I’ve been an admirer of cakes topped with colorful chocolate sails for years, but it wasn’t until just recently that I tried my hand at making my own! I’m so excited to share this tutorial with you, because it could not be easier to do with the right materials. Mainly, some colorful Wilton Candy Melts I found at my local JOANN store. There are so many colors to choose from, you’ll find a color (or combination of colors!) for every look.
UPDATE 2025: JOANN is (sadly!!) out of business, so I have slightly changed these product links.
The best things about using Candy Melts for creating sails is there’s no tempering necessary and the colors are already so vibrant. While they have the look and consistency of chocolate, Candy Melts aren’t a true chocolate and are designed in such a way that they can be melted down without having to worry about tempering. And with such a wide range of colors, you never have to worry about adding food coloring. In the past, I’ve had problems with white chocolate seizing when adding food color gel, but it’s so nice to not have to add a drop of that to Candy Melts.
It was so hard to decide what colors to choose for my sail, but in the end I decided on Royal Blue, Turquoise, and Bright White. I wanted to create a marbled effect, and these three colors paired so well together. I’m sure this chocolate sail technique will work with so many color combinations, but you could also just use one color if you don’t want the marbled look. Either way, here’s a quick video of the technique so you can see how it works before you read all about it below:
You Will Need:
- 8 oz of Candy Melts (I used a combination of Royal Blue, Turquoise, and Bright White)
- Bowls for and spoons for melting and mixing
- A microwave (a double boiler will work as an alternative)
- Parchment paper
- Binder clips or clothespins
Step 1: Melt The Candy Melts
Divide the Candy Melts into separate bowls and microwave one at a time according to the instructions on the package: one minute on high, stir, microwave for 30-second intervals and stir after each round until fully melted. In my experience, it took two 30-second intervals (after the one minute) to fully melt the Candy Melts.
Alternatively, there are instructions on the Candy Melts package for melting them in a double boiler if you don’t have a microwave.
Step 2: Spoon Onto Parchment Paper
Spread out a sheet of parchment paper on a moveable flat surface (like a baking sheet). Then, spoon a little bit of each Candy Melt color onto the parchment paper.
The more you add, the larger your sail will end up being, so it’s best to just eyeball how much you’re adding.
Step 3: Create The Marbled Effect
Once the Candy Melts have been added, grab the edges of the parchment paper and gently rotate it around at different angles to help it spread and marble.
You’ll want it to be about ¼ inch thick before shaping, but you might end up with thicker areas once you shape it and that’s ok!
You can also tap the baking sheet on a hard surface to flatten out the Candy Melts on top.
Step 4: Shape The Sail
When you’re happy with the marbled effect, use some binder clips or clothespins to crinkle and pin the parchment paper together, shaping your sail as you go. There’s no right or wrong here, and you can feel free to use things like small rolling pins and bowls to place underneath your sail to shape it.
I didn’t really have an end shape in mind when I set out to create this Candy Melt sail, I just kindof went with the flow and kept shaping until I liked what I saw.
Step 5: Refrigerate and Remove The Parchment
Once your Candy Melt sail is looking perfectly shaped, place it in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes, or until it’s really firm to the touch. After your sail has set in the refrigerator, carefully remove the parchment paper backing and marvel at your creation.
I ended up breaking the sail apart to create some added dimension before placing the sails on top of my cake, so feel free to get creative with that part. You can leave it as one sail or create a series of smaller ones. Either way, adding them to your cake is as simple and carefully placing them into the buttercream on top.
And there you have it! A beautiful cake topper made with marbled Candy Melt sails.
Disclaimer: I was compensated by JOANN for my work of creating this project, styling, filming, photographing, and writing about their products. As always, all opinions are honest and my own. Thank you for supporting brands that support Sugar & Sparrow.
Hello, just wondering if there is a recipe for this cake?
Hi Zaria! I don’t have a recipe for this specific cake, but you can really use any recipe as the cake. For the buttercream, I used my favorite vanilla buttercream: https://sugarandsparrow.com/vanilla-buttercream-recipe/ and a combination of these two cake decorating techniques: ombre watercolor – https://sugarandsparrow.com/watercolor-buttercream-tutorial/ and the spatula textures from this tutorial – https://sugarandsparrow.com/painted-buttercream-cake-tutorial/ hope that helps!
Thankyou so much!
Yes it does:)
Hello! Did you use same chocolate to decorate all cake? I’m wondering if the colours around cake are made frome melted chocolate ☺️
Hi Patrycja! The colors around the side of the cake are made from buttercream mixed with gel pastes. Hope that helps!
Hi, please how do you place it on the cake for it to stay firm, mine keeps falling out especially for sugar sails
Hi Cynthia! I usually will puncture the top of the cake with a knife to make a place for the sail to go into, then press the sail in. If you need extra supports, you can always place a wooden skewer behind the sail as well.
Hi..For how long would it stay in the refrigerator ?
Hi Timmy! This will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks. You can also store it in a cool dark place (like your pantry), just like you would any kind of chocolate. Just make sure to place it in an airtight container if you plan on storing it for more than a day or two.
Hi
Will it melt after an hour? Can you use baking chocolate? Thank you
Hi Abi! It shouldn’t melt unless it’s in direct sunlight or in an environment hotter than melting point for a prolonged period of time. I have never tried this technique with baking chocolate but you can certainly try! I would just research how to temper baking chocolate so that when it dries it will be shiny and not dull. The reason I love using Candy Melts is you don’t have to temper them.
Thank you