My Chocolate Curls Look Like Pot Roast - Argh
Decorating By projectqueen Updated 16 Aug 2007 , 1:31pm by projectqueen
So much for my quick and easy extra cake with the chocolate curls on top. 
I have just spent 2 hours fighting with my chocolate candy melts trying to get them to curl by scraping them off my cookie sheet with my bench scraper.
They just look like shredded pot roast 
Is there a particular kind of candy I should be melting to do this? Can I buy them somewhere ready made tomorrow? I need this cake done by tomorrow night.
What am I doing wrong?
Hi
When I try to do curls with a bench scraper, I have the same problem. This works best for me. Coat the cookie sheet with choc. melts and put it in the frig for a few minutes. Then I use a cheese slicer (looks like a spatula with a slot cut out of it). After a few tries you get the feel of it and it works just super to make large or small curls.
Hope this helps,
Lily
I don't like using candy melts for making curls. Real chocolate, even chocolate chips with a bit of cooking oil added works better for me. I am sorry you are having problems. It takes knowing exactly when that chocolate is ready, too warm and it clumps up into a mass, too cold and it splinters and shreds. Timing is everything. I have found the easiest way for me to make them is to heat a cookie sheet in a 200 degree oven just until it feels warm to the palm of your hand, not hot. Spread the chocolate on evenly onto the back of the pan with an off set spatula, bench scraper, or chocolate scraper, cover the entire back of the cookie sheet. You want it thick enough that you can't see the metal of the pan through the chocolate, but not so thick that it will be hard to curl. Maybe 1/8". Refrigerate just until you can touch the chocolate and none of it comes off on your finger. Set the cookie sheet on a counter with the far end butted up against the back of the counter next to the wall. Lean in and have your stomach almost touching the near end of the pan. Start by holding your bench scraper at a slight angle, get the blade just barely under the edge of the chocolate and push it away from you. The slower you push the larger the curls, the faster you push the tighter the curl. As I make each curl I lift it off the pan with the scraper and place it on a parchment lined cookie sheet and place in the refrigerator until I have enough done to cover the top of the cake. You can experiment with the shape and size of the curls by pushing in a straight line away from you, or push the scraper in a semi circle or fan shape. Some curls will look spiralled, some will be a continuous straight curl. Use the broken pieces or scrape the leftover chocolate off the pan and put those on your cake first. Save your very best curls for the top, that way it doesn't take as many perfect ones to cover the entire top. If your chocolate begins to set up too much before you have scraped all the curls, set your cookie sheet back in the warm oven for just a few seconds, If it is too warm set it in the fridge for a few seconds.
Thank you so much for both those suggestions...
I'm going to go try, try again...wish me luck! Cake is due tonight.
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