For the holidays I'm serving chocolate mini-candy bars at home and giving them as gifts. They're a lot of fun to make. They taste great and look so cool.
For everyone who doesn't have the time, I am making them to sell. If you don't live in the LA area, I can mail them to you. You can email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
MAKING THEM AT HOME
To make chocolates requires a few specialized tools, some of which may already be in your kitchen.
A double boiler or two saucepans that can fit together, a Silpat or nonstick sheet, and a silicone spatula are the basics.
If you want to make individual chocolates, you will also have to invest in hard plastic or silicone molds sold in restaurant supply and some kitchen supply stores.
Be prepared to do a lot of tasting in pursuit of a chocolate you like. What you need to find is chocolate sold in bulk, not chocolate bars that are designed to be consumed like candy bars. Once you find a chocolate you like, start thinking about flavors and nuts.
Don't be shy about experimenting. I happily spent an afternoon trying out dozens of combinations. For myself, I discovered that I liked two chocolates instead of just one.
Equal amounts of milk (30% cacao) and semi-sweet dark (70% cacao) chocolate worked well for me because they compliment each other. The milk chocolate is sweet and creamy. The dark chocolate has more bite and is less sweet.
You can use one chocolate, two (like the ones I describe in the recipe below) or three, if you want to use milk, dark and white chocolate. When you make your own chocolates, all the choices are yours!
Then I tried using different nuts--hazelnuts, peanuts, almonds and walnuts--and flavorings--vanilla, espresso syrup, crystallized ginger and candied orange zest.
If you order from me, you can customize your chocolates.
WHAT WORKS, WHAT DOESN'T
With all my experimentation, I learned some important lessons.
Chocolate and water do not mix. When I added raspberry puree to melted chocolate, the resulting mixture had a granulated, uneven texture. The flavor was ok but the mouth feel and texture wasn't desirable.
Less is more. Almond slivers were better than whole almonds. Barely a 1/4 teaspoon of finely chopped crystallized ginger was more than enough to flavor a mini-chocolate bar.
Once you have made your chocolates, refrigerate them in an air-tight container, using waxed bakery tissue between layers to prevent sticking.
If you want to give the chocolates as a gift, many kitchen and restaurant supply stores and web sites sell candy boxes.
TWO CHOCOLATE-ALMOND MINI-CANDY BARS
Yield: 6-8
Ingredients:
1/4 pound good quality milk chocolate
1/4 pound good quality dark chocolate
1/4 cup raw, slivered almonds
1 teaspoon sugar
Method:
Use two double boilers or 4 saucepans to separately melt the two chocolates.
Fill the bottom part of the double boiler or one saucepan with water, being careful that the bottom of the top or second saucepan doesn't touch the water.
Break up the chocolate and place the milk chocolate into one saucepan and the dark chocolate into the other. Stir occasionally with a silicone spatula as the chocolate melts.
After the chocolate has melted, lower the temperature for 5 minutes, stir, then raise the flame again so the water simmers as it did before. This will temper the chocolate so it achieves a good finish.
Be careful not to over heat the chocolate to avoid granulation and bitterness.
Keep the water in the bottom pan gentling boiling so the chocolate stays in a liquid state. Add water as needed.
While the chocolate is melting, place the almonds in a frying pan on medium heat. Toss and sprinkle with sugar. Keep the pan moving as the sugar liquefies. Coat the almond slivers, remove with a silicone spatula and let cool on a Silpat sheet or parchment paper.
Pour a small amount of one chocolate into each section of the mold. Drop in 3-4 almond slivers and layer in the second chocolate. Place the mold on a cookie sheet and put in the freezer for 10 minutes until the chocolate sets.
For storage, remove the individual chocolates from the mold, place in an airtight container with waxed bakery tissue between the layers to prevent sticking and store in the refrigerator.
The chocolates can be served either cold, straight from the refrigerator so they are crisp, or allowed to come to room temperature so they are soft. Serve on a decorative plate or platter.
Variations:
Instead of almonds, use chopped dry roasted peanuts, pecans or hazelnuts.
Instead of nuts, use finely chopped crystallized ginger.
Instead of nuts, use finely chopped candied orange peel.
David Latt is an Emmy-award winning television producer who turns to cooking to alleviate stress. He shares his experiences with food and his favorite recipes on his blog Men Who Like To Cook.