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Chocolate – whether dark or light, bitter or sweet –
is a treat considered to have come to Earth from the heaven as a
gift from the gods. And indeed it is one of the most popular gift
items the world over, at every occasion.
I have yet to meet a person who doesn't drool over
chocolate and most people are ready to cheat on their diet for a
chance to bite into this delicious delight. Some days ago, I found
that a chocolate decoration workshop was taking place. So the moment
I found out that there's a demonstration of chocolate decorations
for cakes and desserts, I picked up the phone and made my
reservations. I can make some decent tasting and looking cakes but
the picture-perfect stuff that culinary experts come up with are
beyond my capabilities. A pastry chef's trade secrets had to be
learnt.
Armed with a notebook and pen, I arrived at the
hotel where the Executive Chef, Guido Scarpellino, and his team were
ready to show us how culinary masterpieces are created. Initially,
the Chef traced the history of chocolate, and discussed some of its
characteristics and properties. Then came the part when the first
chocolate leaf was made and we were asked if any of us would like to
try doing it for ourselves.
The demonstration included the making of chocolate
leaves, cups, various cut out shapes, chocolate curls, flakes and
different icing designs using both chocolate and butter icing. The
chef also showed us how floral and other shapes can be created from
chocolate. Guido is not only an expert at his craft, but he is also
a great teacher who gave us many helpful hints about how to handle
chocolate and repeated the demonstrations as many times as we asked
him to.
Like its true of a lot of other things, practice
is what one needs to be able to work well with chocolate and get the
desired result. The quality of cooking chocolate also plays an
important part in it so one has to make sure one buys a well-reputed
brand, otherwise a lesser quality cooking chocolate will just mess
things up. The choice of a dark, light or white chocolate for use
totally depends on individual preferences. To be able to have your
cake decked up lavishly with pretty chocolate decorations, there is
just one thing that you need to take care of – your urge just to
devour the chocolate yourself!!
Here are some tips for working with chocolate:
- Do not substitute cocoa for chocolate if a
recipe demands you to use chocolate.
- Do not melt chocolate directly over heat as it
burns very quickly. Break the chocolate up and place the pieces in a
small bowl, or on a plate, set over a pan filled with gently
simmering water so that the chocolate does not get too hot. Leave it
to melt without stirring. Use as directed in the recipes.
- To cool any chocolate decorations that you are
making, avoid putting it in the freezer as the chocolate is likely
to ‘sweat’. It is better to cool it in the fridge or outside.
Here are techniques for making Simple Chocolate
Curls and Chocolate Leaves
Chocolate Curls
To make simple curls, the chocolate should be at
room temperature. Shave off long silvers using a vegetable peeler or
a knife.
For a more professional look, melt the chocolate
in a bowl set over simmering water.
Let it cool for one minute. Then pour it on to a
slightly oiled work top and spread it out thinly with a spatula to
3mm.
Leave to cool and when it is on the point of
setting, hold a long sharp knife upright, with a hand at either end,
and pull it towards you with a gentle sawing action.
Let the curls on a baking sheet to harden.
Store between sheets of grease-proof paper in an
air-tight tin.
Chocolate Leaves
You can use small leaves of any shape that you
desire to make chocolate leaves.
Wash the leaves and dry them.
In a bowl of steaming, NOT boiling water, melt the
chocolate.
Coat one side of the leave either by using a brush
or by dragging each leaf over the chocolate.
Place on a plate to cool, in the refrigerator if
you like, with the coated side up.
After an interval of 10-15 minutes, coat the
leaves once or twice more with chocolate, allowing it to cool each
time.
Multiple layers of chocolate make the leaves
harder and easier to work with.
After the chocolate is hard again, gently peel off
the leaf, starting from the stem end of it.
There you will have lovely chocolate leaves,
complete with veins.
Use it to decorate the cake in any way you please.
About The Author
Rosie Shaw runs her Cooking and Free Recipes website
Cook-It-All.com.
She also writes Free Cooking, Health and Food Articles.
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