The cavity is a mirror
Chocolate copies the surface it sets against. A smooth, clean cavity gives a glossy face; a dull or marked cavity gives a dull or marked face.
Guide · chocolate finish
Cocoa butter and mould finish.
Gloss on chocolate comes from three things: your temper, the cavity surface and what has built up on it. Here is how the last two work.
The guide
Cocoa butter and mould finish.
A thin film of cocoa butter helps
Many chocolatiers find a new mould improves after a few runs, as a very thin film of cocoa butter settles on the cavity. That film is your friend.
Build-up is not
Over time, that film can thicken and go patchy. The gloss turns uneven. A gentle clean restores it.
Clean without scratching
Warm water and a soft cloth or sponge. Avoid abrasive pads and harsh detergents, which dull the surface for good.
Coloured cocoa butter
If you paint or spray colour into the cavity, the cavity finish decides how glossy that colour looks. Tell us at design stage and we match the finish.
Silicone and polycarbonate
Polycarbonate gives the hardest gloss at high volume. Silicone gives easier release and more freedom of shape, with a slightly softer shine. Both have a place.
At a glance
The idea in a picture.
Solid pieces and shelled pieces
Swipe to see the whole diagram
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Real people, a real workshop
You deal with the people who make it.
No call centre and no middlemen. When you contact TCI Culinary, you speak to the team who design, build and check your mould.
- A real Warwickshire workshopUnit 15, Waterloo Park, Bidford-on-Avon, Alcester B50 4JG.
- Real people on the phoneCall the team on 01789 224228, Monday to Friday.
- The same team on every jobDesign, production and aftercare come from the people you see here.
- BRCGS Grade AATechcraft Industries Culinary Ltd. See the certificate details.
Thomas LaneManaging Director
George PrestonDesign & Project Manager
Kelly BallingerHead of Partnerships
Jim AndertonProduction Manager
TheodoreEmployee Welfare