What’s Spooky, Creepy & Made of Chocolate? Wilton’s Halloween Tombstones!
Written: Jul 16 '03
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Pros: Three different designs, extremely sturdy mold, easy to clean.
Cons: Can be a labor of love decorating the tombstones.
The Bottom Line: Rest in pieces ... chocolate pieces! Get it? Rest in peace...
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| Freak369's Full Review: Wilton Tombstone Candy Mold 2115-1547 |
Yet another Wilton review, and a Halloween one to boot! I figured I might as well get all this Halloween stuff out of the way now so if there are any hard-core ghosts and ghouls out there, you can get a jump on things and start looking for these now. Being the Halloween freak, I wanted to get all the stuff ready and see what needed replaced and what would be able to make it through another holiday – and luckily all the Halloween candy molds are in great shape. If there is one thing I will say about all the Wilton products it’s this – they might cost a few cents more than other products but they do hold up well.
Wilton Tombstone Candy Mold 2115-1547
While all the tombstones on this mold are the same size and shape, it’s the detail on them that gives them a true Halloween feel. The designs are extremely festive and are sure to give your treats a haunted feel. The first design is a skull and crossbones, basic design but with the right amount of detail, they look awesome. I usually paint the skull and bones white or gray and fill the rest of the mold with brown or mocha chocolate. You can also fill it with red melted Wilton candy melts – that gives it a pretty creepy look. The second design is “R.I.P.” with a nice scallop around the edges of the tombstone. The wells of the letters are pretty deep so decorating them or painting them isn’t a painful effort, nor does it take a lot of time but I will admit this – it will take you a few tries to get it right. The last design is “Here Lies…” with a standard curve on the tombstone. The letters are a little smaller than the “R.I.P.” stone and take a little more patience to paint them or fill them in, but it is worth it.
Unlike the other Halloween candy molds, this one has a lot of detail to it and requires a little more attention when painting and decorating. You have to check the progress of the design several times to make sure there aren’t any air bubbles in it – this is something that could ruin a piece if it isn’t taken care of. If you are just pouring the molds and not painting the inside, a few firm taps on the counter will bring any bubbles to the surface. If you look at the bottom and still see a few, insert a clean toothpick to break it. Usually when you are painting on the design you won’t have a problem with bubbles, but it does happen. You can use any type of chocolate that you have around the house but for decorating or painting the molds I suggest going with a specialty chocolate that can be melted several times. I usually work with a single candy melt at a time so I don’t have to worry about wasting it, then when I am ready to completely fill the molds I break out the big blocks of chocolate and either double boil it on the stove or microwave it.
When I picked up the first tombstone mold I didn’t really care for it because the finished product looked pretty horrid. Air bubbles everywhere, the color of the design melted into the layered chocolate or I wasn’t all that careful when painting the letters inside the mold. After a few botched attempts, I finally got it right. This mold is all about trial and error and if you make a mistake, just toss the chocolate tombstone back in with the melted chocolate and try again. If you are using colored candy melts it should affect the overall color of the brown chocolate since it is such a small amount. Then again, in this house, none of the misshaped, deformed or just down right awful looking attempts made it back in the double boiler – somehow the little ghosts and goblins snuck in and swallowed them up “just taste testing mum”.
Care & Cleaning
Since there is a lot of detail to the inside of the tombstones, you really have to make sure that there aren’t any left over pieces of chocolate or you might get swarmed with ants [had that happen]. I tap them into the sink to remove any large pieces then soak them in a mild dish detergent for an hour or so. I use a stiff stenciling brush to clean out the insides of the mold then rinse and dry with a paper towel. Always make sure the molds are completely dry and clean before you start working with them and if you had them packed away, it doesn’t hurt to check the wells to make sure there aren’t any dents or cracks before you start. I’ve had a lot of luck with mine and have only had to toss out one Wilton mold and that was my own fault for leaving it too close to the stove.
Alternative Uses
This doesn’t have to be exclusively for Halloween you know! This makes a great way to decorate cakes and treats for “Over The Hill” parties. Why spend tons of money for plastic cake toppings when you can make your own for a few pennies. You can purchase black and white candy melts and whip out a ton of these [once you get the hang of it] and decorate everything from cupcakes to dessert trays. However, there is one thing that I must add about this particular candy mold – they make killer Jell-O Gigglers. Just take your standard Jell-O gelatin mix and cut the water by half [one half cup hot, one half cup cold] and fill the mold half way with one color [a light one like orange or yellow works best], allow it to set completely then fill the rest of it with a darker flavor [cheery or grape]. You get to see all the detail because the lighter color fills in the bottom of the mold and the darker part helps to define it. Make sure you clean these promptly and thoroughly when done to avoid staining. These are great alternative to serving a ton of chocolate and make great bite sized treats for all your trick-or-treaters.
The Bottom Line
These should start surfacing around the middle of September when stores are planning the Halloween aisles and sales. If you can’t find them at a store near you, check out the Wilton Online Store to see what’s available. They have seasonal sections that are available year round so if you are an online shopper, you never again have to wait for retail stores to break out the seasonal merchandise and fight over items that are in short supply or under stocked. If you are a hard-core Halloween ghoul, this is one hell of a cool Halloween candy mold to have in your collection. Priced at about $2.00, it’s something that will really help spook up your baked goods, table settings or treat baskets.
As always, thanks for the visit …
^V^ Freak ^V^
© 2003 Freak369
Need to scare up some more Halloween fun?
Wilton Spooky Cookie Cutter Set
Wilton Dancing Skeleton Baking Cups
Wilton Mini Ghost & Pumpkin Candy Mold
Wilton Halloween Mix
Wilton Mini Pumpkin Pan
Recommended:
Yes
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