What is the best way to make chocolate shards to go around the outside of your cake.... something like this pic [/url]http://www.hamiltonislandweddings.com.au/images/Cakes/30.jpg[url]

thanks heaps for any tips [/url]

I am no expert but I am more than sure you can buy a mould to do this type of thing otherwise just pour your chocolate on a flat surface and cut to size, you could use rulers to make sure you get them the same thickness.

you need to use a good quality chocolate. and it needs to be tempered 

when you spread it out do not make it too thin about 3mm works well spread it on plastic sheets and dont be tempted to touch it too soon otherwise you will leave finger prints. The tempering process is not difficult but it does rely on you being accurate with the tempreature. below i have pasted the instruction from my class notes i hope this helps

First you need to melt the chocolate very gently in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of warm water. Make sure that the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl and have it just simmering. If any water or steam gets into the mix it will granulate and be useless.  Melt about two thirds of the chocolate take it off the heat then add the rest this will reduce the heat of the mix. And the tempering process will happen. There are different temperatures for plain milk and white chocolate You will need a digital or chocolate thermometer

Once all the chocolate is melted check the temperature and either cool it or heat it to  31–32C (88–90F) for dark chocolate, 30–31C (86–88F) for milk chocolate and 27–28C (80–82F) for white chocolate. It's now ready to use.