First up – Congratulations, Finn!!
If you missed Finn’s post on Wednesday, go take a read. She finally had her baby, and from the photos I’ve seen, she’s adorable (the baby too. HA). I can’t wait to meet the little bean! It seems like just last week when Finn and I met in an office interview, young and awkward, and slowly bonded over our mutual love of food and hatred of xerox machines. How time flies! I’m so happy for you guys, and I can’t wait to hear all your upcoming stories.
I’ll keep it short and sweet today!
I love mint & chocolate. The flavour combination is so fresh on the tongue; rich, deep chocolate, with a fresh peppermint burst. YUM. It’s no wonder those little After Eight chocolates were some of my favourites growing up.
It turns out, it’s actually easy to make something similar at home. All you need is 4 ingredients and a bit of time! The hardest part is letting the chocolate set in stages. When there’s chocolate involved, I’m very impatient, but these candies are worth the wait.
The bottom layer: a little melted chocolate (dark chocolate is preferred, as the filling is pretty sweet and the hint of bitterness from the chocolate is a welcome change) spread thin and chilled until hardened.
The middle layer: a smooth, melt-in-your-mouth, minty icing filling spread over top of the chocolate and chilled until set.
The top layer: another layer of thin, melted chocolate. Refrigerate it all until completely set.
Like I said, the hardest part about this recipe is the waiting!
Once hardened, break the chocolate into pieces. They’ll break a little unevenly, but that’s part of the Chocolate Bark Charm. The centre filling can melt a bit at room temperature, so these are best stored in the refrigerator of even the freezer so they stay firm. As you can see, as I was taking these photographs, so the centres melted a bit. A little messy, but still delicious!
| Homemade After Eight Mint Chocolate Bark | | Print |
- 200 g dark chocolate
- 1½ cups icing sugar
- 2 Tbsp milk
- 1 tsp peppermint extract (or to taste)
- Line a baking tray with wax paper; set aside.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, heat 100 g of the chocolate in 30 second increments, stirring after each increment, until fully melted. Pour melted chocolate onto prepared baking tray and spread into a thin, even layer roughly 8" square. Refrigerate until firm.
- In a mixing bowl, mix the icing sugar, milk, and peppermint extract until it forms a thick paste. If mixture is too thick, add a bit more milk, if it is too thin, add a bit more icing sugar. Spread sugar mixture over top of the cooled chocolate. Refrigerate until firm.
- Melt the remaining 100 g of chocolate in 30 second increments, stirring after each increment, until fully melted. Pour over the icing sugar mixture and spread into a thin, even layer. Refrigerate until fully set, about 2 hours.
- Once fully set, break into pieces.
I used to LOVE those after dinner mint chocolates! I’ll definitely be trying this one! Looks so mouthwatering!
Can we use mint essence instead of peppermint essence for this recepie
You certainly can, Anindita! We use peppermint since it’s ‘traditional’ for After Eight bars, but any kind of mint will work wonders. Enjoy!