Ann Reardon

Chocolate Butterfly | How to Make Dainty Chocolate Butterflies

chocolate butterflies howtocookthat ann reardon

Chocolate butterflies sound kind of dreamy and magical. Paper thin chocolate wings fluttering by, landing on your cupcake to adorn it to perfection.  Or hiding in the garden to surprise and delight party guests.

chocolate butterfly ann reardon chocolate butterflies by Ann Reardon

Butterflies are dainty, so the chocolate equivalent needs to be delicate, elegant and delicious. To achieve this you can use tempered chocolate so that they are crisp at room temperature.  If you are making colorful butterflies I suggest that you use ‘fake’ white chocolate because the real white chocolate can be difficult to temper in small quantities. If you’re confused already then read this post that explains tempering and what chocolate to use for decorations.

chocolate butterflies how to cook that IMG_3710

Watch the video for a full tutorial on making these beautiful butterflies:

 

You will need:
300g (10.58 ounces) Chocolate (what chocolate to use) If you are making one toned butterflies you will not need this much chocolate, I have allowed plenty so that you can make several colours and have a decent amount in each bag so that it doesn’t set too quickly.
Oil based food coloring (available at cake decorating stores)
Non-stick baking paper (if you do not have non stick baking paper then check that the paper you are using allows the chocolate to slide off it easily once set).
Ziplock Bags or piping bags for the chocolate
Some pictures of real butterflies to give you an idea of the wing shape

Fold your baking paper in half to make a crease down the centre. Quickly pipe one side of the butterfly, fold the paper over and gently rub on the chocolate. Open again, pipe the body and antennae and then sit against a wall to allow it to set with the wings on an angle.
 
dainty chocolate butterflies

by Ann Reardon How To Cook That

 

2013

My Cookbook

ann reardon crazy sweet creations cookbook
Stores that sell my book listed by country: http://bit.ly/ARcookbook
All recipe quantities in the book are in grams, ounces and cups.

73 Comments View Comments

  1. Rating: 5

    I just want to say that these butterflies are beautiful on my cupcakes which I frosted with a rose looking swirl. Thank you so much for your instructions…it’s very generous of you to share all your recipes. May God bless you.

    • thanks Marie 😀

  2. Rating: 4

    I made a butterfly garden cake it came out great…I still had trouble making the butterfly i managed to save one but I will eventually find fake Chocolate so I can have more butterflys 🙂 . My niece loved it thanks for this video 🙂

    • Awesome idea, looks so lovely 😀

  3. Hi Ann,
    Walmart sells different colored chocolate melts. Do you think that I could use them for the butterflies instead of coloring my own chocolate?

    • Hi Jenny, yes they are perfect, they cost $10 a bag in Australia so that is why I didn’t use them.

  4. Hi Ann,
    If you are using Hershey’s Kisses or just the Hershey’s chocolate bar, do they need to be tempered?
    Thanks

  5. Hi Ann, I love ur videos but this one is not opening, could u pls help?
    Thanks
    Nesim

    • Hi Nesimsisan I am not sure why it was not opening for you it seems to be working fine now but just in case you can always watch it on the youtube channel… http://www.youtube.com/howtocookthat you will find ti there under the chocolate playlist

  6. Rating: 5

    Ann,
    I’m only 11 years old, but your baking and decorating skills inspired me to learn how to cook. I think you are a goddess in the kitchen because you were the start of my entire life because if I hadn’t seen your videos, I might have never been somebody. You are the one that inspired me to have the dream of moving to Tokyo, Japan and start a life of being the youngest master chef in history. You are what my world revolves around when it comes to cooking. I hope to be just like you when I grow up.

    Love,
    Madison A. Rappa

  7. hi ann can I make this 3 days ahead of time or is it better on the days ty

    • Hi lisa you can make these weeks ahead just store in an airtight container in the fridge

  8. I had made chocolate butterflies before, and there were a few problems I kept running into. For instance, there would be this uneven bumpy side, the top, and the flat side being the bottom. Also, the wings were hard to get symmetrical. Your version on how to do this solves both problems. Thank you soooo much for taking the time to post this. I really appreciate it!

  9. Hi Ann!
    ohh may… i gonna use this for my cupcakes!
    question: aren’t the wings a little bit weak? how do you recomend transporting them for assemble?
    thank you for this!!!
    – Argentinian Fan

  10. Hi Ann

    I really love your videos and tried to make these but no matter what I do when I go to remove the baking paper part of the wing is breaking off? I know the logical thing is to make the chocolate layer a bit thicker but then how will I achieve the delicate look of the (dark looking chocolate) butterflies? Is there something I am missing? I am cooking in a very humid climate and using fake chocolate to make these, please help as I really want to make these successfully.

    • hi freetz, try putting them in the fridge before removing them and make sure you are using non-stick baking paper, it has a fine silcone coating that make it easy to get the butterflies off.

  11. Hi Ann,

    What a great idea!
    Thanks so much for your video — I’m going to attempt these butterflies right now. Can you freeze them and, if so, how are they defrosted?

    I can’t imagine how you accomplish all that you do — with 3 children, too.
    Good for you!
    ~Linda

    • hi linda, yes you can freeze them or store them in the fridge.

  12. Hi Ann,
    How long do they last for like in a air tight container?
    Love your videos 🙂

    • Hi Dannie, check the use by date on your chocolate and that should be your guide.

  13. Plus, what brand and what do you use for coloring chocolate?

    • Hi Angelina, I have wilton candy colouring here

  14. Is gel food coloring oil based? I’m so confused but I really want to try these beautiful butterflies (so creative, Ann!) and I’m planning on making them for my sister’s birthday next week. I don’t know what coloring to buy! Please help, thanks so much! xoxo

    • Hi Angelina, no gel colouring is just water based colour that is more concentrated and thickened. Try wilton candy colouring or search for oil based food coloring.

  15. hi ann just wanted to know can I colour the white melts with the wiltion paste or do I need to buy the oil base colour ? ty ann

    • Hi lisa, you can but it doesn’t give as smooth a colour as using the oil bassed colour (because it can’t dissolve into the oil in the melts) if you see this video it shows using the gel based colour… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn0Sr8OsdAU

  16. Hi Ann, I’m loving your site and so appreciate all the helpfull info. On this recent post, I seem to be missing the link to the video on how to make the butterflies ??? I would be so gratefull if you could provide me with it. Best Regards

    • Hi Kay, the video is int he post, and seems to be working fine here, please let me know if that is not what you meant

  17. Rating: 5

    I truly think you are gifted, and also generous to boot. Thank you immensely
    for your generosity to share.GOD BLESS.

  18. Ann,

    My mum has been making me a “Black Forrest Cheesecake” since my 16th birthday.
    All I know about it is that it has a chocolate biscuit base, a layer of marachinno (?? spelling) cherries in gelatine then the chocolate cheesecake layer. I know that somewhere in the mixture (not sure where) that it uses kirsch – cherry liqueur.

    Mum won’t give me the recipe at all and so I am hoping that you can create a beautiful black forrest cheesecake recipe for me..

    Thanks

    Tracey

  19. Rating: 5

    Anne,

    You are so inspiring! You make intricate decorations so easy to follow and to make! You really should contact Food Network and get a weekly show. I am positive it would be in the top five.

    Laura Michele

  20. Ann, can you use the pre-colored candy melts like the ones made by Wilton?

    • yes you can

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