Perfect Chocolate Curls
Total Steps
10
Ingredients
1
Tools Needed
6
Ingredients
- 1 bar chocolate bars (3-4 ounce, about ¼ inch thick, unwrapped, semisweet, white, milk or bittersweet)
Instructions
Step 1
To prepare chocolate bars for curling, you need to warm them to just the right temperature, where the edges give slightly to gentle fingertip pressure. White and milk chocolate curl most readily; dark chocolate can be finicky. You have two options for warming: microwave or conventional oven.
Step 2
If using a microwave (use a regular oven if your microwave is 500 watts or less, as lower-wattage microwaves can heat unevenly): Place the chocolate bar, scored side down, on a sheet of cooking parchment or foil, uncovered. Warm at full power (100%) for 15 seconds, then check. Continue warming for 5 seconds at a time until the edges give slightly to gentle fingertip pressure. Total time will vary depending on microwave wattage and chocolate type.
Step 3
If using a conventional oven: Place the chocolate bar on foil on an oven rack in a 150°F oven until the edges give slightly to gentle fingertip pressure.
Step 4
If the chocolate becomes too soft during warming, allow it to cool for a few minutes.
Step 5
Set the warmed chocolate bar on parchment paper or foil on a counter. Align a long side of the bar with the counter edge, allowing the paper or foil to hang over the edge. Stand with your hip to the counter and gently hold the end of the chocolate bar closest to you with one hand.
Step 6
With your other hand, hold a flexible-blade vegetable peeler perpendicular to the chocolate bar's edge. Rest the blade on the opposite end of the bar. Firmly and evenly, pull the peeler toward you along the bar to peel off chocolate and create curls.
Step 7
If a chocolate strip splays out instead of curling, neaten it with your fingers. Some curls will wrap around themselves, while others may break off in short sections.
Step 8
Using the tip of the peeler, lift each curl and transfer it to a flat surface to cool and firm. Turn the paper 180 degrees and repeat the curling process from the opposite long side of the bar. As the chocolate bar becomes thin, it may break; simply pull the peeler over smaller pieces.
Step 9
If the chocolate becomes too firm to curl smoothly, or if it firms up while you are working, rewarm it in a microwave oven at full power (100%) for 5-10 seconds at a time, or in a conventional oven at 150°F for 30 seconds.
Step 10
Save any chocolate scraps for other uses. If chocolate curls are made ahead, store them airtight for up to 1 week.