Piped Chocolate Designs

Use a plastic squeeze bottle -- an empty, clean, mustard bottle will work -- or cut one small corner off a heavy-duty sealable plastic bag. Place some melted coating inside. Place a long piece of parchment paper or waxed paper about 3 inches wide on a work surface. To make a lattice pattern, hold the bottle at an angle and smoothly pipe a line of coating in a closely spaced zigzag pattern, keeping the line connected on the sides. Pipe another zigzag pattern over the top of the first one at a perpendicular angle. Place in the freezer for 1-2 minutes to harden; remove from the freezer and carefully lift the design off the paper. Many shapes work, as long as the lines crisscross each other for support. Designs can also be piped onto the top side of rolling pin that has been wrapped with waxed or parchment paper; the finished design will keep its curve after hardening in the freezer.


To serve, stand a lattice design on end in a scoop of ice cream or sorbet in a pretty stemmed glass.