A recent surge of chocolate cravings had me purchasing loads of dark 70-80% bars to play with in the kitchen. Sure, it’s easy to grab something decadent and pre-made (have you tried those Maya choc-orange-spice bars from Green & Black’s ? Wow.). But when you’re a cooking addict like me, it’s hard to resist the lure of creating your own special somethings to enjoy.
This brings me to my newest love… chocolate covered nuts.
The crunch of a roasted nut combined with the smooth, sultry richness of dark chocolate can bring me to my knees. If I buy a nutty chocolate bar, it has to be loaded — and I mean packed — with nuts to satisfy me. Unfortunately, it’s not easy to find such a chocolate bar of high quality (I’m talking minimal, pure organic ingredients). So I figure, why not make my own nut-filled bites?
Melting chocolate is one of the easiest (and most pleasurable) things you can do in the kitchen. It only takes a few minutes to turn a solid bar into a luscious, dark liquid mass. Then just toss in your favourite roasted nuts to coat, pop them onto baking paper to set, and in no time you’ll have a container full of tasty morsels for sweet snacking bliss. Some of my favourite nuts to coat are: almond, hazelnut, macadamia and walnut.
So if you’re in the mood for something decadent, simple and home-made, have a go at these:
Chocolate covered nuts
1 cup nuts of choice (a mix is fine)
100 g quality dark chocolate bar – preferably 70% or higher
baking paper
baking tray
Preheat an oven to 150 C.
Preheat an oven to 150 C.
Place the nuts on a baking tray and roast for 8-12 minutes, or until golden and fragrant. Be careful not to let them go too far, as they will taste bitter and scorched. If using a combination of nuts be sure to place on separate trays, as some nuts roast faster than others. If using hazelnuts, you need to remove the outer skin before coating. Place roasted hazelnuts in a brown paper bag or inside a tea towel, and vigorously rub them against the bag/towel to dislodge the skin. It can get messy! Stop when most of the skins are removed. If they aren’t coming off easily, roast a little longer then try again.
Chop the chocolate into small chunks. Melt in a double boiler under simmering water. If you don’t have a double boiler, create one by placing a clean, dry stainless steel or glass bowl over a simmering pot of water. The bowl needs to be large enough to easily rest atop the pot. Place the chocolate chunks in the bowl, cover with a dry pot top, and sit for a couple minutes so the heat below can melt the chocolate. Remove the top and stir the chocolate with a dry spoon. When the mass it totally smooth with no chunks, it’s ready for dipping the nuts.
Just pop several nuts in the bowl with the chocolate, give’m a stir to coat, then gently place on a tray covered with baking paper. When the chocolate sets, this paper makes it so easy to peel the nuts off and not lose any chocolate.
You can do single nuts or small clusters with a few… make sure you drizzle enough chocolate between the cluster to hold the mass together (once it sets).
You can do single nuts or small clusters with a few… make sure you drizzle enough chocolate between the cluster to hold the mass together (once it sets).
Store in an airtight container. The glossy sheen of fresh chocolate will change after a day or two, but the flavour remains wonderful for a good week or two.
