No matter what kind of desserts you like to bake, decorating them with chocolate is a great way to elevate homemade desserts or personalize baked goods. Even if you’ve peeked into the windows of the fanciest pastry shops, you can still do it.
You’ll find that it’s easy to prepare a delicious meal that will wow your family and friends. In fact, it’s so easy you’ll wonder why you haven’t been doing it all along!
This guide will show you five classic chocolate decorating techniques, including chocolate curls and ganache, that you can use to give any dessert a finishing touch. These techniques are easy, yet elegant, so they’ll add just the right amount of decadence to your desserts.
5 Way Decorate Desserts With Chocolate
Tips for success
If you love bake and cook, you will love these chocolate recipes. They’re all super easy to make, and most of them only require a quick trip to the freezer. You can decorate the chocolate, too, if you work quickly.
If you’re cooking or heating chocolate, it’s best to stir and check it every 10 seconds. You don’t want to risk overheating chocolate.
It’s important to keep your bowls, spatulas, and squeeze bottles absolutely dry while melting chocolate. You don’t want any water in your melted chocolate.
Get More Can You Freeze No-Bake Cheesecake?
When it comes to choosing the right chocolate for cooking and baking, there are many different types of chocolates to choose from. Some are good for cooking, others for baking, but which ones are best?
1. Chocolate Curls
Chocolate curls are my favorite decoration for desserts, especially when they’re made from milk chocolate. They come in different sizes, and can be used to top many different desserts.
Place your vegetable peeler on either the broad side or the short side of the chocolate bar as seen below. Start running the peeler gently across the chocolate and you’ll get larger curls or smaller curls depending on which side you use.
Check Out Crucial Tips To Avoid Baking Disasters At Home
These are perfect for decorating any dessert you like.
Try using a larger piece of the chocolate when you start peeling the chocolate. Experiment with different sizes to find the right one for you.
2. Chocolate Shards
You can use shards as another decoration for cakes, cookies and cupcakes. They’re easy to use and come in various colors, making them perfect for almost any type of dessert.
A bûche de Noël is a perfect way to add a touch of holiday cheer to your tree. Chocolate bark is easy to make and looks so realistic it will be hard to tell the difference from real bark.
Place the parchment paper over the baking sheet.
Get Out Smart Pivots For When You’ve Broken A Cake
Melt the chocolate in 10-second increments in the microwave, then spread it out onto the parchment lined baking sheet.
You want to wait until the chocolate is hard to the touch before working with it. Then work quickly.
The best chocolate for dipping is dark chocolate. It’s much more delicious than milk chocolate. You’ll hear and feel the chocolate crunching and breaking apart.
You’ll get the best results if you use your hands to cut your chocolate shards. If they’re too large, you can break them into smaller pieces by hand.
That’s true for any tool. Some people use them for one thing and others for another.
3. Writing with Melted Chocolate
It’s hard to make shapes with chocolate. But when you use melted chocolate it’s much easier than using premade icing tubes to write with. melted chocolate is are an easy way to decorate desserts with chocolate.
Put the baking sheet in the oven and bake it for about 30 minutes.
Once the chocolate is melted, add the chocolate chips to the bowl. Stir until the chips are coated with chocolate.
The melted chocolate will drip down the side of the plastic bottle. You can easily remove this with a spatula. Then, gently squeeze the chocolate out of the bottle to create your words and shapes.
If you want to improve your writing look, print out some designs or drawings and trace them on the parchment paper. Then you can use this parchment paper to trace your design onto the writing surface.
Get More Why Using A Bread Box Is A Good Idea
Chocolate drips easily, so it’s always a good idea to use a piece of waxed paper under the writing or printing.
Freezing the baking sheet with your writing will make it stiff enough that you can use a thin, clean spatula to remove the chocolate from the parchment paper and use it to decorate.
4. Chocolate Nests
Chocolate Nests is an effective way to decorate desserts with chocolate. I’ve always wanted to make chocolate nests, but never had the patience or the right tools. Until now! I made these for my daughter’s birthday party and they were a huge hit! They are perfect for any occasion.
Nesting boxes are an awesome and inexpensive gift to give to your child this holiday season. You can use any of the above-mentioned items in the nests, or just use plain old wooden blocks.
The first thing you should do is wrap the outside of your bowl with a sheet of parchment paper. The parchment paper will keep the bowl’s shape when you turn it over.
Pour the melted chocolate into the cooled baking pan. Sprinkle the pecans on top of the melted chocolate and use a spatula to press the nuts down slightly.
Check Out Why Is Red Velvet Cake The Color Red?
Place the melted chocolate in the plastic bottle. Use the spatula to spread it out in circles and cross patterns as seen below. This creates the nest.
Freeze the bowl for 20-30 minutes, then turn it upside down, carefully cradling the bowl in one hand and pulling away the bowl and the parchment paper with the other.
Place the cupcake pan onto the baking sheet. Fill the cupcakes with whatever fruit or candies you like.
5. Ganache Glaze
Ganache Glaze is the best option for decorate desserts with chocolate. Baking is something anyone can do. You just need the right equipment, ingredients, and some practice. My advice is to start small with your first few batches and work your way up. You’ll be amazed at how easy it is to make the perfect homemade chocolate chip cookies.
Chocolate and cream are the most common ingredients you’ll find at your local grocery store. However, it’s not hard to create ganache, and it only requires two everyday ingredients: chocolate and cream. And, you can use ganache in so many different ways such as filling homemade chocolates, whipped ganache frosting, and cake glazes.
Stir the melted chocolate chips into the whipped cream. It should be thick and smooth. Spoon the mixture into cups or small bowls and serve immediately.
Place the bowl on a trivet in the middle of the table, and cover it with a lid or plate for 10 minutes to let the hot cream melt the chocolate.
After 10 minutes, remove the lid and whisk the ganache mixture into a smooth consistency. If any unmelted chips remain, just pour the ganache mixture into a microwave-safe bowl and reheat in 5-second intervals until it can be whisked into a smooth mixture.
Allow the ganache to cool slightly before pouring over a cake. Pour the ganache slowly over the center of your cake, working your way around the entire cake. You may want to do this over a wire rack to prevent the excess ganache from pooling on the sides.
After you’ve made chocolate mousse, you can use any leftover chocolate mixture to make another fun dessert.
Chocolate decorations are an easy way to make desserts the talk of the town. Whether you’re new to the kitchen or a seasoned home chef, these fun decorations will get your desserts noticed.
Conclusion
There are many easy ways to decorate desserts with chocolate. This is a versatile sweet treat from ganache to chocolate shavings that will always make any dessert look that much better! So next time you’re in the mood for something sweet, grab some of your favorite chocolate and get creative!
So next time you’re in the mood for something sweet, grab some of your favorite chocolate and get creative!