Hi! Today, I'm here with a recipe for a sweet edible gift: luxury triple chocolate barks. It's a wonderful handmade & edible present for Valentine's Day or Mother's Day!
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What do you need to make these luxury triple chocolate barks?
Yes, you guessed it! This edible gift is all about chocolate! Chocolate is the main ingredient here.
The aim of the recipe is to create a new chocolate bar using various types of cooking chocolate.
I recommend using good-quality cooking chocolate bars or chocolate chips.
For the best results, make sure the chocolates are fresh and from the same producer.
I used premium dark, milk, and white cooking chocolate bars.
How do you melt chocolate?
There are two easy ways to melt chocolate: in a microwave and on a hob.
Melting chocolate in a microwave may save you washing up later, however it generally takes longer, as you need to melt it in short intervals.
Whereas chocolate in a bowl on hob melts much faster.
Good quality chocolate melts very easily and can be ready on hob within a few minutes.
White chocolate can be tricky to melt
White chocolate has got different content than typical dark or milk chocolate (it is made of cocoa butter, not cocoa powder), therefore it behaves differently when melted. In fact, it has got a lower melting point and can burn very quickly.
White chocolate is relatively easy to melt in a double-boiler on a hob, where you have full control over the temperature and the melting process (unlike in the microwave where you can't see what is happening to the chocolate).
Make sure the bottom of the bowl with white chocolate isn't touching the boiling water underneath.
Leave it to melt slowly, on low heat, stirring gently and occasionally. Prevent any water drops (condensation) from getting into contact with the white chocolate, as it can stop the melting process.
Once most of the chocolate is melted and only a few lumps remain, take it off the heat and keep stirring until all lumps are dissolved and you get a nice smooth shiny texture.
Leave it to cool down for a couple of minutes before creating your own chocolate bark.
Follow the same steps for melting dark and milk chocolates used in this recipe.
For the fastest results, melt them all at the same time in three different double-boilers, on three separate cooktops.
It may sound like a lot of washing up after, but trust me, you won't even notice for the amount of love and heart that goes into this!
How can you decorate chocolate?
To decorate these triple luxury chocolate barks, I used frozen dried raspberries (the pink bits in the picture).
These three-colored chocolate bites can be decorated with dried fruit (dried apricots, cranberries, raisins, sultanas, freeze-dried strawberries, raspberries and more), candied fruit (orange skins), and/or chopped nuts (hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds etc).
Simply chop the dried fruit or nuts into smaller pieces and sprinkle them over the hot chocolate. Create various ornaments (ie. heart or star shape) or make an 'abstract art' out of it.
Feel free to be creative and make a bar of chocolate that your loved one(s) will go crazy for!
It will a beautiful original hand-made gift and I am sure they will be intrigued by its delicious look and superb taste!
Make the packaging personal
Packaging can lift up the look of this handmade chocolate gift.
After you break up the chilled chocolate into shards, wrap the barks in a cellophane wrap, paper box, or a jar.
Add a decorative ribbon and tag with a personalised note - and your gift is ready to go!
Store at room temperature or in the fridge for up to two weeks.
Are you looking for more no-bake dessert recipes? Try this espresso panna cotta, Easter Egg cheesecake and blueberry cheesecake in glass.
These coconut and chocolate balls also make a great handmade gift.
Made this recipe? Share your picture on Instagram and tag @markieskitchencom & use the hashtag #markieskitchencom so I can see it!
📖 The Recipe
Luxury triple chocolate barks
Ingredients
- 125 g dark cooking chocolate
- 100 g white cooking chocolate
- 75 g milk cooking chocolate
For decoration (optional)
- 3 g freeze dried raspberries or strawberries
Instructions
Prepare three double-boilers for melting the chocolate
- Use three saucepans and fill them with an inch (2,5cm) of water and bring to boil.
- Place a heatproof bowl (porcelain/metal) over each of the saucepans with boiling water and lower the heat to minimum.
Melting the chocolate
- Break up the white, dark and milk chocolates into small pieces and add them to the three prepared bowls (double-boilers).
- Stir the chocolate occasionally with a spatula or a tablespoon (one for each bowl).
- The dark and milk chocolates will start to melt almost immediately. White chocolate usually takes a bit more time, be patient and keep the temperature low.
- When a majority of the chocolate is melted, take the bowl off the heat and stir gently so that even the last lumps completely dissolve. Leave to cool down for a couple of minutes. Repeat this with all three chocolate types used.
Creating a new luxury chocolate
- Line a baking tray with parchment (baking) paper.
- Pour over the dark chocolate and spread it with a spatula into desired shape and thickness.
- Pour over the milk chocolate - create ornaments, stripes, circles etc on top of the dark chocolate.
- Add the white chocolate - pour it over in zigzag lines and/or various shapes.
- Go over with a cocktail stick to disturb some of the patterns created.
- Sprinkle over some chopped dried or candied fruit and/or your favourite nuts.
- Leave to set and place the whole baking tray in the fridge for up to 1 hour.
Cutting the chocolate into bites
- Take the chocolate out of the fridge and leave it to settle at room temperature for about 5 minutes.
- Carefully slide the baking paper with the chocolate onto a chopping board. Using a long knife, cut the chocolate into barks of your desired size - they can be bite-size (about inch) or bigger. Accommodate the size to the type of packaging used.
Wrapping
- Wrap the luxury chocolate barks in a cellophane wrap, paper box or a jar. Add decorative ribbon and a tag with a personalised note.
- Give it to someone you love!
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