Chocolate bark

Photographer: Rich
Serves many

For a sweet treat with a twist, you can’t go past this simple recipe for chocolate bark. It is sure to wow, but is also incredibly easy to make – especially if you’re lucky enough to be using an induction cooktop, where the heat control is so precise so you can melt the chocolate directly in the pot without any need for a double boiler.

I tested the recipe out in the Social Kitchen at the F&P Dunedin office, and the feedback from the hordes of hungry engineers here was a resounding thumbs up.

The recipe below is for two different flavours, and I used Whittaker’s Dark Ghana 72% Cocoa block for both of these recipes as my starting point. The first flavour, chilli and sea salt, works really well with a bitter dark chocolate base; the second flavour, raspberry, pistachio and cardamom, also works well both with the bitterness of a dark chocolate base, however it also goes beautifully with the vanilla tones of a white chocolate base.

This recipe is perfect for getting creative and trying new flavours, so be bold and throw whatever flavours together that you think might work well – you might be surprised by what you discover!

INGREDIENTS

Chilli and sea salt bark
500g (1.1lb) good quality dark chocolate
2 tsp cinnamon, ground
½ tsp cayenne pepper, ground
1 cup almonds, roughly chopped
¼ cup pumpkin seeds
1 tsp sea salt

Raspberry, pistachio and cardamom bark
500g (1.1lb) good quality dark or white chocolate
1 tsp cardamom, ground
1 cup pistachio nuts, roughly chopped
1 cup freeze-dried raspberries

METHOD

Chilli and sea salt bark
1. Break chocolate into chunks and melt in a saucepan over a very low heat, or using a double boiler.
2. When the chocolate is melted, remove from the heat and stir through the cinnamon and cayenne pepper, then mix in the chopped almonds.
3. Pour onto a tray lined with baking paper, and use a wooden spoon or spatula to spread the mixture out to the edges.
4. Sprinkle the pumpkin seeds and sea salt over the top, then place in the fridge until the chocolate hardens.
5. Break into bite size pieces to serve.

Raspberry, pistachio and cardamom bark
1. Break chocolate into chunks and melt in a saucepan over a very low heat, or using a double boiler.
Note: White chocolate is very delicate and can become lumpy when melting if it is overheated, so use even sized chunks of chocolate and remove from the heat as soon as it is melted.
2. When the chocolate is melted, remove from the heat and stir through cardamom, then mix in 3/4 cup each of pistachios and raspberries. Reserve the rest of the pistachios and raspberries for topping.
3. Pour onto a tray lined with baking paper, and use a wooden spoon or spatula to spread the mixture out to the edges.
4. Sprinkle the remaining pistachios and raspberries over the top, then place in the fridge until the chocolate hardens.
5. Break into bite size pieces to serve.