Dark Chocolate Bark With Dried Apricots and Roasted Salted Cashews

I can’t seem to get over the festivities of Diwali anytime soon. And this is the festival season around the world. All those thousands of lovely food blogger’s across the globe are  inspiring my inner soul day and night by sharing such wonderful festive food recipes and their equally sightly pictures.

Festive food is so good that it bring along so much joy and love – joy of sharing your food with your friends and family and a means to show your love towards them. And that is the time when everyone is kind of busy finding the best gift for their loved ones. And I think that nothing can’t beat food, especially when it is homemade. However simple that may be. It shows how much you care.

But sometimes, in an attempt to woo our folks, we tend to do the complicated recipes and get flustered about, what to bake and what not to. And there we need one simple and make ahead recipe which goes along the season’s theme. Because the idea is to cook and have fun together. Chocolate bark is one such thing. All you need to do is throw in the best ingredients you have and let the magic happen.

Ingredients

400 gm dark chocolate, of best quality
1/2 cup dried apricots, thinly sliced
1/2 cup roasted cashew nuts, chopped
1 few pinches of sea salt

Instructions

1. Chop the chocolate into small bits and melt 3/4th part of it over a double boiler.
2. Using a candy thermometer, check temperature of chocolate. Allow it to reach up to 47° C. Once the desired temperature has reached, add reserved chocolate and stir constantly until completely melted.
3. Line a 11″ x 17″ baking tray with parchment paper.
4. Using an offset spatula, spread and level the tempered chocolate in the baking tray.
5. Sprinkle the apricots and chopped cashew nuts followed by sea salt.
6. Let stand at room temperature and allow the chocolate to set.
7. Using a sharp knife, cut the bark into squares and share it with your friends and family.