Chocolate brittle, also known as chocolate bark, is a homemade candy bar made by melting and reformulating chocolate with nuts and other ingredients like dried fruit. Recipes vary, but the mixture is typically spread on parchment paper, covered in melted chocolate and nuts, and left to harden in the fridge. Toasting nuts beforehand adds flavor, and dried fruits and other additions like vanilla extract or citrus zest can be included. Variations include using different types of chocolate or adding peanut butter or crushed peppermint candies.
Making the confection known as chocolate brittle, also called chocolate bark, is one way to invent a candy bar from home. Most often including nuts, either a single type or an assortment, this dessert requires some melting and reformulating of the chocolate, then hardens again with the added ingredients. While recipes vary, this concoction invariably includes some form of chocolate, along with sugar, butter, nuts, and even dried fruit like raspberries or raisins.
To brittle a standard version of chocolate, the right proportions are needed to ensure that the final product hardens to the right consistency. Many chefs use equal parts sugar, butter, and ground nuts to sweeten and encapsulate the nuts. This is melted into a sugary mass that can be spread on the bottom of a parchment-lined pan, then covered in melted semi-sweet chocolate and even more nuts as a topping. After being left to harden in the refrigerator, it is broken up and served. Some avoid this step by simply mixing chopped nuts into dark chocolate, which produces a noteworthy dessert but not an actual chocolate brittle.
While not necessary, toasting the nuts before using them in the chocolate brittle will impart the most flavor. This can be done by baking them on a baking sheet in an oven set to 350°F (about 177°C). The small pine nuts will only take five minutes, but it may take up to 25 minutes to properly toast thick-hulled varieties like chestnuts. Many types of nuts are suitable for this process, from pistachios and walnuts to cashews and almonds. A medley wouldn’t be uncommon, though many recipes recommend using just one type of nut for the brittle, with perhaps another to garnish.
Several recipes for chocolate brittle also call for dried fruits such as raspberries, raisins or apricots. These are chopped and added to the nut brittle mixture before being placed on the pan. Some cooks, however, mix the fruit into the melted chocolate or simply use it to garnish the top of the brittle. Other frequent additions include vanilla extract or citrus zest.
A basic chocolate brittle has semi-sweet chocolate, but alternatives abound. Common substitutions are white or milk chocolate. One recipe melts semisweet and white chocolate in separate pans, then swirls the two together just before pouring. Other variations add a layer of peanut butter for a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup effect or crushed peppermint candies in white chocolate for a Christmas version.
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