Ganache Mice – Make Your Own Chocolates as Sweet Little Animals

Before you can pipe the mice, you need a small base of couverture — it makes the dipping easier later on. Fill a cornet with tempered couverture and pipe small dots onto a sheet of baking paper, spaced 4 to 5 cm apart.

Place a Baking tray under the baking paper and tap it on the work surface so the couverture spreads out a little and doesn't get too thick. Then chill for 10 minutes — in the meantime, start on the Ganache.

Put tempered White couverture into a cornet and pipe small dots onto a sheet of baking paper. You can place them right next to each other, so you get a pair of eyes at once — those are easier to attach later. Feel free to make them different sizes, that gives the mice character.

Use dark tempered couverture to add the pupils. This also determines where the mouse is looking.

If you don't want to temper all the couvertures, you can also make the eyes from Cake icing.

Have all the ingredients ready, correctly weighed out. The butter should be very soft — it's best to whip it up briefly. The couverture must already be tempered.

Add the Soft melting fondant to the whipped butter.

Stir the Fondant well into the butter until the two have combined. At the start it's a bit of a struggle, but it gets easier and easier — and in the end you have a smooth, homogeneous mass.

Add the tempered couverture to the butter-fondant mass in three portions. Work quickly, otherwise the couverture will set and the Ganache will become too firm.

As soon as the mass is homogeneous, add the alcohol or Syrup straight away — again, don't wait, the Ganache sets quickly. It's best to add the liquid in two portions and stir it in very well.

In the end you should have a creamy but firm mass that holds its shape and can be piped.

Using a Rubber scraper, fill the Ganache into a piping bag with a size 10 Round piping nozzle. Now you can start piping right away.

As soon as the couverture drops have set hard, you can pipe on the Ganache. Hold the piping bag slightly at an angle and pipe a Hemisphere onto the couverture dot from the side.

Once the Hemisphere is big enough, stop pressing and pull the Piping nozzle away downwards — this creates the little nose tip. Carry on until all the drops are covered. Then put the Ganache in the fridge for 30 minutes or the freezer for 10 minutes.

Loosen the fully chilled little mice from the baking paper and dip them upside down into the tempered couverture using the dipping fork. Turn the mouse once by 180 degrees.

Bob the mouse briefly in the couverture to draw off the excess chocolate, and wipe the dipping fork on the edge of the tempering device — this removes the excess from the base too.

Set the mouse down on a sheet of baking paper. If it doesn't come off the fork easily, help it along with a knife and gently push it down. Then let the couverture set undisturbed. Clean the dipping fork now and again with a piece of kitchen paper.

Attach the prepared eyes with a little tempered couverture or Cake icing.

Mix brown and white Fondant and roll it out with a rolling pin and a little Magic roll-out powder on a Silicone mat — about 0.5 mm thin. Instead of Fondant, you can also use Modeling chocolate.

Once the Fondant has the desired thickness, cut out small circles with a size 14 Round piping nozzle.

Place the circles on a piece of kitchen paper and partly brush them with a little pink Powder paint.
Gently pinch the circles together at the powdered spot — this creates the typical ear shape.

Place small dots of tempered couverture (or Cake icing) on the mouse's head and stick the ears on with them.
Make sure both ears sit at the same height and are tilted slightly forward — that's what makes the difference between a mouse and a bear.

Roll a little Fondant into a thin strand that tapers towards the back. Flatten the front part slightly.
Put some tempered chocolate on the flat part, set the mouse on top — and the tail is in place.

The most important thing when working with Chocolate molds is cleaning. Polish the mold thoroughly with kitchen paper. In the meantime, place the Cocoa butter color in warm water (no more than 40 °C) so it turns liquid — alternatively in the microwave in short intervals at low wattage.

Fill a cornet with some tempered White couverture and set small dots into the half-molds. These will become the dots of the fly agaric mushroom. Let set for 10 minutes at room temperature.

Once the dots are firm, brush the mold clean with the liquid Cocoa butter color. You can also leave the mushrooms completely white — then move straight on to casting.

Turn the mold over and wipe it several times across the work surface lined with kitchen paper — this is the best method for cleaning the mold. Then let the color set as well for 10 minutes at room temperature.

Fill the mold completely with tempered White couverture and tap against the mold with the back of a Spatula or a Chocolate hammer so the chocolate spreads evenly.

Wipe the excess chocolate thoroughly off the mold with the Spatula and back into the tempering device.

Pour the remaining chocolate out of the mold and tap the edge several times so it flows out evenly and the shells become nice and thin.

Finally, clean the mold by running the Spatula over the surface. The cleaner it is, the more easily the shells release. Then into the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes.

For the mushroom stems, use white Sugar paste or — if you have it — white Modeling chocolate. First form a ball.

Take the ball between your hands and shape it into a small cone. Feel free to make the cones different from each other — then not every mushroom looks the same.

Place the finished mushroom stems on baking paper and let them stand there.

Take the mold out of the fridge and flex it a little at the edges to release the chocolate.

Set the mold up and quickly turn it out onto the table. The shells should release on their own. If not, put the mold back in the fridge for about 5 more minutes.

Put some tempered White couverture on the tip of the stems and set a mushroom cap centred on each one.

Get a Dessert ring, a spoon and the tempered couverture ready — we went for dark here. Mix the crispy ingredients well with the couverture.

Spoon the mixture into the Dessert ring.

Press the mixture down with the enclosed Stamp, turning it back and forth so the surface becomes nice and even.
Carry on until the mixture is used up, then let the bases cool in the fridge for about 15 minutes.

If you made white mushroom caps, dust them at the end with a little Cocoa powder — it gives them depth.
Now place all the decorations onto the crispy base. Stick the mouse and mushrooms down with a little tempered couverture so they don't slip.