Chocolate Curls

choc sticks, originally uploaded by pearlyn83.

I finally managed to master the skill of making chocolate curls! Woohoo! I’ve often flipped through my recipe books and marveled at the way the authors could make their decorative stuff. Previously, I’ve attempted many times but was never close enough to making the right curls. I produced chocolate flakes more than chocolate curls! I was always dreaming of the day I’d be able to make the double coloured curls, eg milk/dark chocolate tinted with milk or other coloured chocolate. Finally, finally I did it! :p I’ve learnt that the setting of the chocolate to the right texture is the essential key. A lot of books say to set it to just set, but what exactly is just set? From what I gathered with my recent success, it means the texture when the chocolate is firm enough to press on without leaving an imprint but not hard like the texture of cadbury chocolate bars.

Firstly, melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Run a marble slab or a chopping board, preferably a glass one, under cold water for 1 minute. Dry it well and set aside. Spread a very thin layer of melted chocolate on the board. Allow it to set to the texture I mentioned above. I used a metal cake spreader to make the curls, but a knife will do as well. Slowly slide the spreader at about 45 degrees along the chocolate. If the chocolate is still a bit sticky, leave it as it still needs to set a bit more. If it is flaky, scrape everything up and redo as it has set too much. Repeat process till you’ve got enough curls. For tinted curls, spread a thin layer of either milk or dark/milk chocolate on the board. Use a fork to rake through the chocolate, forming small ridges. Spread a thin layer of the other colour on top of the first layer of chocolate. Allow it to set and make curls as above steps. You can tint the chocolate with colouring (powdered colouring, preferably) if you want other combination, eg chocolate coloured in pink with white chocolate curls are really pretty.