Chocolate Curls (Cigarettes)

Chocolate curls take a bit of practice to master. One thing to remember is that the ideal room temperature for chocolate work is approximately 68°F(20°C). The more the temperature varies from this figure in either direction, the harder it will be to work with the chocolate. Waiting until the chocolate is just the right consistency to curl is the key. If it is too soft, it will just smear and stick to the knife instead of curling. If this happens, wait a few seconds until it has set further. If that does not help—if the room and/or the surface are too warm—briefly place a chilled sheet pan on top. If it has set too hard, the chocolate will break when you try to curl it. Use a hair dryer to soften it (be careful when using this technique with tempered chocolate) or, provided you have spread the chocolate thin enough, you can warm it by rubbing your hand over the top as you work your way down the strip. If you are using a knife rather than a palette knife, a long slicing knife is preferable to a chef’s knife because its width is uniform throughout a greater portion of its length. The blade of a chef’s knife is more tapered, giving you a smaller area to work with. A caulking spatula or a bench scraper work well also.