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Red and Green Recipe: White Chocolate Bark with Fresh Mint, Almonds, and Dried Berries

Posted by Kerry Saretsky, December 23, 2008 at 6:00 PM

Chocolate bark may be the easiest dessert in the world to make. All you do is melt the chocolate in a double boiler, spread onto a baking sheet, top with flavorings, and refrigerate. For this chocolate bark, I used the colors of Christmas: snow white from the white chocolate and almonds, winter green from the fresh mint, and Rudolph red from the dried strawberries and raspberries.

The inspiration for this bark comes from a chocolate shop in Barcelona called Escriba. The shop is stunning, everything a chocolate shop should be in its stately whimsy crowned by a giant peacock stained glass window. On the sweets counter sat fresh mint leaves, covered in a thin layer of set dark chocolate. It was love at first bite, and for this bark, I similarly used fresh mint, which counters the sweetness of the thin layer of white chocolate perfectly. Almonds imbue a nutty crunch, and dried berries a fruity-tart sweetness. It is perfect to wrap up in cellophane and give away as holiday cheer.

About the author: Kerry Saretsky is a Serious Eats intern and the creator of French Revolution Food, where she reinvents her family's classic French recipes in a fresh, chic, modern way.

White Chocolate Bark with Fresh Mint, Toasted Almonds, and Dried Berries

- serves 6 to 8 -

Ingredients

8 ounces of good white chocolate, chopped up
15 fresh mint leaves, chiffonade
20 dried raspberries
6 dried strawberries
1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds

Procedure

1. Set up a double boiler, being sure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the simmering water in the pot beneath. Add the chopped white chocolate to the bowl.

2. While the chocolate is melting, chiffonade the mint, and chop the dried berries. You want all the ingredients to be about the same size and shape as the almond slivers.

3. Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Once the chocolate has just melted—you don't want to just leave it to simmer or it will burn—use a silicone spatula to pour the chocolate onto the wax paper-lined baking sheet, and spread it out so that it is 1/4 inch to 1/8 inch thick. Scatter the almonds, mint, and berries all over the chocolate, and use a clean spatula to gently press the toppings into the chocolate so that they can set.

4. Refrigerate the chocolate for two hours, then invert the hard block onto a cutting board, and peel off the wax paper. Turn it around again so the toppings face up, and use a knife to cut the bark into shards.

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Tags: almonds, desesrt, holiday entertaining, holidays, mint, Red and Green Recipes, white chocolate