Give the gift of homemade baking this Christmas with inspiration from Great British Bake Off Semi-Finalist, Hermine. Sharing her chocolate bark recipe, these delicious treats are perfect for wrapping up in jars and gifting to family and friends this Christmas.
Hermine has recorded a video so you can bake along with her or read her handy how-to below.
400g of dark chocolate
100g of white chocolate
A few drops of pink gel food colouring (optional)
80g of dried cranberries chopped
80g of sliced pistachios
A handful of pretzels biscuits
Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
Melt the white chocolate in a bowl over simmering water. Add the food colouring and mix well.
Melt the dark chocolate in a bowl placed over simmering water, pour the melted chocolate into the lined baking tray, and spread it around using a spatula.
Drop a few teaspoons of pink chocolate in the dark chocolate scattered around. Using a skewer or a knife whirl the pink chocolate around to create a marble effect.
Sprinkle over the dried cranberries, the sliced pistachios, and the pretzels. Set aside to dry at room temperature or place in the fridge for at least one hour.
Cut into small pieces using a knife. Place a few pieces into a jar and decorate using old wrapping paper, craft fabric, ribbons, and flowers. Your creativity is the limit when it comes to this project.
It is always best to allow your chocolate to set at room temperature. Although leaving it in the fridge produces a much quicker result, the condensation from the fridge will leave marks on your finished product.
You can pick ingredients to suit your taste. Dark, milk, white or ruby chocolate. The same goes for your choice of dried fruit and nuts.
When choosing food colouring for chocolate, oil-based food colouring is the best. Water-based gel colouring has worked for me but in small quantities. Remember that with chocolate, you want to minimise the amount of water you add as water makes chocolate seize.
