Chocolate Butterflies-Beautiful, Quick & Easy

A tropical storm blew across the state unleashing torrential rains that pounded on the roof for three days. Cabin fever was setting in (okay, I would never survive a Midwest winter), then I experienced the classical “light bulb” idea.  Well, actually it was the pull chain on the light idea, the chain on the garage utility light was just hanging there- I could make chocolate butterflies!  I had seen Designer Gemma 77 do pull chain painting, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o3itFirhyY) I had candy melts and a pull chain.  Ten minutes later, we were eating chocolate butterflies and even the rain couldn’t dampen our spirits. 

Candy melts

Pull chain ( ball chain)

Parchment paper, small zip-loc bags

Large book

Ruler, sharpie marker, magnets optional

Draw a butterfly outline on the parchment paper.  I printed one and traced it. Flip the paper over, so the maker is on the underside.  Fold in half, along the butterfly body. The parchment paper pattern is reusable.

Put a small handful of candies into a zip-loc bag.  Melt according to package directions.  The Meltables that I used required 30 seconds at half power, repeat until melted. 

Snip the corner of the bag, outline the wing with chocolate.  For multicolored wings, use different colors.  It was REALLY fun to play with the designs.  If you are not happy with the design, just use an off-set spatula and remove and redo.  If you want thick wings, you fill the entire wing with a base color of chocolate.

Loop the chain around the wing and pull towards the center.  Let the extra chocolate fill in the body.  I was surprised how long the chocolate stayed liquid and how easy it was to re- pull if the wing was too thin.  I only had the one pull chain from the garage utility light, so I just rinsed it under hot water, dried it and used it on the next wing.

Use a darker color for the body, it is important to make the body thick, so it can support the wings.

Place the butterfly in the center of a thick book (I used a dictionary).  Use the ruler to push the fold into the pages.  Grab a magnet from the side of the fridge to keep the parchment paper from folding on to the butterfly.  Chill and then peel off the  parchment paper

It was fun to make the butterflies and fun to eat them.  By the time I thought about making an Instructable, we had eaten all of them but one.  The magical rainbow butterfly- full disclosure, we were having fun making and eating chocolate butterflies, so this butterfly is perched on a corn muffin drizzled with sour cream.  However, next time I need a quick, easy and impressive decoration for a cake or a dessert plate, I will chain pull chocolate butterflies, which even elevate an ice cream bar.