Directions to melt chocolate
1. Water-bath / double boiler method
a. chop chocolate into smaller pieces and put it in a heat-proof bowl that fits snugly on top of a saucepan that has been filled with water.
b. Bring the saucepan to a simmer and stir the chocolate until it melts completely (it should look smooth and shiny); be sure to have the stove heat low enough so that the water doesn't boil. Turn off the heat once the chocolate has all melted.
Directions for Tempering Chocolate
The Cooking for Engineers blog has a good explanation of how this is done and why it is different than just melting chocolate.
Filling the mould
Spoon the chocolate into the mould, but don't overfill it. If the chocolate is still warm, you can gently swirl the spoon around in the melted chocolate to fill the detailed parts (like the fish's fins). Tap the mould on the counter to settle the surface of the chocolate as well as release any air bubbles.
Refrigerate the mold for about 30 minutes until the chocolate has set. Invert the mould onto a wax paper or parchment paper and chill it again.
Now then, I need to find a natural way to keep this chocolate from melting at room temperature. They look fine after having set in the refrigerator; but there's not a whole lot I can do with it.
