Tiger Candy Mold

A tiger candy mold turns melted chocolate, candy or fondant into a small tiger that can crown a cake, fill a gift box or disappear in two bites. The molds in this collection range from a whole tiger stretched out on a rocky ledge to a tiger head detailed down to the whiskers, and they include a press that shapes rice into a round animal face for a Japanese-style bento lunch.

A whole tiger at rest

The Chinese Tiger Chocolate Mold is the most sculptural piece in the range. Its pink mold holds a deep cavity, and the cast shown beside it in the photo is a full tiger lying on a rocky base, head raised and front paws reaching forward, with rough texture in the rock beneath. Because the shape has true depth rather than a flat outline, the finished tiger comes out like a small sculpture, at home on top of a cake or alone on a dessert plate.

Tiger heads in relief

The Greedy Tiger Cake Mold centers on a single tiger head facing forward: ears up, the stripes across the forehead picked out in fine ridges, whiskers fanning out from the muzzle and a ruff of fur around the cheeks. The mold itself is a pale, almost square block, and in its photo the finished head has been colored in antique bronze, which brings out every line of the fur. In chocolate, a relief like this catches the light on its high points and leaves the stripes in shadow.

The Tiger Silicone Mold: Head of the beast comes in three styles, listed in its options as Bengal Tiger head, Cute Cartoon Tiger and Tiger beast. The style pictured is a big cat head modeled in soft, rounded fur, ears pricked and expression calm, set into a round green mold. Silicone flexes away from a shape as it is released, which helps a deep relief come out whole, ears and muzzle included.

Tiger and his friends in a bento box

The Sushi Cake Mold Tiger and His Friends works with rice rather than chocolate. It is an orange press shaped like a rounded animal head with two round ears, set on a short handle, and it comes with three small pale plates of cut-out shapes: eyes, smiles, noses, little ovals and a few leaf-like pieces. In Japanese character bento, known as kyaraben, rice is pressed into a face and the features are cut from sheets of nori. Plates like these hold exactly that kind of feature, so the same round head can turn into a different animal depending on the eyes and mouth it is given.

What a tiger candy mold can hold

Chocolate is the classic filling. Chocolatiers temper it, warming and cooling it in steps so that it sets firm and glossy and shrinks very slightly as it cools, which is what allows a detailed figure to come cleanly out of its mold. Candy melts skip the tempering and come in many colors, which makes an orange tiger with dark stripes painted on afterward an easy project. Beyond chocolate, molds of this kind are widely used for fondant, marzipan and gum paste decorations, and for gummies set with gelatin.

Each filling shows the detail in its own way. Dark chocolate gives deep shadows in the stripes, white chocolate takes color well, and fondant holds a crisp edge under a brush of edible luster dust, one way to reach a metallic look like the bronze head in the Greedy Tiger Cake Mold photo.

Tiger cake mold or tiger chocolate mold?

The two names overlap, and the same mold often serves both purposes. A tiger chocolate mold is usually filled and left to set, giving a figure to eat on its own or to pack in a box. A tiger cake mold, in the sense used here, shapes a decoration that goes on a cake rather than the cake itself: a chocolate or fondant tiger head pressed onto frosting, or a small figure standing on the top tier. The chocolate and cake molds in this collection all shape single figures and faces, which is exactly the kind of piece that finishes a cake.

Birthdays and the Year of the Tiger

Tigers are a long-standing favorite for birthday cakes, and a sculpted head or a resting tiger turns a frosted sponge into a jungle scene. The animal also has a place in the calendar. In the Chinese zodiac, the Year of the Tiger returns every twelve years, and Lunar New Year treats are often decorated with the animal of the year, so a chocolate tiger fits that tradition well. For a party with a theme, our tiger mask collection adds carnival, cartoon and white tiger masks to the celebration.

A present for anyone who bakes

A mold is a small, practical gift for a baker or candy maker who loves tigers, and it pairs well with a tiger mug, whether a watercolor portrait or a mug shaped like the animal's head. For more presents built around the same animal, our top 10 tiger gift ideas covers choices for adults and children. Molds and mugs both sit within our tiger accessories collection, next to keychains, masks, patches and backpacks.

Answers about the molds

Which mold makes a whole tiger?

The Chinese Tiger Chocolate Mold, which shapes a full tiger lying on a rocky ledge. Of the designs pictured, it is the only full figure; the others shape heads and faces.

Is there a cartoon tiger?

Yes. Cute Cartoon Tiger is one of the three styles offered for the Tiger Silicone Mold: Head of the beast, alongside Bengal Tiger head and Tiger beast.

Can the molds be used for rice?

The Sushi Cake Mold Tiger and His Friends is the one made for rice, with its round press and plates of cut-out features. The others are shaped for chocolate, candy and cake decorations.