Shave a Chocolate Bar for an Easy and Elegant Decoration
Sometimes the simplest decorations make the most beautiful desserts. The naked cake really relies on a minimal attempt at icing, and you can get away with decoratively inserting candy bars into your dessert. Here’s another decoration for your minimalist repertoire. It’s elegant, extremely versatile, and requires nothing more than a vegetable peeler. Shave a bar of chocolate to create chocolate curls and shavings.
Using this method for decorating is as simple as powdered sugar, but with a lot more flavor and a little more drama. In addition, you can always sprinkle it with powdered sugar. Shavings are smaller than curls, but they are made in the same way. Decide which shape you want first. If you are making small desserts such as cupcakes or individual mousses, shavings are best. If you are decorating the cake with a spoon , a more pronounced curl will suit you. The size of the curl depends on the temperature of your chocolate.
Take any plain chocolate bar (dark, milk or white chocolate) and a sharp vegetable peeler. (Chocolate bars with nuts, fruit, or other inclusions will spoil the shape.) Run the blade of a knife along the edge of the chocolate bar and tilt it toward the back of the bar to create a wider shape. Always shave directly over dessert or on a cold plate to prevent the chocolate chips from melting.
Chocolate contains enough cocoa butter, a saturated fat. This fat becomes brittle at low temperatures and flexible at high temperatures. For small chips, use a cold or room temperature chocolate bar up to 70°F. The pieces will be thinner and more likely to break due to the chilled fat. For medium shavings or small tight curls, briefly heat the razor edge of the bar with a mild external heat source. I turn on the burner on the stove and wave the chocolate over the source, or if my oven is on, I open the door and keep the chocolate warm for a few seconds. It only takes a minute; You don’t want the chocolate to start melting. For thick, vibrant curls, heat the chocolate in the microwave for about 10 seconds for thick bars and five seconds for thin bars. The microwave will gently heat the chocolate, but from the inside out, which means you can cut deeper into the chocolate and get thicker curls without breaking them.
These thin ribbons melt easily, so make sure the dessert you are decorating is completely cool before decorating, even if it is cold. You can also make a bowl of chocolate curls ahead of time and keep them in the fridge until you need them. Sprinkle toppings on cakes, puddings, custard or ice cream with a cold spoon or (quickly) with your fingertips.