Season's Eatings Pt. 2: Chocolate Bark

Tempering chocolate for the first time was a bit disastrous and I really need to do some research before I attempt it again. Sure, I followed the directions. But first, I didn't have a good thermometer. And second, chocolate is VERY CRABBY. Oh, and third? The awesome silicone molds that were suggested in December's issue of Martha Stewart evidently make real chocolate cloudy. I can only assume that they used the melting candy from Michael's Craft Store to get a glossy finish. Don't get my wrong, I'm not bitter. I love these molds and used them for my cookies.(More on that later.)

What kind of bark did I attempt to make and how? Well,  I laid down a layer of white chocolate on both projects, scraped the mold until there was only fine layer left. I let that harden, then made a "pan" around the mold with aluminum foil. After that I put the thicker layer of dark chocolate on top. Done correctly, the dark layer will show through the thin layer of white. Brilliant right? Thanks Martha.

The faux bois (wood grain) piece is peppermint bark. I crushed candy canes to add in and thought "There are never enough candy canes in peppermint bark, I'll add more." Unfortunately more is not better. The bark was far too crunchy and was too hard to cut into decent pieces. It just started to fall apart after awhile.

The basket weave is cranberry and almond bark. It was better and cut a little easier. Cranberries and chocolate. Yum.

Better luck next year. Hopefully I'll have learned to temper by then.