I recently tried to make the Zebra Stripe cake from Little Cakes and I was having trouble scoring the chocolate into stripes. The stripes were not coming out right and when I would score the chocolate it would break EXTREMELY easily not leaving me with much chocolate to work with. What could I do to make it easier to score and to make the chocolate harder so it would not break into a million pieces?After you pipe out the zebra stripes to the approximate size you want there are a few of things to consider. First, perhaps the chocolate stripes are too thin. The chocolate should be between 1/8-inch and 1/4-inch thick. If it is too thin it will break easily when handled. Second, when you score the chocolate, lightly score with a small serrated paring knife (a steak knife will suffice). Do not cut through the entire piece of chocolate as this will cause it to fracture; instead saw into the chocolate 1/3 of the way through. Then gently lift the stripe off of the parchment/cellophane, and with both hands, hold your fingers on opposite sides of the score line, and break in half. Lastly, if you are still having difficulty, consider cutting the stripes before the chocolate has completely set. In this state, the chocolate is not yet "shiny" and if you push your finger into the top it won't make an imprint but it will feel like it has some give.
