Transforming a simple cake into a work of art is every baker’s dream, and the secret lies in the details. Enter the magical world of chocolate spray guns – your passport to creating stunning cake designs that are bound to impress. In this post, I’ll show you how to use a chocolate spray gun and the techniques you can use to achieve captivating sand, turf, or velvet effects on your cakes. Whether you’re a seasoned baker or just starting your culinary journey, these chocolate spray gun tricks will elevate your cake decorating skills to a whole new level. 

Ingredients/Tools

• 100 g white chocolate 
• from 1 tsp powdered cocoa butter up to 50 g of powdered cocoa butter; less for a thicker mixture and a larger spray gun nozzle and more cocoa butter for a more fluid mixture and a smaller spray gun nozzle 
• oil-based food colouring of your choice (optional)

Note: All chocolate should be a good-quality baking or couverture chocolate. I use Callebaut chocolate.

Directions

Read the instructions below or watch this video to see how to use a chocolate spray gun:

Preparing the Cake

Before you start preparing the chocolate, you need your frosted cakes ready. I usually cover them in Chocolate Ganache or a Chocolate Ganache Buttercream Frosting but you can use other frostings too, like regular buttercream.

You must refrigerate the cake for at least 6-8 hours before spraying the chocolate on it. Some people even freeze it for 20-30 minutes after refrigerating it overnight; I don’t, I just keep the cakes in the fridge only. Note that if you’re in a rush, you can also freeze the cake for about three hours right after frosting it. 

Melting the Chocolate

Melt 100 g of white chocolate until it reaches 42°C (107°F). This is enough to cover a 25 cm (10 inch) round cake. You can use the microwave to melt the chocolate 5-10 seconds at a time, stirring it each time. Or, you can melt it using a double boiler. 

Colour the chocolate using green oil-based food colouring.

Allow the chocolate to cool at room temperature to 33°C (91°F).

Then, for each 100 grams of chocolate, add from half a teaspoon up to 9 tablespoons (i.e. 50 grams) of cocoa butter powder (less for a thicker mixture and a larger spray gun nozzle and more cocoa butter for a more fluid mixture and a smaller spray gun nozzle). Add the cocoa butter powder one teaspoon at a time and mix it in very well until there are no more traces of cocoa butter. 

The chocolate should have a temperature of 30-32°C (86-89°F) when you work with it. So place it in the spray gun container when it’s 1-2 degrees warmer as, by the time you start spraying the cake, it will cool off. 

If it cools off too much while you’re working with it, re-heat it in the microwave for a few seconds again. 

How to Use the Chocolate Spray Gun 

Take your cake out of the fridge or freezer, place it on a turntable and work with it right away. Do not let any condensation form! 

Note that I used some cardboard boxes to create a shield and protect my kitchen from all the chocolate I’m about to spray around the cake. Those empty Amazon boxes must be good for something!

Keep the spray gun straight and screw the container onto it.

Always test the spray gun on a cardboard before you start spraying the chocolate on the cake.

Spray a thin layer of melted chocolate on while making a smooth up-and-down or cross-wise motion and rotating your cake as you go. Make sure to hold the spray gun at an even distance of approximately 30-40 cm (11-15 in) to the cake. 

Make sure to spray a thin layer: a layer that’s too thick is inclined to crack. If you want a thicker layer applied, it’s better to apply a thin coat then refrigerate the cake so that the chocolate hardens and then apply another coat. 

Note that for this soccer cake I used less cocoa butter powder in the chocolate mixture… and that is 1 teaspoon for 200 grams of chocolate.

For this blue wedding anniversary cake I used a little more cocoa butter powder in the chocolate mixture… and that is 4 teaspoons (16 grams) of cocoa butter powder for 100 grams of chocolate.

Place the cake in the refrigerator for at least one hour so that the chocolate sets.