Leprechaun House

Last week I was in the mood to make something with my chocolate supplies. I went to the sideboard they are stored in and pulled out a new silicone mold I had purchased from Temu before Christmas. In November when I saw it, I had ambitious ideas that I would make a series of small chocolate houses to give to friends. Of course, time got away from me and I made tiny gingerbread houses instead. Still, I have been thinking about that mold and wanting to try it. Who says "gingerbread" houses are only for Christmas? There is a trend on YouTube right now for crafters to make gingerbread crafts for Valentine's Day and Easter. And my sister, who was very late taking down her Christmas tree this year, has taken to saying, "There are no rules."

Well, if there are no rules, then why can't I make a chocolate gingerbread house for St. Patrick's Day?

I grabbed a bag of green candy melts and set about guessing how much (compound) chocolate I would need to fill the cavities for the four walls and two roof pieces. It wasn't particularly scientific, but I piled chocolate wafers into each well and then tossed in an extra handful for good luck. It was approximately 8.5oz of chocolate based on how much is left in the bag. And it did the trick.

Now, I have to pause here to comment about candy melts. The selection available lately is dreadful. Bulk Barn has the Merckens brand, but only has three colours (yellow, orange, and blue as of writing this post). Atlantic Superstore carries Wilton brand, but only in chocolate and bright white. Michaels stopped carrying Wilton brand a few years ago and ever since has only stocked Sweet Tooth Fairy brand, and while they have a better selection of colours, the colours are not true. The red and blue that I've had in the past are much lighter than the packaging would suggest. And the green? Well, the bag is lime, the name says "light green," and it looks like mint. Good candy melts are hard to find.

Anyway, as I mentioned last week, silicone molds are a little finicky to work with. Nevertheless, using a bench scraper I was able to level the chocolate in the mold (mostly). After it had set in the fridge for 15 minutes,  I carefully unmolded the pieces. I was very impressed with the detail. Originally, I thought I would assemble the house using royal icing, but decided to try assembling with leftover candy melts instead. It worked great and set up far more quickly than I would have anticipated. I left it for a few days while I contemplated how best to decorate it.

Now, I don't have any St. Patrick's Day chocolate molds. (Shocking, I know!) So I had to get creative. First I tried melting some dark green candy melts left over from another food craft project, but no matter what I did, they wouldn't melt. I'm not sure if the humidity of last summer got them or if candy melts actually do have an expiry date, but they simply would not cooperate. So instead, I melted some of the light green ones and added oil-based food colouring. I got the colour I wanted, but I hope no one eats it because the taste is incredibly bitter. 

I used the darker green to pipe two shamrocks on a piece of wax paper. I also filled a few candy-shaped molds to use as architectural columns. And finally I made a green teddy bear (because there are no rules, right?). I eventually also made another trip to Bulk Barn (it's getting to be a weekly thing) and acquired some orange, green, and rainbow candies. Armed with a small bag of royal icing, I began decorating.

With sour punch straw columns, cry baby trim, life saver windows, and a sour strap walkway, it's a Leprechaun's ultimate dream home! I particularly like the orange door and the molded candy ridge cap. 

As for the silicone mold from Temu, I'm very happy with it. It's not perfect -- the roof pieces could be a little wider to create an overhang. But it's detailed and cute, and the heart on the back reminds me of a claddagh ring. I can imagine making little chocolate "gingerbread" houses in a variety of colours -- and I'm betting a white one would look great as part of my Christmas decor. 

Until then, this leprechaun house is perfect for St. Patrick's Day.