On a trip to Switzerland a few years ago, I was so inspired by all the beautiful chocolates in the shops, so I decided to teach myself to temper chocolate and make rustic but pretty Chocolate Bark.
It is pretty easy, looks impressive and tastes delicious. A great idea for Christmas presents.
You can top or add anything you like to the chocolate once it is tempered so get creative. I was recently given a bar of Bolivian chocolate by a friend with salt, and coffee which was a taste sensation so I decided to try that, plus I love chilli and chocolate and chocolate with nuts.
Ingredients
300 grams of dark chocolate (or chocolate of your choice) I used Yupik Organic Dark Chocolate
1 tsp ground espresso coffee
½ tsp finely ground sea salt plus more for dusting
1 tsp finely ground dried Chilli Flakes
¼ cup roasted cashew nuts
1-2 tsp good quality cocoa powder
Thermometer for candy or chocolate I found one on Amazon for a about $10
Once you have tempered your chocolate, I used BBC Good Food Method then I split the chocolate into 3 bowls to flavour it.
Cashew and chilli
Finely chop about 2 tbsp of the cashews add to the chocolate with ½ tsp finely ground dried chilli flakes try to get the pieces as fine as possible. Pour out your mixture on to a piece parchment or wax paper spread out so it is about 3-4mm thick then top with a little sea salt, more cashews and chilli flakes. Leave to set at room temperature.
Coffee, Salt and Cashew
Add 1 tsp ground coffee, ¼ tsp sea salt to one of your bowls of chocolate. Mix well them pour on to another piece of parchment paper paper spread out so it is about 3-4mm thick. Top with roughly chopped cashews. Leave to set at room temperature.
Salts, Chilli and Cocoa Powder
Add ½ tsp finely ground chilli flakes, ¼ tsp sea salt into your 3rd bowl mix well then pour on to another piece of parchment paper spread out so it is about 3-4mm thick. Then sprinkle liberally with cocoa powder and a little more sea salt, you can use larger flakes here as they look nicer. Leave to set at room temperature.
Once they are set I dropped mine on to a clean surface to get sharp edges.
Have fun making up your own taste combinations.
Chocolate was photographed on étoile home’s Apple Tree Napkin in Geranium Red.
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I was recently reminded of something we used to make at summer camp called Bannock, an easy bread recipe that can be made on a fire using the last embers in a frying pan or wrapped around a stick.
I love how modern yet rustic this tart looks, it's an impressive dessert for any occasion, delicious served warm with a dollop of vanilla ice cream and best of all it's really easy to make. You can replace the fruit and herbs with anything that's in season and voilà!
