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Finishing Touches
Appears in
Published 2024
Chocolate curls, leaves and piped shapes are simple to make and add a special touch to the final product. Here’s how to make them:
- Making chocolate curls – a simple way is to sweep a wide-bladed vegetable peeler over a block of chocolate. Keep the chocolate cool, or the curls will lose their shape. A slightly more complicated way is to spread melted chocolate over a marble slab, if you have one, or the back of a large metal baking tray. Leave to cool, and then slide a long-bladed knife along the surface of the chocolate to create a curl. This can take a little practise, but is very rewarding. You can use this technique with dark, milk or white chocolate, or a combination of two or more, which can look quite impressive.
- Making chocolate leaves – simply brush melted chocolate on the back of a clean, well-defined leaf and chill. When cold, simply peel off the leaf, leaving a delicate imprint of veins on the chocolate.
- Piping chocolate shapes and lines – you can pipe chocolate shapes with a fine nozzle on to baking paper – but don’t make them too delicate, or they will fall apart. Chill, then lift off as required. You can also randomly pipe lines of dark and white chocolate quite densely over baking paper, then set aside to chill, and break off pieces as required. This is a simple and effective method of decorating ice creams, mousses and meringues.