Chocolate leaves are very impressive decorating cakes, cookies, tarts, pies, and dessert platters. And they are deceptively easy to make at home. You simply use any fresh leaf that has a distinct vein, such as rose, any of the mints, holly, or especially citrus leaves. Make sure that you only use organic leaves, or thoroughly wash the leaves before using to remove any trace of pesticides that might be on them. After washing, pat them dry with a soft cloth or paper towels. (For more Christmas ideas, recipes—drinks and food, gifts from the kitchen, herbal remedies, check the ‘category’ sections of betweenclosefriends.com)
To make your chocolate leaves, use an artist’s paintbrush and any good quality chocolate.
- Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler.
- Once it has completely melted, apply a thick coat of chocolate to the underside of each leaf using the paintbrush. Coat the leaf stem as well, but leave a little piece uncoated in order to make it easier to later separate the chocolate leaf from the real leaf.
- Place the coated leaves on a foiled lined cookie sheet, and refrigerate until cold.
- When the chocolate is hard, remove the cookie sheet from the fridge.
- To unmold, hold the uncoated piece of the stem, and carefully peel away the chocolate from the leaf
You can reuse the leaves to make more chocolate leaves, or use them for added garnish with the chocolate. Keep the chocolate leaves refrigerated until you are ready to use them as decorations.