Or is something seriously sinister going on here?

[modernmystery]

I had a fancy for dark chocolate covered corncakes last night. Went to Tesco and they only had chocolate rice cakes (meh). So I bought some plain corn cakes and some dark chocolate for some DIY. Melted the choc in the microwave on a flat plate, dipped the corncakes face down to coat them. Left them on a plate on the kitchen counter to dry for a few hours while I watched TV. The were 90% dry when I finally headed to bed (2am) so I popped the uncovered plate of corncakes in the fridge overnight.

Woke up this morning and got a bit of a shock to see these seriously creepy patterns on every single cake.

I'm utterly baffled and quite creeped out. I haven't seen any heavy, chocolaty-footed insects in the house (second floor flat in the middle of a city). I had a go at rationalising it in terms of differential rates of contraction of chocolate and corn causing cracking, but they don't snap along those lines if I break them. I ate a few and they taste fine (yummy actually). I've shown the pictures to everyone I can and no one has any idea what would have left precise double rows of dots in a meandering pattern on the surface of the chocolate, but the theories have left me wishing I hadn't eaten any :S

Can wise mums net shed any light on this mystery?

(P.S. Sorry if I'm being overly dramatic about this but I had a SERIOUS maggot bin incident a few days ago and I'm on my home on my own at the moment so feeling a bit squeamish at the thought of dealing with whatever might be behind this.)

OMG they look like teeny tiny footprints to me. Somewhere there is a teeny tiny bug trying to get dried chocolate off its feet. 😂

Ok maybe ls83 swiftly solved that for me and i can now go to sleep lol xx

Its those spiders dragging their willies again.

Google untempered chocolate patterns

I think it's happened because of the cracks you get in corn cakes between the popped bits. The chocolate has settled into a crack and so is deeper there. Therefore when it set it set more slowly and that bit has stayed in temper while the rest hasn't. Looks v weird though.

Yes, it’s the lack of tempering causing discolouration, it’s also why the chocolate looks matte rather than having a sheen. In all probability the chocolate doesn’t have any snap or crispness.

Perfectly edible

Could be woodlice - these are their track marks in sand...

I reckon it’s a woodlouse - the ricecake on the right has a bit where the trail loops over itself - that looks like a real right turning circle for a slug () plus if it was something long like a millipede it would crash into the back of itself beforehand completing the ‘loop’. Plus I found this photo googling woolice tracks... 👀

As a side note a woodlice live on average 2-4 years (I quite like them hence why I know but I’d like them less if I found them on my food especially chocolate)

Yep, lack of tempering. If it was a creepy crawly it would have to be able to jump pretty expertly to create those patterns!

Sorry cross posted you Tizzlebizzle

OP, on your photo with the 4 cakes together, had you moved them at all? Wondering if the tracks matched up (as they would if something had walked across them). Definitely looks like an insect though, my money would be on a woodlouse or some other kind of beetle scurrying along.

You must do a re-experiment please!

@thatwouldbeanecumenicalmatter I love we were both at googling woodlice tracks at the same time!

No idea but it looks so gross!! . Makes you feel queasy.

You should repeat the process and keep some in an airtight container in the the fridge and some on a plate again and see if there's a difference.

Slugs

LS83 is correct of course. But in this case OP I'd say spider willie.

You need to cut through them and see if the tracks correspond to the indentations on the surface of the corn cakes.

You just haven't tempered the chocolate. No bugs I promise.

alphajuliet123 They've been moved in the picture but I really don't think the tracks matched up when I found them this morning. Some cakes we piled on top of each other and the ones underneath had tracks too.

Ive no bloody idea but please: just buy cake like a normal person

can I just check OP have you licked it?

Could it be ants?
Only if they had massive shoes on

The chocolate looks like it has siezed. I think it was overheated, and the trails are from when it set.

It looks weird though.

you shouldn't rule out a spider dragging a massive schlong around

Ah, Mumsnet.

I have nothing useful to add except my thanks for inspiring me to drizzle melted chocolate onto rice cakes.

When you do the next batch, can you put some in a sealed box before they go in the fridge? If it is bugs there would have to be a few surely?

I'm intrigued!