I’ve invented the perfect chocolate bar.
Of course, the use of the word “invented” is completely outrageous, since it’s been done a million times before, and the word “perfect” completely subjective, as it’s really only perfect for me.
I was inspired by the caramelised almond egg we had from Colefax at Easter. It was delicious, but the balance of flavours wasn’t quite right – even in dark chocolate, I still found the egg a little too sweet.
So I’ve been experimenting – I started by making the roasted almonds, adapting the recipe I use for almond rochers. I tried scattering these over a tempered bar of 70% cacao, but found the chocolate too dark for the sweet almonds. I also discovered that encasing the almonds inside the bar gave a better mouthfeel and eating experience than using them as a topping.
Here’s the final outcome – sweet roasted almond slivers encased in a 63% cacao dark blend. I’m in chocolate heaven…
- 250g slivered almonds
- 20ml Kirsch
- 80g icing sugar mixture (confectioners or powdered sugar)
- tempered chocolate (see below)
1. Preheat the oven to 175C. In a small bowl, combine the almonds, Kirsch and sifted icing sugar.
2. Line a baking tray with a sheet of parchment paper, and pour the nuts onto the tray. Bake the nuts for 10 minutes, or until golden, stirring often (watch them carefully, as they burn easily). Allow these to cool on the tray, during which time they’ll harden up and become very crunchy. Once cool, break up any clumps with your fingers.
3. Tip the nuts into a bowl of tempered dark chocolate (see here for tempering instructions) – my perfect blend is:
- 250g Callebaut 811 (54% cacao)
- 125g Callebaut 70% cacao
- 125g Cacao Barry Tanzanie Origin 75% cacao
Pour the mixture into moulds and allow to set briefly in the fridge. I’ve made several large bars, as well as these speckled chocolate cane toads. It’s probably the only time I’ve found a cane toad appealing – they’re a major pest here in Australia!
Click here for a printable version of this recipe
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Delurking to say that I wish I were your neighbor. *drool*
Sandy, hi! Thanks for lurking..and delurking too.. :)
Kirsch in there too? Yum!
Aaah, the Kirsch. There’s a story there. For years, I couldn’t find it – all the bottle shops stopped stocking it. Then I finally found a litre at Chefs’ Warehouse, and was so excited that I’ve been using it in everything.. ;-)
Ooooh, I wish that I lived near you, too!!
OMG….I sooooooooo wish that I was your neighbor!!!!!
Hahaha…I wish you were all my neighbours too!! :D
that looks like it might be perfect for me, too!
hehe now this kind of thing would have been a lot to research no? ;) And the pursuit of the perfect chocolate bar-a noble pursuit!
Dana, for me, it’s the right mix of sweet, dark and crunchy. I’m completely content. :)
Lorraine, nothing like experimenting with chocolate. And there was lots of taste testing to do! :D
I found your blog in the past week, and I’m addicted. I love that you took matters into your own hands to create this awesome looking chocolate bar. I also find a lot of commercial bars to be too sweet, and I’m inspired to experiment. Kirsch!
Bethany, thanks for stopping by! I agree, even most “gourmet” dark chocolate is a little sweet, but sometimes the alternative, being 70%, is just a bit too dark. Then again, I might be getting a bit carried away here… ;-)
That looks @*@$£@ !!!!! I think my words have finally failed. Oh YE-E-E-s – TopGear chocolate!
I really wish you were a neighbour!! :)
I go with the perfect chocolate bar – nothing more to be said! Well actually maybe there is – cane toads really don’t do it for me. I remember them as being repulsive. Oh dear, now I’m feeling mean.
Not at all, they are repulsive! And a major, major pest here in Australia. I originally found the mould on the internet and thought they’d be cute little frogs, but they turned out to be big ugly beasts – more like cane toads than cute little choccy frogs. So of course I had to make them then…hehe…
I am glad that you like Callebaut chocolates. He is a Belgian, did you know???
Your choolate bars look so tasty,…yummmmm!!!
Sophie, I know! And it’s the best chocolate in the world, I reckon – better than Valrhona, which I couldn’t afford even if I wanted to!
I’m back and online and loved reading about the bar. Isn’t that just the joy of baking where you can create exactly what you want. I mean store bought bars promise the earth, moon and stars but never live up to their marketing.
This bar sounds wonderful – a blend of 3 chocolate types. Mamma mia you did your homework here … bet you enjoyed that ;-) But what really interests me is that the experience was enhanced by adding the nuts to the chocoate rather than scattering them on top.
I know! That bit was surprising! Nice to have you back, hope the move all went well! :)
That’ll teach those pesky cane toads, he he he. Sounds like a lovely blend of chocolates.
Thanks Emma! The cane toads were great fun.. :)