it as one sail or create a series of smaller ones. Either way, adding them to your cake is as simple and carefully placing them into the buttercream on top.

And there you have it! A beautiful cake topper made with marbled Candy Melt sails.

If you’ve got a JOANN store in your area, be sure to pop in and check out their cake decorating supply selection! I was blown away at the color variety of Candy Melts (in addition to their incredible selection of cake pans and decorating tools), and even if you don’t have a local JOANN store, you can always find what you need on their website. Best of all, they always have great coupons if you download their mobile app. That way you can get what you need and save money while you’re at it!

Disclaimer: I was compensated by JOANN for my work of creating this project, styling, filming, photographing, and writing about their products. As always, all opinions are honest and my own. Thank you for supporting brands that support Sugar & Sparrow.

The post Marbled Candy Melt Chocolate Sail Tutorial appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

You Will Need:

• Gumpaste (I use this. Most craft stores with a cake decorating aisle will have it.)
• Small rolling pin and smooth surface to roll gumpaste out
• Crisco
• Printed letter templates
• Exacto knife
• Wax paper
• Flat toothpicks or floral wire
• Finishing touches like sprinkles, edible glitter, Edible Art Paint, etc (optional)

Step 1: Print Out A Letter Template

In order to get the look you really want, spend some time looking through different fonts on your computer. I chose a few different fonts for this tutorial just to show you that anything is possible with a little gumpaste and an exacto knife.

Print the letter(s) out onto paper once you’ve got a font you like and it’s sized perfectly, then carefully cut the letter out to use as a template.

Step 2: Make The Gumpaste Monogram

Roll out the gumpaste to the thickness of about ⅛ of an inch using a little crisco to keep it from sticking to your surface. Place your template over the top of the gumpaste and carefully cut around it with an exacto knife.

Stick toothpicks or floral wire into the bottom of the monogram and let it dry for about 15 minutes before carefully transferring it to a piece of wax paper to continue drying. The monogram should be completely dry in 24-48 hours. Flip it over halfway through the drying process so that both sides get equal drying time.

Step 3: Customize The Finish

The monograms look great in plain white, or you can color the gumpaste with food color gels before rolling it out in step 2. I’ve also found some other awesome ways to customize the finish after the drying process though:

Sprinkled Monogram Topper

Because what’s more celebratory than sprinkles?

For this cupcake topper, I mixed water and gumpaste together to make a “glue” (1 Tbsp water + a small ¼ inch piece of gumpaste. Let rest for 30 minutes until gumpaste is dissolved and you have yourself a glue!), brushed it over the monogram, and stuck sprinkles all over it.

Metallic Monogram Topper

For the metallic gold look, I used Edible Art Paint in Glamorous Gold. They make a ton of different colors, both metallic and non, and I love this stuff so much for painting fondant, gumpaste, and even buttercream!

After the gumpaste monogram was completely dry, I used a small paintbrush to paint a few coats of this Edible Art Paint and get the metallic gold look.

Glitter Monogram Topper

To get this glitter finish, I brushed on some of my gumpaste “glue,” then pressed edible silver glitter over the surface of the monogram.

The best thing about these gumpaste letters is they dry super hard in a short amount of time, so you don’t have to worry about them falling apart on you. You could use this technique to spell out an entire word for a cake topper, or keep it simple with one letter. It’s a really quick and easy way to customize a cake or cupcakes without having to scour the internet for the perfect topper!

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