How to Make Chocolate Curls

Learn how to make chocolate curls from a bar of chocolate to dress up any dessert recipe that could use a bonus cocoa element.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5

Total Time 5

Servings servings (1 tbsp each)

Calories 85kcal

Using a vegetable peeler, shave the edge of the chocolate bar for narrow curls, or the side of the chocolate bar for wide curls. Curls can be refrigerated or kept at room temperature for a short amount of time.

Chocolate bar: Quality matters. Feel free to mix up the cacao percentage or make chocolate shavings with a couple of bars of varying colors (I love a mix of milk and extra dark chocolate) for visual and flavor complexity.
White chocolate: For a snowy look, consider adding a dusting of white chocolate curls on top of the dark or milk chocolate curls.
Yield: A 3- to 4-ounce bar and this method makes enough chocolate curls to top my Bûche de Noël (Yule Log Cake). Scale up or down as needed for your specific chocolate dessert recipe.
Storage: To prevent any potential melting, refrigerate the chocolate curls until you're ready to use them.
Top it off: Try chocolate curls as a topping for ice cream sundaes, Oreo Brownie Trifle, Black Forest Cake, Chocolate Lasagna, Icebox Cake, or Cheesecake Brownies.