The Perfect Chocolate Drip Cake (from a Cake Design Pro)

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Cake design pro Carolina Montoya shares her secret to making the perfect chocolate drip cake every time.

With such a variety of ways to make a chocolate drip cake, it’s tough to see which one is best. Well, search no more! This method will give you full control over where the chocolate ends up.

While it may look like someone just poured a bowl of melted chocolate straight onto the cake – and that’s the idea – it’s unlikely.

The top 3 most popular techniques are :

1. Spoon method
2. Piping bag method
3. Squeeze bottle method

The main difference is clearly the tool used to pour the chocolate, but beyond that, the speed at which it’s poured.

The spoon offers a little less control over the chocolate, so you have to work pretty fast to get it to drip consistently all around the edge of the cake.

The piping bag offers a little more control, but not as much as the squeeze bottle, with which you can actually place a drip, rotate the cake, place another drip, and so on. Plus you can control the length of the drip by how hard you squeeze the bottle.

So if you’re not using the squeeze bottle method, be prepared to move around the full circumference of the cake without moving the turntable.

That’s why the squeeze bottle is Carolina’s secret weapon for easy-peasy-perfect drip cakes.

Of course the recipe is also key to getting the right consistency needed for a perfect drip. The thickness of the chocolate will vary depending on the melting agents used.

The most popular chocolate drip recipes use chocolate, and either heavy cream, butter or paramount crystals.

The chocolate can be chips, drops, or chopped bars, but the second ingredient will have the most impact on its melted consistency.

Melting crystals are ideal for a chocolate drip cake because:

• They won’t seize up the chocolate.
• You can use them in the microwave or on the stovetop.
• You don’t have to wait for it to cool before using it to decorate.
• The drips will dry harder than ganache for easier transport / delivery.

The best part about using both the squeeze bottle and the crystals is that you can stay true to your original cake design by having full control over the length and placement of the drips.

Some decorators start on top of the cake and spread the chocolate out toward the edges. Some start with the edges, then fill in the top.

You can use a fondant covered cake, a buttercream covered cake, or even a trendy naked cake as your canvas.

There are tons of options and obviously you’ll go with what works best for you, but across the board one thing is agreed upon: start with a chilled cake!

Otherwise you’re going to have a chocolatey mess on your hands… and all over your counter top. And it won’t be pretty.

You will find plenty more tips online but the fun part is to get in the kitchen and try it for yourself! Who knows? You may be a natural.

And if not, the leftover drip can easily be used to make everyone’s favorite cake pops or chocolate-dipped fruit! What else can you use melted chocolate for? Share your ideas in the comments section!

Get this week’s free cake decorating bundle, take your skills to the next level and make fondant that actually tastes good Click here to learn more now