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Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

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The Perfect Chocolate Bar

May 4, 2010 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

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


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Posted in Recipes | Tagged Cacao Barry, Callebaut, caramelized almonds, chocolate cane toads, chocolate frogs, origin chocolate, playing with chocolate | 22 Comments

22 Responses

  1. on May 4, 2010 at 10:03 am sandy

    Delurking to say that I wish I were your neighbor. *drool*


    • on May 4, 2010 at 10:21 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Sandy, hi! Thanks for lurking..and delurking too.. :)


  2. on May 4, 2010 at 10:08 am spice and more

    Kirsch in there too? Yum!


    • on May 4, 2010 at 12:04 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      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.. ;-)


  3. on May 4, 2010 at 10:35 am lambsearsandhoney

    Ooooh, I wish that I lived near you, too!!


  4. on May 4, 2010 at 11:53 am judyamechekromschroder

    OMG….I sooooooooo wish that I was your neighbor!!!!!


  5. on May 4, 2010 at 12:03 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

    Hahaha…I wish you were all my neighbours too!! :D


  6. on May 4, 2010 at 12:16 pm dana

    that looks like it might be perfect for me, too!


  7. on May 4, 2010 at 1:30 pm Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella

    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!


  8. on May 4, 2010 at 2:22 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

    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


  9. on May 4, 2010 at 10:43 pm Bethany

    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!


    • on May 5, 2010 at 2:34 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      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… ;-)


  10. on May 5, 2010 at 2:58 am Joanna @ Zeb Bakes

    That looks @*@$£@ !!!!! I think my words have finally failed. Oh YE-E-E-s – TopGear chocolate!


    • on May 5, 2010 at 2:36 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      I really wish you were a neighbour!! :)


  11. on May 6, 2010 at 5:13 am Choclette

    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.


    • on May 6, 2010 at 5:28 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      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…


  12. on May 7, 2010 at 2:17 am Sophie

    I am glad that you like Callebaut chocolates. He is a Belgian, did you know???

    Your choolate bars look so tasty,…yummmmm!!!


    • on May 7, 2010 at 6:06 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      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!


  13. on May 8, 2010 at 11:11 pm Gillian

    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.


    • on May 9, 2010 at 3:54 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      I know! That bit was surprising! Nice to have you back, hope the move all went well! :)


  14. on May 10, 2010 at 1:09 am Emma @CakeMistress

    That’ll teach those pesky cane toads, he he he. Sounds like a lovely blend of chocolates.


    • on May 10, 2010 at 5:46 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Thanks Emma! The cane toads were great fun.. :)



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