How to Make Chocolate Curls

Make chocolate curls to add a gourmet touch to desserts. You can add a few as a garnish, or decorate with different colors and sizes to embellish homemade or store bought treats.

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Using a Knife

Melt the chocolate. Pour approximately one cup of water into a double boiler or saucepan. Melt one cup of chocolate or a large chocolate bar slowly on low heat over the boiler, or in a heat-safe bowl that can be placed on top of a saucepan.

Stir constantly once the chocolate begins to melt. Do not overheat the chocolate or allow water droplets to get into your mixture or your batch will be ruined.

Remove chocolate from the heat just before it is completely melted. Stir thoroughly. The chocolate should be smooth. Allow the chocolate to slightly cool.

Place a sheet of waxed paper on top of a baking sheet. Pour the cooled chocolate mixture onto the waxed paper, being careful not to pour too fast. Spread the chocolate out thinly using a spatula or the backside of a spoon.

Pick up the baking sheet and gently tap a few times on a flat surface to release any air bubbles.

Allow the chocolate to sit until hardened. This should take about 20 minutes. Place the sheet of chocolate into the refrigerator or freezer for faster cooling.

Place the cooled sheet on a steady, non-slip surface.

Take the blade of a long knife and put it at the end of your chocolate sheet. Scrape the knife carefully towards you, forming chocolate curls with the blade. To make chocolate curls using a pastry scraper or spatula, push the utensil away from you until a curl forms.

Vary the way you scrape to make chocolate curls of different sizes. Scrape long and steady going all the way down the sheet of chocolate for larger curls, or scrape in a shorter motion for smaller curls. Scrape the chocolate at various angles to make an assortment of curls.

Lift the curls carefully with a utensil such as a serving fork, skewer, or toothpick. Transfer them to your dish or dessert.

Using a Rolling Pin

Prepare the rolling pin. Wrap a sheet of waxed paper around your rolling pin. Attach the paper to the rolling pin with scotch tape, or place rubber bands on both ends of the rolling pin to keep the paper down. Prepare a surface underneath with a large sheet of waxed paper to catch any dripping chocolate.

Make the curls. Scoop up some melted chocolate using a ladle, a large spoon, or a cup. Or pour into a pastry bag for greater precision. Pour a small amount of the chocolate slowly onto the rolling pin. Continue to drip the chocolate along the rolling pin in a zig-zag motion.

Let the chocolate sit on the rolling pin until almost hardened.

Leave to set. Carefully remove the chocolate from the rolling pin. Place onto a dish covered in waxed paper and place the dish in the fridge or freezer until set. Use immediately, or store in a ziploc bag in the freezer until needed.

Using a Vegetable Peeler

Find a slab of good quality chocolate. 50%-70% cacao will do. You may need to chill the chocolate for several hours in the refrigerator before shaving. If you try to use room temperature chocolate for chocolate curls you will end up with thick, broken, chunky pieces of chocolate instead of thin, delicate shavings.
- Wrapped blocks of chocolate can be found at most grocery and specialty stores. Regular bars of chocolate will not work as they are too soft.

Master the peeling technique. Hold the bar of chocolate in one hand -- you may want to hold it in a piece of paper towel to stop the bar from melting in your hand. Slowly and carefully, use the peeler to shave along the length of the bar to form pretty chocolate curls.
- Pressing the peeler deeper into the chocolate will result in bigger, more dramatic curls, while drawing it gently across the edges will produce smaller, more delicate curls.

Finished.

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Reuse the extra chocolate left on your waxed paper. Scrape it off and place into a sealed container to be melted again or chopped and sprinkled onto desserts.

Refrigerate unused chocolate curls for later use in a container where they will not break. In addition to desserts, they can be put on top of muffins, granola, yogurt, or fruit.

For assorted colored chocolate curls, use milk, dark and white chocolate. Use quality chocolate for the best tasting curls.

Keep the curls cold so they don't melt. Use a chilled container to keep the curls on or store in the refrigerator until you are ready to decorate with them.