Y
ou know the age-old dilemma about what came first – the chicken or the egg? Well – let me tell you – first there was the liquid chocolate! :) Maybe you didn’t know this, but in the 16th century, when the chocolate was first brought to Europe, it was only consumed as a beverage! Sweetened with honey, delicious and adored, especially by women, but still – only a beverage!
Who Invented The Chocolate Bar?
Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, 70% cocoa, 80% cocoa, white chocolate, chocolate with hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios, freeze-dried fruits, filled with caramel, salted caramel, mint, praline paste, fruit fillings, orange flavored, chili, macadamia nuts, pecans, and so on and so on… Those are only the most common chocolate bars we can find in any larger supermarket, not to mention gourmet food shops, and we all take them for granted!
Imagine the world without large variety of chocolate bars in every supermarket! Now imagine there are no chocolate bars at all! Oh, my – I’m so happy I live in this century!
The first chocolate bar was made in 1847 in Britain by Joseph Fry, who pressed a paste made of cocoa powder, sugar and cocoa butter into a bar shape. God bless him! It was one of the most important moments in human history, no doubt – thank you so much Mr. Fry!
What is Chocolate Bark?
But even that outstanding invention wasn’t good enough for some anonymous visionary who decided to improve the brilliant invention of chocolate bar and scatter whatever was at his hand – nuts, dried or candied fruits onto it. The creation resembled a bark of wood, and that’s how this delicacy got its name! The rest is history – countless combinations of flavors and textures, cocoa content and sweetness!
How to Make a Chocolate Bar?
Well, to make chocolate bar successfully you will need to learn how to temper chocolate. If you just melt your chocolate and pour it into the pan, when it sets it will melt as soon as you touch it, and it won’t have that beautiful snap when you take a bite. It will be rather soft and even a bit elastic. So, if you have never tempered chocolate, get a thermometer and start tempering!
Besides learning tempering, you will need a simple heart shaped cake pan, but if you don’t have one, you can use any shape you like. You can even pour your tempered chocolate onto a paper lined sheet pan and spread it with spatula. When the chocolate sets, break it in pieces and store in dry and cold place.
How to make Chocolate Bark?
Again, like for the chocolate bar, you will need to temper the chocolate. Once your chocolate is tempered, pour it into the mold, or onto a paper lined sheet pan. At that point top your chocolate with roasted or caramelized nuts, dried or freeze-dried fruits, crystallized edible flowers, cocoa nibs, candy, etc. The chocolate will set, and then you can cut it into pieces and store it.
How to Store Chocolate Bark?
Once your chocolate bark is completely set, you should cut it into pieces and store in airtight container, which you should put in cold, dark and dry place. The temperature shouldn’t exceed 22°C (about 70°F). If you live in a very hot area, you can put it in the fridge, but make sure it is well sealed so it doesn’t soak the moisture from the air. You can keep it like that for several weeks. Yeah, like it will last that long… ;)
What is Inside my Heart Shaped White Chocolate Bark?
Well, I’ve decided to make raspberry and rose pâtes des fruits, which is delicious and tangy, and then, cover one side of it with tempered dark chocolate. When the chocolate sets, I’ll take it out of the mold and cover the other side with tempered white chocolate.
Then I will top the white chocolate with freeze-dried raspberries, chopped pistachios and pink chocolate pearls. Imagine the combination of tangy raspberry jelly, slightly bitter dark chocolate, and sweet and creamy white chocolate, yum! Actually, don’t imagine, but roll up your sleeves and start tempering! It will be worth your while, I promise! :)
Hidden Surprise White Chocolate Bark Recipe
by:Tereza Alabanda,The Pastry Maestra
PRINT PDF (EN) ISPIŠI PDF (HR)Prep. time : 15 minutes
Cook time : 5 minutes
Ready in 20 minutes plus tempering and cooling
Level : Advanced
Ingredients: Pâtes des Fruits:- Raspberry puree 220g (7.7oz)
- Sugar 270g (9.5oz)
- Corn syrup 55g (2oz)
- Yellow pectin 6g (1.5Tsp)
- Citric acid 5g (1Tsp)
- Water 5g (1Tsp)
- Rose water to taste
- Dark chocolate (60% cocoa) 70g (2.5oz)
- White chocolate 150g (5.3oz)
- Freeze-dried raspberries, pistachios, chocolate pearls for decoration
- Prepare 15cm x 15 cm (6″ x 6″) heart shaped pan, brush it with vegetable oil and line it with parchment paper.
- Combine the pectin with 100g (3.5oz) of sugar and 100g (3.5oz) of raspberry puree.
- Put the rest of the puree, the rest of the sugar and the pectin mixture into a saucepan and stir to combine.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and add corn syrup.
- Continue cooking until the mixture reaches 107°C (225°F) stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from heat, add the citric acid and a few drops of rose water.
- Stir well, and pour the mixture into the prepared pan immediately. Leave it to set for a couple of hours at room temperature.
- Temper the dark chocolate and pour it into the pan, onto the cooled pâtes des fruits. Shake the pan and tap it against the counter to distribute the chocolate evenly, and then put everything in the fridge for about 10 minutes until the chocolate sets.
- Temper the white chocolate.
- Take heart shaped pâtes des fruits out from the pan and turned it over, so pâtes des fruits layer is on the top.
- Put everything onto a smaller mold and pour tempered white chocolate onto it. Tap the tray against the counter to get rid of the air bubbles and to distribute the chocolate evenly. Then remove the excess chocolate using a small spatula.
- Before the chocolate sets sprinkle some freeze dried raspberries, raspberry powder, chopped pistachios and pink chocolate pearls onto the heart.
- Put it in the fridge until the chocolate sets.
- Happy Valentine’s Day everybody!
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