JP7475736B2 - Confectionery manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for producing confectionery having a predetermined three-dimensional shape using a cream-like material (edible only; the same applies below) having a network structure containing air bubbles.

Whipped cream, a typical example of the above cream-like material, can be molded into various shapes and has excellent shape retention, making it an essential ingredient in the manufacture of cakes and other confectioneries that require aesthetic design. However, experience and skill are required to neatly shape whipped cream.

As a solution to the above problem, an idea has been disclosed in which decorative parts are made by pouring whipped cream into a mold and freezing it (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2014-36644 A

Patent Document 1 describes how the side parts that cover the periphery of the decorated cake and the decorative parts that are placed on the top of the cake are each made in a separate mold, and then attached to the sponge cake after being removed from the mold. However, it is highly questionable whether parts made of whipped cream that is still frozen can be securely attached to the sponge cake. Even if it were possible to attach them, it would be necessary to remove each part from the mold and attach them to the sponge cake, which would be quite a lot of work.

The present invention was conceived from a different perspective than the invention described in Patent Document 1, and aims to produce confectioneries of various shapes using a cream-based molded body as the main ingredient, and to make it easy to carry out the work required for such production.

In the present invention, a confectionery mold is used that is formed by connecting multiple cold-resistant and flexible molds, and has a cavity in a shape corresponding to the confectionery to be produced, a wall surrounding the cavity, and an injection port communicating with the cavity. The molds that make up this confectionery mold may all be concave, or may have a configuration that includes concave and convex shapes. There may also be a configuration in which three or more molds are connected together.

In the present invention, the confectionery molds are first separated, and at least one of the molds is filled with a paste-like edible material (such as chocolate, jam, bean paste, etc.) at one or more predetermined locations on the inner surface of the mold. Once this filling is complete, the molds are connected to form the confectionery mold of the above-mentioned form, and a cream-like material having a network structure containing air bubbles and a different color from the edible material is poured into the cavity of the confectionery mold from the filling port, thereby bringing the cream-like material into contact with the edible material previously filled. The confectionery mold after the cream-like material has been poured is then frozen or refrigerated to harden the cream-like material and edible material and bind them together, and the combined body is removed from the confectionery mold. Upon removal, the confectionery is complete.

The paste-like edible material is molded into a shape that corresponds to the loaded area by filling the appropriate amount into the appropriate place in the cavity. The creamy material injected into the remaining part of the cavity is also molded into a shape that corresponds to the injected area. The creamy material's fine, soft, uneven surface due to its mesh structure is deformed to fit snugly against the surface of the edible material, and the two are allowed to harden while maintaining this close contact, allowing the two to become completely integrated. Furthermore, because the flexibility of the confectionery mold is maintained even after long periods of freezing or refrigeration, the confectionery made of the combination of edible material and creamy material can be easily removed by bending the mold and separating it from the contents after the confectionery inside the mold has completely hardened.

The removed confectionery is ready to eat once the ingredients have melted to a certain extent and regained their flexibility. It can also be stored in a hardened state in the freezer or refrigerator. The molds removed from the confectionery can be reused.

In the present invention, the creamy material is injected through an injection port of a confectionery mold loaded with edible material, so that the creamy material can easily come into contact with the edible material.

The above-mentioned injection port is provided at a location corresponding to the bottom of the confectionery, and during the process of injecting the creamy material from the injection port, a solid edible material (such as a castella cake or roll cake) of a length that will fit into the confectionery mold can be inserted from the injection port into the center of the hollow portion with its length aligned vertically. In this way, the solid edible material can function as a weight and pillar to stably support the confectionery, making it easy to produce even three-dimensional confectionery with a certain height, such as a three-dimensional doll-shaped cake.

If a support plate is prepared for a confectionery containing solid edible ingredients, with pins of a length corresponding to the edible ingredients arranged in an upright position on the top surface, the confectionery can be removed from the confectionery mold and placed on the top surface of the support plate with the pins inserted through the solid edible ingredients inside, thereby preventing the confectionery from collapsing with a high degree of certainty.

According to the present invention, confectionery can be completed by carrying out the steps of loading an edible paste-like material into a mold that is to be loaded with the material, among the multiple molds that form the confectionery mold, connecting the molds and injecting a creamy material of a different color from the edible material into the cavity from the injection port of the integrated confectionery mold, freezing or refrigerating the confectionery mold containing these materials for a certain period of time, and removing the edible material and creamy material that have been combined within the confectionery mold from the mold. These steps can be easily mastered even by beginners, and by mastering them, even beginners can easily manufacture confectionery of complex shapes. Furthermore, the confectionery removed from the mold can be stored for long periods in a frozen or refrigerated state, making it easy to distribute it as a product.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing one example of the configuration of a confectionery mold used in the present invention. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of a pair of molds that constitute the above-mentioned confectionery mold. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of a protective case for the produced three-dimensional cake. This is a front view showing the state in which a three-dimensional cake is placed on the support plate of the above-mentioned storage case. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a series of steps for manufacturing a three-dimensional cake.

Figures 1 to 3 show an example of the configuration of a confectionery mold 1 used to implement the present invention. This confectionery mold 1 is for producing a penguin-shaped three-dimensional cake 2 shown in Figure 5 described below, and is composed of a front mold 1F for forming the front part of the three-dimensional cake 2, and a back mold 1B for forming the rear part of the three-dimensional cake 2.

The front mold 1F and the back mold 1B are made of a material that is cold-resistant and flexible, such as silicone rubber with a rubber hardness in the range of 5 to 80 degrees. Each mold has a large opening from the joining surface to the other mold to the upper surface, and recesses 10F, 10B are formed in the opening in a shape that corresponds to the surface shape of the three-dimensional cake 2. In addition, multiple protrusions 13 are provided on the periphery of the joining surface of the back mold 1B, and engagement holes 14 for each protrusion 13 are provided on the periphery of the joining surface of the front mold 1F. When the joining surfaces of these molds 1F, 1B are aligned and each protrusion 13 is inserted into the engagement hole 14 to connect each mold 1F, 1B, a confectionery mold 1 having a cavity 10 is formed by combining the recesses 10F, 10B of each mold 1F, 1B. The openings on the upper surfaces of each mold 1F, 1B are also connected in a circular shape to form an injection port 11 that communicates with the cavity 10. In addition, a step 12 of a specified width is formed on the inner periphery of the injection port 11.

In the confectionery mold 1 of this embodiment, the upper surface side where the injection port 11 is provided corresponds to the bottom (the side of the penguin's feet) of the three-dimensional cake 2, and a pair of small recesses 15a, 15b for forming the penguin's feet are provided on the upper surface of the front mold 1F, and a small recess 18 for forming the penguin's tail is provided at the opening part on the upper surface side of the back mold 1B. These small recesses 15a, 15b, 18 communicate with the injection port 11 from a position slightly higher than the step 12.

The recess 10F of the front mold 1F includes curved surfaces (reference numbers omitted) that represent the face, belly, head, and wing portions on both sides, and the recess 10B of the back mold 1B also includes curved surfaces (reference numbers omitted) that represent the back of the head, back, and wing portions on both sides. In addition, within the curved surface of the face portion of the recess 10F, a pair of depressions 16a, 16b that correspond to the penguin's eyes and a small recess 17 that corresponds to the beak are provided. Furthermore, although not shown in the figure, the main curved surfaces of the recesses 10F, 10B are finely uneven surfaces to represent the texture of the penguin's fur.

Figure 4 shows an example of a protective case 3 for storing a completed three-dimensional cake 2. This protective case 3 is composed of a plastic support plate 31 on which PET resin pins 30 are arranged in an upright position, and a transparent cover 32 that is placed over the support plate 31. Small protrusions 30t are provided at appropriate positions on the periphery of the pins 30 to prevent them from falling out.

Figure 5 shows the state in which the three-dimensional cake 2 is placed on the top surface of the support plate 31. As shown in this figure, the pin 30 is inserted into the center of the three-dimensional cake 2 to function as a support, thereby preventing the three-dimensional cake 2 from collapsing. As will be described later, a roll cake 20 (see Figure 6) is placed in the center of the three-dimensional cake 2 in this embodiment, and by inserting the pin 30 into the roll cake 20, the three-dimensional cake 2 can be supported more stably.

In Figure 5, the coloring state of 3D cake 2 is shown with different patterns for each color. Specifically, in this embodiment of 3D cake 2 (penguin-shaped cake), the head, back and wings on both sides are brown, the face and belly are cream-colored, the beak and feet are yellow, and both eyes are black. The brown parts are made of chocolate whipped cream, the cream-colored parts are made of uncolored white chocolate, and the other parts are made of colored white chocolate.

Chocolate whipped cream is made by mixing and stirring melted chocolate and fresh cream in a specified ratio, so that it contains a sufficient amount of air bubbles and has a hardness that allows it to retain its shape. Specifically, in this embodiment, chocolate whipped cream (hereinafter simply referred to as "whipped cream") with an overrun adjusted to at least 100% is used.

White chocolate is made into a paste by adding a certain amount of edible oil and stirring while heating. Coloring agents are also added to the white chocolate used for the colored parts. All coloring agents are natural and derived from plants.

Once the various ingredients have been prepared, the production of the three-dimensional cake 2 begins using the confectionery mold 1 constructed as described above. Figure 6 shows a series of steps in the production. The specific production method will be described below with reference to this figure.
Note that the molds 1F and 1B shown in Figures 6(a) to (g) are shown in cross section similar to that in Figure 1, but the hatching representing the cross section has been omitted in order to clearly show the ingredients of the cake 2.

First, in an empty front mold 1F, the depressions 16a, 16b corresponding to the eyes, the small depression 17 corresponding to the beak, and the small depressions 15a, 15b corresponding to the feet of the cavity 10F are filled with white chocolate that has been colored for each corresponding part (Fig. 6 (a) → (b)). Since all materials are in paste form, the amount is adjusted to the appropriate amount using a tool such as a spoon or spatula, and the depressions 16a, 16b and small depressions 15a, 15b, 17 are filled entirely to form the shape appropriate for each part.

Next, uncolored white chocolate is loaded onto the entire curved surface corresponding to the face and belly of recess 10F of front mold 1F (Figure 6(c)). This uncolored white chocolate is also in a paste form, and is applied onto depressions 16a, 16b (eye areas) and small recess 17 (beak area), and is also applied to what will become step 12 on the top surface, connecting with small recesses 15a, 15b (foot area). In this way, the colored white chocolate loaded into front mold 1F first and the uncolored white chocolate loaded later join together to form a single mass (molded body).

In the application of uncolored white chocolate, the white chocolate is not applied to the entire target area to a height that reaches the opening, but is applied so as to form a groove of a predetermined size in an area corresponding to the injection port 11 .

When these steps are complete, the front mold 1F is fitted to the back mold 1B and the two are integrated. Whipped cream is then poured into the hollow 10 of the confectionery mold 1 formed by this integration through the injection port 11 (Figure 6(d)). The injected whipped cream enters the areas of the recesses 10F of the front mold 1F where no white chocolate has been placed and the recesses 10B of the back mold, and is molded into a shape that corresponds to the shape of these hollow areas. In the front mold 1F, the whipped cream comes into contact with the formed body of white chocolate that was previously placed.

The surface of the whipped cream is a micro-roughened surface with a mesh structure containing numerous air bubbles, and by inflating this rough surface by pouring it in and bringing it into contact with the white chocolate molding, the parts of the whipped cream that come into contact with the white chocolate are deformed to match the surface shape of the white chocolate, allowing the two to come into close contact. At this time, the pressing force from the whipped cream being poured in and the adhesive strength of the white chocolate paste work together to increase the degree of adhesion.

Because white chocolate hardens even at room temperature, in order to promote the adhesion effect mentioned above, it is desirable to heat the whipped cream to a temperature higher than the temperature at which the white chocolate hardens. However, it is necessary to adjust the temperature so that the white chocolate does not liquefy.

In this embodiment, the whipped cream is not poured all at once, but is interrupted midway, and a roll cake 20 of a given size (slightly shorter than the hollow part 10 and with a smaller diameter than the hollow part 10 ) is inserted into the hollow part 10 through the injection port 11 (FIG. 6(e)). The pressure generated by this insertion pushes the layer of whipped cream up and wraps around the periphery of the roll cake 20, so that the whipped cream also adheres to the periphery of the roll cake 20.

In this embodiment, the roll cake 20 is not pushed all the way to the bottom of the mold, but the upper end surface remains near the top surface. Once the roll cake 2 is inserted to the correct position, the injection of whipped cream is resumed, and whipped cream is injected until the remaining cavity is filled (FIG. 6(f)). This injection results in the roll cake 2 being buried in the layer of whipped cream. Furthermore, whipped cream is also filled into the space on the back side of the step 12 and the small recess 18 in the tail portion.

Once the material has been filled into the entire cavity 10 of the confectionery mold 1, the worker moves the confectionery mold 1 into a freezer. It is then kept in the freezer until the whipped cream and white chocolate inside the confectionery mold 1 are completely hardened (for example, about 2 hours at -80°C).

As mentioned above, inside the confectionery mold 1, the white chocolate body and the whipped cream body are in close contact with each other, and as the two bodies are frozen and hardened while maintaining this close contact, the connection between the two bodies becomes stronger, and finally the two bodies are completely bonded together. The roll cake 2 embedded in the whipped cream also hardens in the same way and becomes immobile.

When each molded body has completely hardened, the worker removes the confectionery mold 1 from the freezer and removes the front mold 1F (Figure 6(g)). The back mold 1B is then removed in the same manner. Note that the order of removing these molds 1F and 1B may be reversed.

In this embodiment, both molds 1F, 1B maintain their flexibility and pliability even in environments below 0 degrees, so by flexing molds 1F, 1B, even immediately after removing them from the freezer, each mold 1F, 1B can be easily separated from the molded body in confectionery mold 1. Both the whipped cream molded body and the white chocolate molded body are completely hardened and strongly bonded to each other, so there is no risk of parts of these molded bodies adhering to molds 1F, 1B and peeling off when molds 1F, 1B are removed, and each molded body can be removed in a clean state.

The three-dimensional cake 2 can be said to be complete once the combined body of each molded body has been removed, but in this embodiment, a hole is then drilled with a drill 4 from the bottom of the frozen cake 2 (the side with the penguin's feet) through to the roll cake 20 inside. Then, the cake 2 is lowered onto the aforementioned support plate 31, aligning it so that the pin 30 (Figure 5) fits into the hole. Finally, once the cake 2 is placed on the support plate 31, a transparent cover 32 is placed over the support plate 31 (Figure 6(i)). This completes all the work involved in making the three-dimensional cake 2.

The three-dimensional cake 2 contained in the protective case 3 consisting of the support plate 31 and the transparent cover 32 is stored in a display refrigerator or freezer for sale. Alternatively, the protective case 3 may be stored in a decorative box or the like and transported in a frozen or refrigerated state.

The confectionery mold 1 can be reused after the three-dimensional cake 2 has been removed. Therefore, by producing multiple confectionery molds 1 of the same shape and repeatedly carrying out the process shown in Figure 6 on them all at once, it is possible to mass-produce three-dimensional cakes 2 of the same shape and stable quality. Also, by changing the shape of the confectionery mold 1 and selecting the material to be loaded, it is possible to produce three-dimensional cakes 2 of various shapes.

Possible variations of the present invention will now be described.
The confectionery produced by the present invention is not limited to the three-dimensional cakes as in the above embodiment, but also includes confectionery as tall as a cupcake. The shape of the confectionery body does not necessarily have to be complicated. For example, confectionery consisting of a disc-shaped chocolate filled with whipped cream in the center, or confectionery consisting of a two-layered chocolate layer and a layer of whipped cream can be produced in the same manner as in the above embodiment by using confectionery molds of the appropriate shape.

The structure of the confectionery mold also changes depending on the confectionery to be produced. For example, in addition to a confectionery mold configured by combining a pair of concave molds as in the above example, a confectionery mold that combines a concave mold and a convex mold can also be used. Furthermore, when producing confectioneries with simple shapes, a confectionery mold with a single mold that has a hollow portion with one opening can be used. Conversely, when producing confectioneries with complex shapes or large confectioneries, a confectionery mold that combines three or more molds may be used.

The whipped cream does not have to be chocolate-containing, and can be ordinary white whipped cream, or whipped cream mixed with rare cheese or fruit juice. Also, instead of whipped cream, creamy substances such as mousse or ice cream (soft serve ice cream) can be used.

The edible ingredients that can be combined with the creamy substance are not limited to chocolate, but various edible ingredients that can be made into a paste, such as jam, candy, and bean paste, can be used. Depending on the selected ingredients, some can be hardened by storing in the refrigerator, in which case the confectionery mold with each ingredient loaded is stored in the refrigerator for a certain period of time.

In either case, in order to ensure that the paste-like edible material is firmly bonded to the cream-like substance, it is necessary to properly adjust the amount of air bubbles mixed in, which determines the unevenness and hardness of the cream-like substance's surface, and to control the temperature of each ingredient so that the paste-like edible material does not harden or melt before the cream-like substance is completely poured. As for the confectionery mold, it is necessary to select one that is flexible enough to be separated from the hardened molded product, and to manufacture a mold of appropriate thickness.
If these conditions are determined and prepared in advance through verification, even beginners can easily master and perform the tasks of making sweets.

1 Cake mold 1F Front mold 1B Back mold 10F, 10B Recess 10 Hollow portion 11 Inlet 15a, 15b, 17, 18 Small recess 16a, 16b Depression 2 Three-dimensional cake 2
3 Protective case 30 Pin 31 Support plate

Claims (2)

A first step is to connect a plurality of cold-resistant and flexible molds to form a confectionery mold having a cavity having a shape corresponding to the confectionery to be produced, a wall surrounding said cavity, and an injection port communicating with said cavity, so that each mold is separated, and a paste-like edible material is filled into one or more predetermined locations on the inner surface of at least one of the molds;
a second step of connecting the molds together to form the confectionery mold of the above-mentioned form in response to completion of loading of the edible material, and injecting a creamy material having a network structure containing air bubbles and a color different from that of the edible material into the cavity of the confectionery mold from the injection port of the confectionery mold, thereby contacting the creamy material with the edible material inside the confectionery mold;
A third step of refrigerating or freezing the confectionery mold after the creamy material has been poured therein to harden the creamy material and the edible material and bond them together;
and a fourth step of removing the combination of cream and edible material from the confectionery mold. In the first step, a plurality of kinds of paste-like edible materials having different colors from the cream-like material and different colors among each other are applied to different places or different areas of the inner surface of the target mold, thereby making a plurality of colors derived from each edible material appear on the surface of the combined body removed from the confectionery mold in the fourth step.
A method for producing the confectionery according to claim 1.

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