makes
12
prep
25 minutes
cook
10 minutes
difficulty
Mid
makes
12
serves
preparation
25
minutes
cooking
10
minutes
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
- 125 g caster (superfine) sugar
- 38 g unsalted butter
- 2 g ground cinnamon
- 18 drops peppermint oil
- green gel colour
- 400 g good-quality dark chocolate
You will need chocolate bar moulds for this recipe.
Instructions
1. Prepare a caramel by heating the sugar in a pan over medium heat until all the sugar has dissolved and you have a foam on the surface. Stop the caramel cooking by adding in the butter, cinnamon, peppermint oil and green colour.
2. Pour the mixture onto a silicon baking mat or a sheet of baking paper to cool. As soon as the caramel is cool, break it up into smaller pieces with your hands and place in a food processor. Grind the caramel to a course powder. The caramel powder is best when used on the same day, however, if you are not using it straight away, store it in an airtight container in the freezer.
3. Melt the dark chocolate and temper it if it contains cocoa butter. To temper the chocolate, place it in a plastic bowl and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time until you have 50% liquid and 50% pieces of chocolate. Stir it vigorously without additional heat until all the chocolate has melted. If you have some resistant buttons you can gently heat the chocolate with a hair dryer while stirring.
4. Lay a piece of baking paper on workbench. Polish the moulds with cotton wool. Spoon the prepared chocolate into the chocolate bar mould. Scrape the top of the mould with a metal scraper and tap the mould on the bench to dislodge any air bubbles. Turn the mould upside down over baking paper and tap the side of the mould with the handle of the scraper to remove the excess chocolate. When all the excess chocolate has been tapped out, scrape the mould while it is still upside down. Ensure the top surface of the mould is scraped clean.
5. Place the mould on its side to set at room temperature. Sprinkle the mould generously with the prepared mint crunch, ensuring you don't sprinkle it higher than the mould.
6. Once the first layer of chocolate is set, seal the mint crunch in with a second layer of chocolate. Once again, scrape off any excess chocolate with a metal scraper. Ensure the top of the mould is clean and place in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Note: You will have excess chocolate which you can store in an airtight container (preferably opaque) to use for your next recipe.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
