Sculpting Chocolate Pastry

SCULPT A CHOCOLATE PASTRY: Sculpt, bake and eat your own delicious pastry using packaged crescent dough and chocolate chips. The art in this project is the sculpting of the dough, the science is observing how heat changes the form of the chocolate and the dough. Eating the project is a tasty bonus.

HOW TO: 1. Take a triangle of pre-cut crescent dough and wrap chocolate chips inside or outside it. 2. Sculpt it into any shape. 3. Put it on a pan and bake according to package instructions.

HOW TO HAVE YOUR GROUP MAKE IT: 1. Put a paper towel or plate at each seat. 2. Put 8 chocolate chips on each towel or plate. 3. Have students wash or sanitize their hands and sit in their seat – no touching the chips! 4. Explain that this cooking project is an art and science project that will be good to eat. The science is what the heat does to the hard chocolate (melts it) and the dough (evaporates moisture and allows it to rise). The art is in sculpting the dough into different shapes. 5. Demonstrate wrapping 5-6 chocolate chips into a crescent shape. I then tell the students that because I am an artist I like to take it to another level and make interesting shapes. I demonstrate an elephant, an owl, a slug and finally, a ball with eyes. 6. Show the students how you place the shape on the pan and then use the paper and pen to make a chart show- ing whose pastry is whose. This is necessary because the heat of the oven will change the shape of the dough and this allows us to identify individual pastries. 7. Give each student a triangle of dough. Remind them not to knead (push in) the dough on their paper towel as it will stick. Urge them to make their creation in a timely manner as the dough will soften fast in their warm (but clean) hands. 8. Have students bring the pastry to you at the pan so you can write their name on the chart in the position that corresponds with their pastry on the pan. 9. Put the pan in the oven and bake according to instructions. 10. When the pastry is done, let them cool and pass them out. Do not eat until everyone has been served!





OTHER THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH THIS PROJECT: 1. You can make savory (not sweet) pastries by using cheese and lunch meat, we have used turkey, ham and salami. You can also make “pizza pockets” by using pizza sauce, cheese and pepperoni.

THE LESSON: This experiment integrates both science and art. The application of heat energy (from the oven) causes chocolate to melt into a liquid form much like heat melts ice. The chocolate molecules are still chocolate but they take a different form because of their temperature. Temperature also affects the pastry dough, causing it to rise and change form. The sculpting of the raw dough and chocolate is the art piece of this project.

PRESCHOOL VERSION: The first part of our edible science/art activity is sculpting the chocolate and dough. We do a secondary activity like block play indoors or game playing outdoors while we wait for our food to cook. As we eat the delicious pastry we talk about taste and heat and how fun it is to eat!