How to Make Shaved Chocolate

Shaved chocolate is an attractive garnish for many different desserts. It is often called for in sweet recipes, such as cakes and pies. You can make your own shaved chocolate at home using a vegetable peeler. With this method, you can make as few or as many chocolate shavings as necessary for any recipe.

Things You'll Need

• Waxed or parchment paper
• Square of semisweet or sweet chocolate
• Vegetable peeler
• Bowl (optional)

Instructions

1. Prepare an area to make shaved chocolate. Lay down a large piece of waxed or parchment paper on a flat working surface such as a table or counter top. The paper will catch the chocolate shavings as you make them.

2. Remove a large square of semisweet or sweet chocolate from its packaging, and hold it in your non-dominant hand.

3. Use a vegetable peeler to gently scrape shavings off the chocolate square using your other hand. Allow the pieces of chocolate to fall onto the wax or parchment paper as you shave.

4. Continue shaving the chocolate until you have as much as you need for your recipe, and then lift the paper from the working surface by picking up two opposite sides. This will cause all the shavings to move to the center of the paper.

5. Transfer the shaved chocolate to a bowl or add it directly to your dish as necessary. Refrigerate any unused shavings in a covered dish until ready to use.

Tips & Warnings

• If waxed or parchment paper is unavailable, you can shave the chocolate directly into a bowl or onto a plate. If you don't have a vegetable peeler available, you can use a cheese grater. Simply grate the chocolate square as you would a block of cheese, allowing the shaved chocolate to fall onto the paper.

References

• Book: The Way We Cook: Recipes from the New American Kitchen; Sheryl Julian, Julie Riven; 2003