Earth Day Brownie With Handmade Chocolate Topper

If you can color in a coloring book, you can color with some chocolate! This Earth Day Brownie With Handmade Chocolate Topper is delicious and holds a special meaning.

Even if you can’t draw, you can make a cake, or in this case, a brownie topper that looks amazing. All you need is a great drawing to use as a pattern.

When I was looking around the internet for inspiration for an Earth Day recipe, I came across a “Love the World Your On” coloring page created by children’s book author and illustrator, Elizabeth Dulemba. The drawing of the Earth hugging itself was perfect.

I’d love to have Elizabeth’s ability to draw whatever pops into my head, but I don’t. I can, however, color.

I was always good at turning a coloring page into a work of art worthy for the refrigerator gallery, so today I’m going to show you how I use that skill to create a colorful cake topper.

This method of decorating can be used with confectionery coating (Candy Melts) or buttercream frosting. I chose to use confectionery coating, but you may opt for the frosting.

To start, you’ll first need a coloring page. You can find this “Love the World” page, here, but Elizabeth has dozens of really creative coloring pages on her Coloring Page Tuesday site.

Print out your coloring page so that it fits on the dessert you want to decorate. Be sure to print the coloring page in reverse (like you would if printing an iron on for a shirt.)

If you choose to use confectionery coating, you’ll want to melt small amounts of each color you’ll need to color your drawing.

My favorite method of melting small bowls of colored Candy melts is to set them in an electric skillet filled with some warm water. I turn the skillet onto the lowest heat setting and the candy coating will stay melted all day long. You can see more details about this melting method on my Chocolate Making Tips page. 

For this coloring page, you’ll need black (or dark cocoa,) white, peach (lighten orange with some white.) dark green, light green, dark blue, and light blue.

Tape your coloring page to a board. Then set a piece of acetate paper (thin see-through art paper) over top. I didn’t have any acetate on hand, so I set a piece of lucite (clear plastic) over my coloring page, which worked fine, but it made it more challenging to remove the finished topper. I did like that I could easily lift the lucite up to see how my chocolate painting was looking as I worked. Next time I do this, I’ll tape a piece of acetate to my lucite.

Now you color, using the candy coating (or frosting.)

If using candy coating, pour some black or dark cocoa Candy Melts, into a squeeze bottle, and pipe the candy over the outline of the drawing. Allow that to dry, then start coloring inside those lines.

You can pipe all the colors on or you can brush them on using food use only paint brushes. I found that to be the quickest and easiest method. That also allowed me to layer colors on the continents and in the ocean.

As I worked, I turned my piece of lucite over so I could see how my colors looked. I could also see any spots I missed.

To create some depth in my ocean and on the continents, I used a few different colors. For the ocean, I layered, white, light blue and dark blue. I dabbed the white and light blue on the lucite, then covered that in dark blue.

Once the entire drawing was coloring in with candy melts, I popped it in the freezer for 10 minutes. Being I didn’t use a piece of acetate, I wanted to make sure I wouldn’t break my drawing when I peeled it off the lucite, so I brushed a layer of white Candy Melts over the top to make a thicker layer of candy.

Once the candy hardens, peel it off the acetate and it’s ready to top a dessert.

If using frosting, freeze the frosting for a few hours, then set it over your dessert and peel off the acetate.

Earth Day Brownie

Ingredients:
1 brownie mix or your favorite recipe
1 -2 cups white frosting
1 (7 1/2 inch) Earth Day candy topper
4 ounces yellow modeling chocolate (recipe, here) or fondant

Supplies:
10 inch baking pan
small alphabet cutters

Instructions:

Bake a brownie in a 10 inch baking pan.

Cover the brownie with white frosting.

Roll out yellow modeling chocolate or fondant and cut out “Love the World You Have” or “Love the World You’re On.”

Set candy topper in center of the frosted brownie. Arrange letters around topper.

It’s ready to serve.

To cut through the chocolate, you’ll need to heat up a sharp knife. If you have a gas stove, turn it on and carefully hold the metal blade of a long sharp knife over the flame. DO NOT get your hand near the flame. This only takes 5-10 seconds. You can also use a candle or lighter, but that takes longer.

Once the blade of the knife is hot, it will cut right through the chocolate with ease. You’ll need to clean and heat the blade before making each cut.

I used the artwork for this project with permission from Elizabeth. She is happy to allow you to use her coloring pages to create your own edible artwork. Be sure to stop by her website to see her wonderful collection of coloring pages and her collection of amazing kids books.  

Items used to make this project that are available on Amazon.com (commission earned for sales)

If you’d like to have the ultimate guide to working with Candy Clay (modeling chocolate) be sure to get your printed or e-book copy of Candy Clay Creations. This 102 page book is filled with tips and tricks for making and working with candy clay along with 17 step-by-step tutorials for decorating cupcakes, cookies, and more using candy clay. It’s a fantastic resource for anyone who wants to make festively decorated treats.

More Earth Day Treats 
from Hungry Happenings

Rice Krispie Treat Apple Tree 

Apple Cake topped with Chocolate Apple Tree

Spinach Artichoke Frittata Trees

Green pesto covered crescent roll pine tree appetizers

Sunshine Lollipops

Hard Boiled Egg Carrots

Hatching Hard Boiled Eggs

Ear of Corn Pinata Cookies

 

Show Mother Nature how much you appreciate her by making some of these festive Earth Day Recipes.