The White Ramekins

food & photography

Dark Chocolate Bark With Dried Apricots and Roasted Salted Cashews

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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.

Cocoa Almond Truffles

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Cocoa & Almond Rum Truffles“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.” These words are’t mine, but aren’t they true? Chocolate has got such healing powers you know. And now when festive season is around, chocolate is singing along with the harmony of the festive season, which led to the creation of these tiny joyous delicious truffles.

Cocoa & Almond Rum TrufflesInitially, I thought of sharing the joy of festival by making some chocolate cookies for my friends and family. But then while talking to this sweet friend Charis last week, I got to know how she thoroughly enjoyed making chocolate truffles at home. The inspiration kicked in and I eventually ended up making these cocoa truffles.

Cocoa & Almond Rum TrufflesRunning short of enough dark chocolate at home and not having enough time to go buy it on a late Friday night, I wondered if these could be made without much chocolate or may be some alternative. Skimmed through the internet and my favorite blogs, I got this simple but delish recipe from JoyOfBaking.com.

Cocoa & Almond Rum TrufflesIt offered to use cocoa powder instead of chocolate and cream or condensed milk. Such a relief. And the truffles came out so nice after I kept them to age for 2 days in fridge, that you couldn’t tell a difference if they were made from chocolate or not. In fact, the rum added, kind of marinated the roasted nuts and cocoa powder and brought together the flavors very beautifully.

Cocoa & Almond Rum TrufflesIn case you want your kids to have them, feel free to use an equal amount of apple juice. Also, the nuts give you enough space to play around with the different flavors. You could also add some mint chips or some finely chopped candied peel as well. Try adding some warm spices like cinnamon, pumpkin spice, vanilla, whichever way you like it. You’ve got endless opportunities to play around and have fun!!!

Ingredients

150 gm toasted almonds/walnuts/pecans
125 gm finely crushed chocolate wafers {I used chocolate chip cookies}
60 gm icing sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp honey
1/4 cup dark rum/apple juice

Toppings:

100 gm dark chocolate, chopped finely
30 gm white chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Crush the toasted nuts in a food processor, ensuring not to release their oil.
  2. Mix all the ingredients except toppings in a large bowl and chill the batter for almost 1 hour.
  3. Shape the batter into small balls of around 1 inch diameter and place on a baking sheet or a flat surface.
  4. Melt the dark chocolate over a double boiler or in microwave for around 15 seconds.
  5. Dunk each ball in melted dark chocolate to coat it all around. Fish it using a fork and let the excess chocolate drip down into the bowl.
  6. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and let chocolate solidify again.
  7. Place white chocolate chips in a plastic zip lock bag and melt them in microwave for around 15 seconds.
  8. Cut a snip on one edge of the bag and decorate the truffles as you like.