Just Baking

Some time ago, we had to put “les petits plats dans les grands”; oh yes, my partner’s mum was coming with half the family in tow and some friends of hers. I agreed to cook the main while He would do dessert. I was impressed with the result. Ain’t these chocolate curls just the cutest? They happen to sit on a chocolate cheesecake. Don’t tell my friend Pat, but the cheesecake itself is sitting on Pat’s birthday present, a cake stand that I had not had time to wrap up yet. I am really glad that cake stands are back in fashion; they make such a smart addition to a table - but let’s stop babbling. With the holidays and the constant comings and goings, I bet that you might need the curls technique to impress too.     

For these chocolate curls

For the chocolate curls, melt 150g (5oz) of  chocolate. There are 2 ways to do that.

1) In a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water, or 

2) Boil 1/2 cup of water, put the chocolate in a bowl, and pour the water over the chocolate. The chocolate will melt and the water will stay on the top. Discard the water.  

Then pour the chocolate onto the base of the plate or a baking tray to form an even layer about ¼ inch (5 mm) thick, and place the plate into the fridge to chill and set for 45 minutes (the chocolate should be hard enough that if you press the surface it shouldn’t leave an indentation – but without being rock hard). Then, using either a large-bladed knife held with both hands or a cheese slicer, pull the blade across the chocolate, pressing down slightly. As the blade comes toward you (careful!), the chocolate will form curls (if the chocolate is too hard, it will be brittle and will break rather than forming curls, in which case leave at room temperature for 5 minutes before trying again). You probably won’t need all these curls; they keep in a sealed container in the fridge until you need them. You can also melt them again for another recipe or . . . eat them.

Inspired from Deliaonline.com