Help with transfer sheets please (:

So here I am again, asking for help from the experts. (I come back because I always get such great advice from everyone!)

So, I think I got the hang of tempering in the Mol d'art melter, and now as usual, I have another dilemma. I really would like to use transfer sheets on the top of my truffles and have already got 40 sheets at home to use. I tried them out today, but I had ONE truffle turn out looking good out of 30! The first one I did looked great and the rest didnt take the image. Its just a design, and I got the sheets from chefrubber.com. I had the chocolate at about 89-90 degrees f, but the image only transfers partially. There are a few little parts that look good but overall the truffle looks terrible. I tried a few things. I tried putting the little transfer sheet square on the truffle faster, I tried waiting a second then putting it on, I tried letting them sit longer, and also tried taking them off sooner. I tried pulling it off slowly, and tried quickly too. I tried putting them on then lightly using a blow dryer to heat the sheet (worked a tad bit better, but still looked terrible) and I also tried heating the sheet before putting it on the truffle. That worked a little bit too, but still looked pretty bad.

It is the first time I have used these. Is there something Im doing wrong? If anyone has any advice that would make these things look good and transfer every single line from the sheet to the truffle I would appreciate it a lot. I would LOVE to use these sheets because I really like the flat top truffle look with a colorful design on it. It just looks so awesome!

Thanks so much in advance everyone! Also, have a good weekend!!!

Ryan

Tags: assistance, chocolate, chocolates, help, problem, sheet, transfer, truffle, truffles

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Permalink Reply by Robyn Wood on April 10, 2011 at 1:38am

After placing the sheet on the chocolate, I use a clean dipping fork and lightly press the top to make sure it's fully on there. I would try leaving them on overnight. They should look like they are letting go on their on before taking them off. If your chocolate is in temper, you shouldn't have any trouble.

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Permalink Reply by Ruth Atkinson Kendrick on April 10, 2011 at 11:21am

Like Robyn, I also press them lightly after applying. Put them on as quickly as possible and leave over night. What color is the design? I find that Red is usually more of a problem than other colors.

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Permalink Reply by Lana on April 10, 2011 at 11:30am

Yes Klassy, the key is to leave them on overnight. Even if you try taking them off - say after a half hour, when the chocolate looks set up - you will get the results you are getting. Chocolate takes approx. 24 hours to fully crystallize at room temp. Or you can put them in the fridge for a few minutes if you need them RIGHT NOW!

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Permalink Reply by Klassy on April 10, 2011 at 12:06pm

You ladies rock! Thank you so much! I guess I was just being impatient because I was excited to see the new designs lol. I will make a new batch today and leave them till tomorrow. And it makes sense that it takes 24 hours to fully set, which explains why my chocolates always taste SO much better after a day or two. I am trying to do all the photos for my website this weekend, so after I get these all ready I will upload a few so you can see how much your advice helps! Ill do a 'before advice' and 'after advice' shot lol.

Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Klassy on April 11, 2011 at 12:56pm

Here are me before and after! Thanks again everyone, you can see from the pictures how much you helped. Now I can do the photos for my website.

Attachments:

Fail.JPG, 101 KB
Green.jpg, 63 KB
failgreen.jpg, 46 KB

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Permalink Reply by Klassy on April 11, 2011 at 1:08pm

Here are a few more photos too

Attachments:

DSC00471.JPG, 5.3 MB
DSC00473.JPG, 5 MB
DSC00475.JPG, 5 MB

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Permalink Reply by Clay Gordon on April 11, 2011 at 3:52pm

Klassy:

In addition to waiting until the chocolate is completely crystallized (how long depends on temperature), I would also recommend using something soft and flat to press the transfer on to the chocolate. Many people I know use wine corks (cork, not synthetic).

:: Clay

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Permalink Reply by Andrea Bauer on April 11, 2011 at 6:45pm

In addition to the dipping fork or the cork you could also use a piece of sponge (cut to a convenient size and keep for future use) to lightly press down on the transfer sheet.

I agree that if your chocolate is in correct temper you shouldn't really need to do anything else (other than leave the transfer sheet on until the chocolate is crystallized). Red can be a problem and I have trouble with some shades of green as well.