Uggg!!!!!

[InNae]

So I'm working on a mothers day gift for my wife. Something different than a box of chocolates. It's chocolate soap. So I guess it's not that much different. She doesn't know that I've even made a soap yet. I've been pretty sneaky about it.

I got the recipe that I want and had some people try it and they gave it a thumbs up. Today I went to make half a batch for her so that if I mess something up I don't have to repurchase everything (good thing I split it in half) I get things to a light trace and split it into three parts one going to be pink (using moroccan red clay) with peppermint EO one without coloring or EO and one part with bakers chocolate. Get everything done and in the mold and the swirls look good on the top for my first time doing a swirl. I then realize that I didn't put in the peppermint. Sigh.... I went ahead and added it because I can't mess the soap up any more at this point. Guess I'll see what the swirls look like now.

InNae

 

[jules92207]

Maybe it will be fine! I'm pretty impressed you've managed to make soap without her knowing though... wow, you are sneaky!

 

[dixiedragon]

If the swirls turn out nice, you could cut the soap into big chunks, then make some new soap, scent it with the peppermint, and drop the chunks in it. So you get to keep the swirl, but also get the scent.

If the swirls aren't great, you could shred the soap and have confetti soap.

 

[CaraBou]

Trust me, she's gonna love it no matter what! Very cool and thoughtful.

 

[AustinStraight]

I second the chunks/confetti soap. You could also cut the soap into long curls, and place them in your mold so that the curls show in each finished bar. Pour some fresh, scented soap - swirled in the pot, or even white soap - over the curls, and voila!

 

[Jeanea]

I second that and drizzle the top with your chocolate soap

 

[InNae]

Second try

Well the first one looked terrible after trying to mix in the peppermint EO. The second one is not at all what I was going for, but the trace was a bit to thick. The picture isn't great, but it's a nice pink and dark chocolate brown. Going to try it a third time (third time is a charm) with a thinner trace and more bakers chocolate. No chocolate smell and not the swirl that I wanted.

InNae (Korean for perseverance)

 

[shunt2011]

Cocoa powder and bakers chocolate will not generally leave much if any scent without an FO. You soap looks nice though. I'm sure she's going to love it no matter what as you put a lot of thought into it.

 

[jules92207]

Looks like gorgeous soap to me!

 

[InNae]

Cocoa powder and bakers chocolate will not generally leave much if any scent without an FO. You soap looks nice though. I'm sure she's going to love it no matter what as you put a lot of thought into it.

I keep hearing that, but I've seen on the net that there have been some people who have gotten some. I don't want a strong chocolate scent, but some would be nice. I going to give it one last try and then whatever I get will be what I give her. Probably won't be the last soap that I make though. This is kind of fun.

InNae

 

[pattime]

That soap is beautiful!!

Just an FYI, I made a peppermint mocha soap by making two separate batches...scented one with peppermint, the other I used bakers chocolate AND scented with dark chocolate fo. The peppermint is so strong that it's the only thing my nose picks up, so I'm thinking unless you keep the peppermint REALLY low, you're not going to get much of a chocolate smell if at all with just using chocolate and cocoa. ymmv

 

[InNae]

That soap is beautiful!!

Just an FYI, I made a peppermint mocha soap by making two separate batches...scented one with peppermint, the other I used bakers chocolate AND scented with dark chocolate fo. The peppermint is so strong that it's the only thing my nose picks up, so I'm thinking unless you keep the peppermint REALLY low, you're not going to get much of a chocolate smell if at all with just using chocolate and cocoa. ymmv

Do you like the dark chocolate? Where did you get it from?

InNae

 

[pattime]

Do you like the dark chocolate? Where did you get it from?



InNae

I got it as a sample from BB, and no, I didn't care for it. Had a plastic-y smell ....chocolate is a hard one.

 

[InNae]

So the third time was a charm... Well not perfect, but I'm happy. Sorry for the bad picture. Drag marks were able to be cleaned up so they don't actually show. Swirls look good for not being what I had planned. To much batter for the mold so I wasn't able to swirl without making a huge mess so it just ended up being a drop swirl.

InNae

 

[songwind]

That soap is beautiful!!

Just an FYI, I made a peppermint mocha soap by making two separate batches...scented one with peppermint, the other I used bakers chocolate AND scented with dark chocolate fo. The peppermint is so strong that it's the only thing my nose picks up, so I'm thinking unless you keep the peppermint REALLY low, you're not going to get much of a chocolate smell if at all with just using chocolate and cocoa. ymmv

I had this same problem with early attempts at Ice Wyrm, my peppermint/rosemary/black pepper soap. Peppermint is currently only 1/4 of the fragrance and it's still front and center.

 

[pattime]

So the third time was a charm... Well not perfect, but I'm happy. Sorry for the bad picture. Drag marks were able to be cleaned up so they don't actually show. Swirls look good for not being what I had planned. To much batter for the mold so I wasn't able to swirl without making a huge mess so it just ended up being a drop swirl.

InNae

And it's still prettier than anything I'VE done to date I'd be happy with that swirl.

Songwind I learned from that that peppermint (at least EO peppermint) is STRONG and a little goes a loooong way. That's a good thing, but it's going to take some trial and error to figure out ratios. Good thing I like mint