Is there a special type of chocolate you need to use in order to make curls? I did a trial run, and melted some Wilton white choc melts I had. I've seen the videos, and while I know that the chocolate is supposed to curl up as I use the spatula against it, no one seems to have told the chocolate this. It just gums up on the spatula. I've tried scraping it at a few minutes after spreading it, and at 10 minutes after, and just gum. What am I doing wrong? I need these curls tonight!

Have you watched Alice Medrich's video on PBS? She chills the melted chocolate after she spreads it thin, then curls. Not to say that I can do this , but.......

http://video.pbs.org/video/1174161648/

Yeah, I saw on Food Network Challenge last week that the guy chilled it for an hour and then scraped it...

It helps to have it poured on marble/granite type slab as well as chilling.

I tried using the wilton melts before too. Never got a curl out of them, some shreds that's about it. I ended up aborting the idea. IF you find something that works, I'd love to hear about it.

I take the chocolate chunks and put them 10 seconds in the microwave and add seconds at the time as needed until the cheese slicer cuts them in long stripes that curl. Maybe you will need a bit of practice but once you get the hang of it, they are spectacular! Don't despair and have a bit of patience!

I've seen about 6 videos on this. Two of the videos used a large baking sheet instead of a marble counter top. That's what I tried. Maybe it's the wilton melts, I don't know. I'll try something else this evening after work. I saw another video where they melted the chocolate, and put it in a pan to form a new block of chocolate. Removed it from the pan, and on the edge of the chocolate block, pulled a vegetable peeler down the side. I'll try that, too, as I have the block of chocolate setting. However, it's still from Wilton melts, so I don't know if it'll work or not.............

I did this and got some ok curls, not bad for my first time.

I got a box of Baker's White chocolate, melted it and reformed into a solid block then ran a veggie peeler along the edges. You'll have to experiment with different pressures and angles but I was able to get some nice curls.

Whenever the block got too warm I'd throw it back in the fridge for about 15 minutes. Maybe have 2 blocks to work with so one can always be chilling.

I saw that style on a video: thanks for re-affirming it works! I'll give it a shot!

You need to make sure the chocolate is VERY thin on the surface for this to work. And the best tool around is available from Norm Davis. The Sweet Life has the best curler around.

I didn't even know that Norm Davis sold tools. I'll check this out.

I've done this twice with success both times. I used compound chocolate (meaning it doesn't actually contain any cocoa), and added some vegetable shortening into it. Though I've recently learned that the shortening we use here is a LOT harder than crisco, so I'm not sure if this would help or hinder you if you area crisco user.

I used marble both times, and the trick is to wait until it's inbetween the soft state and the set state. If you wait too long, it won't curl at all. I have since thought that it would have been a good idea to get the hairdryer onto it once it was too hard, but I've never tried it.

I wasn't successful. I made a block of chocolate by melting white chips. After it set somewhat (still soft), I removed it from the tin foil and used a vegetable slicer (paring thingee) to shave from the side. I got shavings, but not curls. They worked well, though. I just piled up shavings on the top of the cake, and it looked intentional. I'll keep at this, and just practice again. Thanks, everyone, for all the tips!

Kaymac, if you are going the block method you need to let it get completely hard (that's what worked for me). Unless what you are trying to get are cigarllios, in which case ignore me completely.

I'm not sure what you mean by having it in tin foil...? I just melt and pour onto a slab, then hover around waiting for it to get to the right consistency. Also it sounds like you might be shaving from the edge? For curls, you need to do it from the top. I use a big 'ol chopping knife, hold it at both ends, and push it away from my body. Or the lady who taught me used a really big round cookie cutter, and dragged it towards her body (which of course wouldn't be safe if using a knife).

Also, white chocolate takes a LOT longer to set than brown.

I've also heard that the dark chocolate does not curl.....you have to use milk.