Edible Numbers with Sprinkles

I have a new silicone number mold that I've been wanting to try out. (Affiliate link here and below). I made a set of chocolate numbers featuring the various sprinkles I had on hand. Each number is approximately 2" tall. Aren't they pretty?!

I'm glad they turned out so well in the end because I had major difficulties getting there. I thought it would work to fill each well in the mold with sprinkles, then pour the chocolate on top. Surely this would result in beautiful, sprinkle-covered numbers, right?  

Nope. Not at all. Total fail. 

Fortunately, I kept at it (skipping the lollipop sticks in case more trials failed, which they did) and eventually hit on a technique that worked perfectly. Read on for what did work. 

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Edible Numbers with Sprinkles

Materials:

• silicone number mold
• cocoa Candy Melts
• precision heat gun
• gold sprinkles
• red, pink, and white sprinkles
• star sprinkles
• silver pearlized sugar sprinkles
• rainbow confetti sprinkles

Steps: 

Melt the candy according to the package directions. Fill the mold with melted candy. Gently drop the mold from a few inches off the table to bring any bubbles to the top. Insert lollipop sticks, if desired. Let the candy set up completely. 

Carefully remove the numbers from the mold and set them on individual pieces of parchment paper. Working with one number at a time, hold the heat gun over the number until the top is shiny. It takes only a second. (If you hold the heat over it for too long, you'll melt the whole number. If that happens, put the melted candy back in the mold and try again.) Apply the sprinkles to the shiny chocolate. Let the candy harden completely while you move on to another number.  

Obviously, you can use whatever sprinkles you want. I tried a bunch of different ones to see what results I could get. I think the most successful are the chunky silver (1), the tiny nonpareils (3), the gold variety (5), and the rainbow stars (6). The jimmies (4 and 9) were fine; I had to trim the excess off the edges after the candy had set, so there's an extra step. While I like the effect, the rainbow confetti (8) was the most challenging to place without actually touching the chocolate. The fine sanding sugar (7) was my least favorite, at least on the chocolate base I used. The color would probably show up much better on a white number.   

So what am I doing with my set of numbers? Most of them will just be a random dessert option for whoever wants them, but I am doing something special with the 5 and the 0 that I made to match it. 

They will go on my birthday cake tomorrow. Yep, I'm celebrating 50 on March 12, 2022! I'm so excited for this milestone.