Chocolate Phyllo
Submitted by STARVIN
Chocolate phyllo crisps: three sheets of phyllo brushed with cocoa-clarified butter, sugared between layers, and baked flat under a weight. Elegant chocolate wafer garnish for plated desserts.
YIELD
1 batchPREP
30 minCOOK
20 minREADY
1 hrsThese are pastry chef showpieces built for garnishing proper desserts. Three sheets of paper-thin phyllo get layered with a cocoa-butter mixture and sugar, pressed flat under a cast iron weight as they bake, and emerge as glossy chocolate-brown wafers thin enough to snap like glass.
The weighting is the non-negotiable move. Phyllo ruffles and puffs naturally in the oven, but for this garnish you want them dead flat and uniformly thin. A half sheet pan on top with an 8-inch cast iron skillet for ballast does the job cleanly. Without the weight, you get uneven wavy sheets.
Clarified butter is what keeps the phyllo crisp and snap-brittle instead of leathery. Whole butter contains milk solids that burn during the bake and leave a soggy underside. Clarified butter pushes the smoke point higher and keeps the layers distinct and crackly.
Cutting the shapes before baking (not after) lets the cuts crisp individually, so they snap apart cleanly once cool. Trying to cut baked phyllo crisps is a shattering mess.
Use them to garnish chocolate mousse, ice cream sundaes, tiramisu, or anywhere you need architectural height and a hit of bittersweet chocolate crunch. Store flat in an airtight container up to three days.
Chef Tips
- Work fast; phyllo dries and cracks in about 90 seconds of air exposure.
- Brush the cocoa butter from center outward in light strokes; heavy strokes tear the phyllo.
- Use Dutch-process cocoa for richer color and smoother flavor.
- Scraps are pure chef’s snack; don’t throw them out.
Variations
- Dust with powdered sugar after baking for a tuxedo look.
- Sprinkle crushed toasted hazelnuts between layers for praline-style crisps.
- Add a pinch of cinnamon or espresso powder to the cocoa butter.
Ingredients
Directions
Thaw Phyllo pack and remove 3 sheets.
Refold and return remainder to the freezer.
Cover the 3 sheets with a slightly damp kitchen towel.
Melt Clarified Butter in the Micro and whisk into the Cocoa until smooth.
Place a sheet of ½ sized parchment on a ½ sized SheetPan and reserve.
Place one sheet of the Phyllo on a Stainless or Marble surface.
Using a pastry brush, baste the sheet thoroughly with the Cocoa Mixture, stroking from the center outwards so not to tear it.
Sprinkle inchmedium inch with sugar.
Add another sheet of Phyllo and repeat through 3 sheets.
Lift the stack with a Pastry Spatula and lay upside-down on the baking parchment on the SheetPan.
Baste the bottom (now upside) of the stack with the chocolate.
Coat with the sugar.
Cut into triangles with a sharp knife or use a cookie cutter to cut shapes.
Leave excess in place and cover all with another ½ sized sheet of Parchment.
Place another ½ sized Baking Sheet on top and weight with an 8 inch Cast Iron Skillet.
Bake at 350℉ (180℃) F for 15 minutes until the Phyllo is crisp.
Remove the Cast Iron Skillet, the upper Baking Sheet, and the upper parchment and allow the rest to cool on a rack for 10 minutes.
Remove the scraps and break up to feed to the Kiddsters.
Use the shapes to garnish your favorite Chocolate Dessert.
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