Chocolate twigs are 3D edible decorations made by piping tempered chocolate into ice-cold water — the cold instantly sets the chocolate into bumpy, natural-looking twig shapes. They take about 10 minutes to make and work on any dessert, not just fancy plated courses.
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Before you start, make sure your chocolate is properly tempered — see our microwave chocolate tempering guide for a quick and foolproof method.
This is part of the Edible Forest Floor Elements series. Start with the overview → Making Chocolate Forest Decor, or jump to any element: Chocolate Twigs (you are here)· Chocolate Pine Needles · Small Edible Leaves · Highlighting Chocolate Decor.
A Quick Edible Decoration for Any Dessert
Twisty, bumpy solid chocolate twigs are as delicious as they are whimsical. While I use them as part of the Forest Floor dessert, they can give any dessert extra flair and some height dimension.
It’s quick work to make these edible twigs using tempered chocolate in ice cold water. The size and twiggy-ness depends entirely on you. I use dark chocolate (Ghirardelli 60% cacao) to marry to the flavor of a blackberry cream. Plus, I kept them rather short to fit in the small cup as part of a tasting menu.
What You Need to Make Chocolate Twigs
✓ Tempered chocolate or melted candy melts (see earlier post for Tempering Chocolate)
✓ Disposable piping bag/food storage bag
✓ Medium mixing bowl filled with water and ice cubes
✓ 2 prep pans
✓ Parchment paper
✓ Paper towels
Step 1: Set Up Your Prep Station
First step is to prepare your work area with all the components you need. You will work quickly from start to finish.
Fill a medium bowl about halfway with water and add ice cubes. The more ice, the more bumpy surface you have to work with.
If you want more straight twigs, use less to no ice. You can play around with the amount of ice depending on how you are liking your twigs.
Next, set out two large prep trays: one lined with paper towels (to dab off some water) and the other with parchment (to finish drying a setting).
Step 2: Fill and Prep Your Piping Bag
Pour tempered chocolate into a sealed piping bag or food storage bag with a bottom corner as your piping tip. I’m not picky
Twist the end of the bag and carefully hold upside down. Then snip off a bit of the end. The bigger the snip, the thicker the twig. I recommend starting smaller and doing a test run. You can snip more off if needed.
Step 3: Pipe Chocolate Into Ice Water
Hover you bag over the water bowl. With firm pressure, squeeze chocolate to stream over ice cubes and water as you move the bag quickly in a horizontal stroke. The slower you move, the more the chocolate will twist around.
To stop the flow, stop squeezing the bag and move the tip up.
It may take some practice tries to get the twigs you want. It is ok if the twigs fall into the water. They should be firm almost immediately.
You can easily make a couple twigs at a time. However, you can do one at a time if your aim is to create a twig masterpiece.
Step 4: Dry and Set Your Chocolate Twigs
With open fingers in a scooping motion, gently lift the set twig (or twigs) out of the water. Then place on the tray lined with paper towels. Gentle turn them over to allow the water to come off. You want all the water off. You can dab with a cotton swab if needed.
Then place on parchment lined pan to finish setting. Once set, you can look though and break off any parts that got too thin or weird.
Step 5: Store Your Chocolate Twigs
These can be made weeks ahead of time if stored well. Store in a flat, airtight contain with parchment or wax paper in-between layers.
