Real *non-toxic edible* leaves... Wouldn't want to do this with oleander, for instance. Biting into an oak leaf wouldn't be toxic, but would be unpleasant.

Sorry, hit enter too soon... I guess I meant to ask about the possibility of flavor & toxic compound transfer, while the warm chocolate is solidifying...

I've always understood that there will a flavor/toxin transfer. Or at minimum, it's best to be cautious of this and not use deadly nightshade or something ~_^

then do it the easy way...use fresh herb leaves that have been in the freezer like Basil. That way you're sure it's not poisonous, you're able to find it in areas where all the leaves are long gone, and you don't have to worry about pesticides. I haven't tried it before with Basil leaves though - has anyone?

I've tried this before, and found it really hard to peel the leaves away- a bunch of my chocolate leaves had bits of real leaf stuck in them. Maybe I needed thicker leaves?

if y'all are really worried about it, there are inexpensive silicone leaf molds. froogle it.

I did this for my wedding cake. My mom made the cake and we made the leaves together.

We used grape leaves as I recall. And we had the same problem knittedbliss did--the chocolate stuck to the leaves.

Here's how we overcame: We first gave all the leaves a quick bath and patted them dry. We layed them out and gave a very quick spray of Pam on them. We made the leaves from white chocolate and painted the chocolate on the leaves that were spritzed with Pam.

They were perfect. And they didn't have an oily residue or anything. They looked gorgeous.

Rose leaves are often used for this sort of thing...