Ah Jenga, a classic game of balance and luck. Oh, how many time I played this game as a kid, and also many a Memorial Day Weekend with friends. No matter how many times I play I always have the “No, no, no, no, OOOOHHHH” reaction when the tower of blocks inevitably falls.
A few years ago, I saw Ann Reardon create a chocolate Scrabble game on her channel How to Cook That. She used reusable molding compound to recreate the entire game as an edible treat. I thought it was so cool. So, I decided to give Jenga the same treatment. However, just play chocolate wouldn’t be fantastic enough, so I created my Rainbow Chocolate Jenga.
To Make the Chocolate Jenga you will need:
- An actual Jenga game
- Lots of chocolate or multi-colored candy melts. (About 9 – 12oz. bags)
- Food-Safe Molding Gel. I used Composi-Mold, which you can find here: http://www.composimold.com/make-your-own-unique-molds-and-casting.html
- A Large Container to make the mold in
- A toothpick or wooden skewer
- A butter knife
- A craft knife or box cutter
- An off-set spatula
Let me show you how its done!
- Wash you Jenga pieces by rubbing them with a damp paper towel. Don’t submerge them in water otherwise they may warp.
- Melt the molding gel in the microwave following the recommended in instructions. You can also use a double boiler.
- Dab a little of the melted molding gel on the back of your Jenga pieces (my container fit 6) and press them firmly into the bottom of your container. Arrange them so there is a little space between each of them. NOTE: The original Jenga game consists of 18 rows of 3 blocks, or 54 blocks total, so creating a mold of either 3, 6, or 9 blocks is recommended.
- Slowly pour the rest of the molding gel into the container being sure to cover all of the Jenga pieces by least a quarter of an inch.
- Gently shake the container or tap it on your work surface to help release some of the air bubbles and use a toothpick or wooden skewer to move any bigger remaining bubbles away from the surface of the Jenga pieces. You may need to lift the container up and look at it from the bottom to check. This will ensure a smoother final product. You don’t have to worry too much, most of the bubbles will come to the surface and shouldn’t be an issue, just get the ones that are touching the pieces.
- Let the mold set either at room temperature or sped up in the freezer. The time really depends on the size of your container so give it at least 20-30 minutes and keep checking it.
- Once the mold is set all the way through run a butter knife around the edge to help loosen it, and use the knife to pry up one corner and gently peel the mold out of the container.
- Use the craft knife to lightly cut around the edges of each Jenga piece and carefully remove them from the mold. This may take a bit of work, Then rub any extra casting gel off the Jenga pieces with your fingers.
- Melt your candy melts in the microwave in short bursts at 50% power, stirring between each heating. If you’re using real chocolate check out the info at the bottom of this page about TEMPERING CHOCOLATE.
- Fill the mold with one color of the candy melts, using the spoon to help get the chocolate into all corners of the mold. Then smooth off the top with an off-set spatula. Let set completely, again you can speed this up in the fridge or freezer.
- Carefully unmold your chocolate Jenga pieces and clean off any extra bits of candy melt with the butter knife. Repeat this process with the rest of your colors.
- Assemble the chocolate Jenga in the order of the Rainbow – Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, or however you like.
- Wash your hands and it’s time to PLAY!!
What’s all this about Tempering??
Real chocolate, also known as couverture, contains Cocoa Butter, which makes the chocolate melt in your mouth and taste delicious. When you buy chocolate in the store, it’s in a state called Temper, which means on a microscopic level, all of the cocoa butter particles are linked up in a nice, organized way, which lets the chocolate set firm at room temperature and gives the chocolate it’s nice “snap” quality.
When chocolate is melted, the heating process melts the cocoa butter crystals and takes the chocolate Out of Temper. This is fine for cakes, frostings, sauces, or cold desserts, but it will be soft at room temperature. The only way it will set firm is by putting it in the fridge or freezer, and once it’s out and starts to warm up again it will just go soft and mushy. Since we’re going to be playing with our Jenga game we want the pieces to be firm enough that they hold their shape, slide easily, and don’t melt all over our hands!
I highly recommend using Candy Melts, aka Compound Chocolate or Candy Coating for this project. They don’t contain cocoa butter (the fat has been replaced with vegetable shortening) so it doesn’t require tempering to set firm at room temperature. It also has a higher melting point, so you can handle it with your fingers for a longer time. However, it doesn’t taste as good as real chocolate, so if you plan on eating this creation afterward keep reading to find out about how to Temper your chocolate.
How to Temper Chocolate
There are a number of methods for tempering chocolate, and a quick internet search will provide you with a plethora of ways to accomplish this feat. I recommend checking out the How to Cook That Channel on YouTube and looking up Ann Reardon’s video on Tempering chocolate, but I will talk about a few methods here.
In the microwave: Grind your chocolate up finely and melt it SLOWLY in the microwave in very short bursts, stirring in between. Stirring is really important here. Do this until it’s JUST melted. You don’t want to heat the chocolate too high or you’ll just melt all of the cocoa butter crystals and take it out of temper. This sounds pretty easy, but again, overheating can ruin the chocolate, so be careful.
Seeding: This is what I do! Chop the chocolate in small pieces reserving half for later. You’ll also need a candy thermometer. Melt the chocolate either in a double boiler or in the microwave. If you’re using Dark chocolate bring the temperature to about 115°F or 110°F for Milk or White Chocolate. Then stirring constantly add in some small chopped up pieces of tempered chocolate. Let that melt and add some more and stir again. The more you stir the shiner it will be when it sets. Keep stirring until the temperature cools to about 90°F for dark or 88°F for milk or white. Test the chocolate by putting a small amount on a piece of wax paper or a spoon and it should set firm at room temperature in 1-2 minutes for dark and 4-5 minutes for milk or white. If the chocolate begins to set in your bowl and is difficult to work with you can warm it back up, but don’t let it go over 92°F. Note: If you’re coloring white chocolate for this recipe you’ll need to use oil-based or powdered food coloring. Liquid or gel paste will cause the chocolate to seize and then be no good!
Tabling: This method requires you to constantly agitate the chocolate on a work surface to get the cocoa butter crystals to form the right configuration as they set. This can be SUPER messy and for the amount of chocolate we need, is not very practical in most home kitchens so I’ll let you look into this one!
