How to Decorate With Chocolate Leaves

Make your own chocolate leaves from mint leaves for a twist on a traditional garnish.

Chocolate leaves are an elegant addition to desserts. Making the leaves yourself gives you the freedom to choose the style of leaf you want. For instance, accent a citrus dessert with chocolate leaves made from orange leaves, or use mint as the mold for chocolate leaves to top a grasshopper pie or mint ice cream. Make a large supply of chocolate leaves and keep the extras in the freezer to have on hand for adding an edible garnish to your desserts. Does this Spark an idea?

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12 organically-grown leaves (mint, citrus leaves, fruit leaves)
Paper towels
Wax paper-lined baking sheet
2 oz. chopped chocolate
Microwave-safe bowl
Small, metal spatula

Instructions

- 1
  
  Rinse the leaves and pat them dry on paper towels. Arrange the leaves on a wax paper-lined baking sheet with the protruding veins facing up and 2 inches of space on all sides.
- 2
  
  Melt the chocolate on medium-high power in a microwave-safe bowl in several 30 second intervals until melted. Stir the chocolate between heating intervals for even melting.
- 3
  
  Dip the metal spatula into the melted chocolate and spread it over each leaf to cover the leaf with a 1/8 inch thickness of chocolate.
- 4
  
  Chill the chocolate leaves for 15 minutes in the refrigerator.
- 5
  
  Peel the leaf away from the chocolate. Return the chocolate leaves to the wax paper baking sheet. Reuse the real leaves again, up to three times.
- 6
  
  Refrigerate or freeze the chocolate until completely hardened. Store the chocolate leaves in an air-tight container either in the freezer for up to six months or in the refrigerator for up to one week.
- 7
  
  Arrange the chocolate leaves on either chilled desserts or room temperature desserts in cold environments right before serving. The chocolate leaves melt easily and should not be used on hot desserts or under hot lamps. Do not add them to a dessert too early in a hot kitchen.
- 8
  
  Scatter chocolate leaves around the base of a cake. Garnish a scoop of ice cream with a chocolate leaf or two instead of a mint sprig. Place the chocolate leaves under fondant or frosting flowers on cakes or desserts.

"Culinary Concepts: 100 Recipes and Tips for the Home Chef"; Judith Baigent; 2007
"Organic and Chic: Cakes, Cookies, and Other Sweets That Taste as Good as They Look"; Sarah Magid, et al.; 2009
"The Little Black Book of Chocolate: The Essential Guide to New & Old Confections"; Barbara Bloch Benjamin; 2003