How to Make Chocolate Designs for Decorating Desserts

Chocolate designs for decorating desserts give a gourmet look to your baking with surprisingly little work. Chocolate curls and chocolate leaves are good for decorating the tops of cakes and cupcakes. You can add to the appeal, with no extra work, by purchasing a chocolate transfer sheet. Available online and at fine baking stores, chocolate transfer sheets provide ready-to-apply artistic designs created out of chocolate.

Things You'll Need

• 1 bar of chocolate, room temperature (semisweet or milk)
• 1 tsp. vegetable shortening
• Vegetable peeler
• Saucepan
• Baking pan
• Metal spatula
• Mint leaves
• Paintbrush, small
• Tweezers

Instructions

Chocolate Curls

1. Hold the bar of chocolate in one hand over a clean surface such as a cutting board. Pull the vegetable peeler gently across the surface of the chocolate to create chocolate curls.

2. Run the peeler across the sides of the chocolate bar to create smaller curls.

3. Create large chocolate curls by melting the chocolate bar in a saucepan with one tsp. of shortening. Pour the melted mixture into a large, flat baking pan and allow it to solidify. Run a metal spatula across the surface to create large chocolate curls.

Mint Chocolate Leaves

1. Chop off a quarter section of your chocolate bar and melt it, in a bowl, on low heat in the microwave. Pick up a mint leaf with your tweezers.

2. Dip the paintbrush in the melted chocolate. Apply the chocolate to the leaf carefully but quickly until you completely cover one side. Repeat with the other leaves.

3. Set the leaves aside to let the chocolate harden, about 10 minutes.

4. Pull the mint leaf away from the chocolate coating gently with the tweezers. The chocolate should have taken on the appearance of the leaf.

References

• Better Homes and Gardens: Chocolate Curls
• Martha Stewart: Chocolate Mint Leaves