PERSONALIZED CHOCOLATE BARS!

This has to be by far one of the most fun recipes I am going to post on my blog- and also one that I am most excited to share! From time to time here in Paris, I 'll walk into a chocolate shop or stroll around a chocolate fair and notice these stands that display these gigantic chocolate bars that come in an infinite amount of flavours. Do you see what I'm talking about? Huge milk, dark or white chocolate barks with an addition of nuts, cereals, cookies, fruits, so on and so forth. They always look so dazzling for the eye and so tempting to taste, and at the same time there is something intimidating about them because they just seem impossible to make from scratch as if there was a mystery about their fabrication. Well people, let me tell you a little secret- they are probably the easiest thing to make, ever! You just need two things: a very good quality base chocolate and the topping(s) of your choice. For instance, I experimented around with white and milk chocolate. As Christmas is soon approaching, I did one bar that contained a palette of this holiday season's colours: white, green (from the pistachios) and red (glacé cherries) and even some little gold coloured candies for a bit of spark. Another bar I personalized was a Mont Blanc inspired one: milk chocolate, bits of marrons glacés (candied chestnuts) and meringues. And these are just two examples amongst the infinite possibilities you can try out in your own very kitchen. To find out how, scroll down to the end of this post!

Above: the base ingredients that constitute my Christmas and Mont Blanc themed chocolat bars. Below: the chocolat bars are ready!

Personalized Chocolate Bars:

You will need:

A high quality base chocolate- dark, milk or white
+
Ingredients of your choice. They should preferably be small in size (so if they are big, chop them!) and dry.


Have your mise en place ready: line a mould (doesnt need to be too deep, just something to "hold" your mixture) with baking paper- bottom and sides.

Then melt your chocolate in a bain-marie. Once it is fully melted, shiny and consistent in texture, mix in your selected ingredients. Pour this mixture into your mould, and if you wish, sprinkle on top some of the chosen ingredients for a greater visual effect. Let cool in fridge for at least 1 hour, and the rest is up to you- devour it, share it, wrap it and offer as a gift, propose with a coffee alongside other "mignardises"...

But most of all- be creative! Add nuts, dried fruits, cereals, cookies, candies, M&Ms, Oreos, caramels, pate de fruits, marzipan...whatever your inner Willy Wonka is in the mood for! You can even mix two different chocolates together! If you do try this recipe out, I would certainly be curious to know what you experimented around with, so please, drop me a message and DO share your chocolatey results!

x

Marianna