A Little How-to-Do

Since I found this fascinating, I thought I would share it!

How to cover the sides of a cake with a chocolate ribbon:

Step 1: Temper chocolate.
Just heat some melting chocolate (nothing with paraffin) in a double boiler until it is melty and liquidy.


Step 2: Spread the chocolate on measured plastic
Measure a piece of shiny, thick plastic (a heavy duty garbage bag would work well) to be the height, width, and circumference of the cake. Make sure that it is a little longer than you want it so you can overlap it a little bit. Then spread a thin and even layer of chocolate on the plastic with a spatula.

Step 3: Put the chocolate ribbon on the cake
Place the chocolate ribbon, chocolate side in, on the cake and press lightly so that the melted chocolate will attach, somewhat, to the sides of the cake.

Step 4: Peel it off

Let it sit for a minute or two and peel the plastic backing off of the chocolate. Try to overlap a little where the seam is. You can take a hot spatula and fix that area later.

Step 5: Ta dah!
And there you have it... a shiny, smooth, and easy way to make any cake more beautiful and, best of all, more chocolate-y!

- Mari