Chocolates make for great gifts. Whether it is Valentine’s Day when giving chocolates is considered a norm, or any other special occasion that calls for exchange of gifts, you can never go wrong with a hamper of assorted chocolates that everyone can enjoy. There are so many different varieties of chocolates that you will almost always find something to suit the other person’s tastes. Almost, unless the person in question just happens to not have a sweet tooth as some sort of a genetic quirk!

Now, as much as chocolates are great there is something even greater – handmade chocolates made with tender loving care and dripping with all the goodness of organic products sans preservatives. So, if you are one of those people, who love everything handmade, this recipe for simple homemade chocolate gifts will come as an absolute delight

CHOCOLATE NUT BARK

What you need:

·         Chopped semi-sweet chocolate – 12 ounces

·         Mixed nuts – 2 1/2 cups

What you need to do:

·First, take a heatproof bowl and start melting the chocolate. You need to set the heatproof bowl over a saucepan with gently simmering water (take care not to put the bowl inside the pan) and stir continuously as the chocolate melts.

·Take a baking pan lined with parchment paper. For the purpose of making this nut bark, a 9-by-13 inch baking pan would do perfectly.

·Spread the melted chocolate in the pan forming a thin even layer.

·Sprinkle the chocolate layer in the pan with a layer of nuts. Depending on your taste, you can keep the nuts whole or chop them up to get fine pieces.

·Refrigerate in the fridge for about 30 minutes, or until the chocolate layer hardens perceptibly.

·Break the bark into pieces. Remember this chocolate bark will keep at room temperature for up to a week.

Storing and packaging the gift:

This chocolate bark, as with other homemade chocolates, will keep up to a week at room temperature. Refrigeration will not help much as the chocolate may just happen to ‘bloom’ – this happens when the cocoa butter separates out leaving white spots in the chocolate layer – so remember to tell the person you are gifting the chocolate this. Also, it is always best to prepare the chocolate bark the day before or on the day of the celebration since it hardly takes time to make. This way, you would prolong the shelf life of the chocolate.

For packaging, ensure that you buy a tin box which is airtight. If you are making an assortment of chocolate gifts, you can package them in layers with wax paper strips or food-safe coloured tissues between each layer. You can then decorate the box with handmade name tags, and colourful paper and ribbons for a festive feel.

Chocolates and sweet treats often rule the day. And they are easy to make, try this simple recipe at home! If it seems difficult, you can always buy chocolate gifts online for your loved ones.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 18th, 2015 at 10:16 am and is filed under chocolates delivered uk. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.