If you are planning to make your own favours these Peppermint Bark Chocolate Hearts from The Vintage Teacup Hire Company are quick and easy to make! You can give them out individually with coffee at the end of your meal or wrap them up in groups for your guests to take home. Not just for weddings, why not have a go at making them for birthdays, valentines or Christmas prezzies too!
What you need:
(Makes 16)
One bar of Green and Blacks Fairtrade White Chocolate (100g)
One bar of Green and Blacks Fairtrade Dark Chocolate (100g)
6-8 mini candy canes
You will also need:
Silicon ice cube tray (ours was from IKEA)
Rolling Pin
Chopping Board
Plastic Food Bag
Microwave
I have a huge passion for Fairtrade and have always supported the Fairtrade Foundation’s ‘Fairtrade Fortnight’ which was celebrated from 23rd March-8th February 2015. A few weeks before I asked my hubby to pick up as many Fairtrade products as he could in the supermarket so I could challenge myself to do something lovely with them during Fairtrade Fortnight. Once I’d eaten the breakfast bars, brewed the tea and drunk all of the sparkling wine I was left with two large bars of Green and Blacks Fairtrade Chocolate. Scrambling around in my baking cupboard I found a silicon ice cube tray and some candy canes left over from my daughter’s Christmas cards and the idea for these cute little favours was born. Of course you can substitute the chocolate for any other brand that you like but using Fairtrade adds an extra dimension as ethical and sustainable weddings are gaining popularity.
Place the candy canes into a plastic food bag and tie a loose knot. Squeeze the air out through the knot so that the bag doesn’t go pop! Placing a wooden chopping board on your worktop to protect it break the candy canes into small pieces using a rolling pin. Take care as the shards will pierce the bag and you may find the peppermint pieces start to fall out onto your worktop. Once you have enough small pieces empty it onto a saucer. It is a good idea to empty your bag on a regular basis and take out some of the larger pieces to start again otherwise you will end up with a lot of powder rather than nice sized shards.
Taking a flexible silicon ice cube tray place a couple of pinches of the peppermint shards in the bottom of each hole. This only needs to cover the base. Don’t put too much in or the chocolate will not be able to ‘hold’ the peppermint and you will end up losing it all when you press them out of the moulds.
Break the chocolate up into small cubes and place it in a heatproof bowl. Melt the chocolate in the microwave using the defrost setting (low power) in short 30 second bursts. Stir with a teaspoon between each burst until there are no lumps and the chocolate is running smooth. For the white chocolate this took two minutes (four short bursts).
Spoon a teaspoonful of the melted white chocolate into each section of the mould. Don’t worry about drips as we can neaten these up once the chocolate has set. Give the tray a gentle shake from side to side to get the chocolate to spread out over the peppermint in the base. A few taps will get the surface to level out and remove any airbubbles. Place in the refrigerator for a few hours to set.
Once set, remove from the refrigerator and use a teaspoon to tidy up any drips that have gone down the side of the moulds. This will help to give a neat line when you add the dark chocolate on top.
Repeat the process for the dark chocolate. The melting in the microwave will take longer with a dark chocolate. For us it took 5 minutes. Again, give the tray a gentle shake and a few taps to get the top as level as possible. Refrigerate for a few hours.
Once the chocolate has set gently press the hearts out of the moulds by exerting pressure underneath. You will find that some of the bark will remain in the moulds but that there should be a pretty covering on the chocolate too.
Display on cakestands for your guests to help themselves or fill a small jar with chocolate hearts and wrap it with a pretty ribbon and a gift tag to give as a gift to your best guys and gals.
