Making chocolate shavings are super easy to make and will dress up your cakes, cupcakes, cheesecakes, ice cream — anything! All you need is some good quality chocolate and a vegetable peeler.
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Eye-catching. Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting is so decadent and delicious. But, let’s face it, visually, it’s a little flat. Chocolate shavings add dimension and depth to your cake to make it even more tempting.
Chocolate crunch. If you’re serving pudding, mousse, ice cream, or anything soft, it’s nice to add the textural crunch with chocolate shavings.
So easy and gratifying. It’s kind of fun just getting into the zone and shaving away a big hunk of chocolate. Plus, you can do a bunch in advance, store it in the freezer, and you’re already ahead of the game next time you want to add chocolate shavings to your creations.
How to Make Chocolate Shavings
It’s so easy, all you need is a room temperature chocolate bar and a vegetable peeler.
If you’re going after a shorter cuts, like a jagged splinter of chocolate, you may want to refrigerate the chocolate first. Warmer chocolate will give you longer curls.
Prepare a plate, pan, or other surface with a layer of wax paper or parchment paper so you can catch your chocolate shavings -- and move them around, as needed.
Hold the chocolate bar in one hand, at a bit of an angle, and a vegetable peeler in the other. Then using long, even strokes, run the vegetable peeler along the side of the chocolate bar.
How to Make Chocolate Shavings [VIDEO]
How to Make Chocolate Shavings
Equipment
- Vegetable Peeler
- Waxed paper or parchment paper
Ingredients
- 3.5 ounce chocolate bar
Instructions
- Prepare a plate, pan, or other surface with a layer of wax paper or parchment paper so you can catch your chocolate shavings -- and move them around, as needed.
- Hold the chocolate bar in one hand, at a bit of an angle, and a vegetable peeler in the other. Using long, even strokes, run the vegetable peeler along the side of the chocolate bar.
- Place your chocolate shavings in the refrigerator until you are ready to use them.
- Any leftover chocolate shavings or curls can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator or freezer.
- A 3.5 ounce bar should produce almost one cup of chocolate shavings.
Nutrition
How to Store Chocolate Shavings
Place your chocolate shavings in a covered container in the refrigerator until you are ready to use them.
Any leftover chocolate shavings or curls can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator or freezer.
Start with room temperature chocolate. Not melted, of course, but it should be very soft. Then slowly run your vegetable peeler along the length of the chocolate bar in an even motion to create long ribbons of chocolate. They will be very delicate. To keep from breaking them, use a toothpick to move them around.
You can use any kind of chocolate. White, dark, milk -- it's up to you! To make shavings, make sure that the chocolate is room temperature, so not warm and not cold. If you're looking for more jagged splinters, put the chocolate in the refrigerator. To make long ribbons, use warm chocolate.
The short answer is you're going to pat them on with your hand.
Here's how.
First, start with a cake with frosting that hasn't yet hardened or set. Then be sure that your chocolate shavings that are pretty cold. Although you'll be working quickly, you don't want them to melt in your hand.
Place strips of parchment or waxed paper around your cake so you can catch the chocolate shavings that don't stick to the sides.
Then, fill the cup of your hand with chocolate shavings and pat it onto the side of the cake. Press lightly, but enough to get them to stick onto the cake. Be careful not to smudge the frosting. So the more shavings you can fit into your hand, the better it will be.
If you can tilt the cake a little bit, that will help. But you might not be able to. You'll get there, just keep filling up your hand and carefully patting the chocolate shavings onto the cake.
Use a pastry brush to brush off the fallen chocolate shavings, then remove the strips of parchment or waxed paper.
Fun Recipes That Could Use a Little Extra Chocolate
Recipe Essentials
KitchenAid Y Peeler
Y peelers are super handy. Easy to hold onto, you can slide it back and forth along a carrot to make the most of your elbow grease -- and best of all, you can make chocolate shavings with it!
Parchment Paper Sheets
Curly parchment paper, be darned. These sheets are straight and flat and pre-cut and super convenient. If you can't find them in your area stores, you can always find them, of course, on Amazon.
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