For our Christmas party, I made two new desserts — both from Bon Appetit. And, both were a hit — with our party guests and our family.
This chocolate almond bark with sea salt is very rich — a little goes a long way! It’s easy to make and can be stored in the fridge for up to a week! That’s great when you’re planning a big party or, you’re looking for an interesting dessert to give to friends & neighbors.
Chocolate Almond Bark with Sea Salt
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Sugar
1 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter
1 1/2 cups roasted Marcona Almonds (not in oil)
1 lb. good-quality dark chocolate (62% – 70% cacao), finely chopped
Coarse Sea Salt (for sprinkling)
Directions:
1. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or foil.
2. Combine sugar with 2 Tbsp. water in a small saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and cook, occasionally swirling pan and brushing down sides with a wet pastry brush, until caramel is dark amber, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Immediately add butter, whisk until melted. Add almonds; stir until well coated. Quickly transfer almonds to baking sheet, spreading out to separate nuts. Let cool. Break up any large clumps of nuts. Set aside 1/4 of nuts.
3. Stir chocolate in a medium bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until melted. Remove from heat, add nuts from baking sheet and stir quickly to combine.
4. Spread chocolate-nut mixture on same baking sheet, keeping nuts in a single layer. Top with reserved nuts. Sprinkle with salt. Chill until chocolate is set, about 3 hours.
5. Break bark into pieces and store between layers of parchment or waxed paper.
Do Ahead: Can be made 1 week ahead. Keep chilled.
LORI’S NOTES:
- I used Trader Joe’s
Salted Skin-On Marcona Almonds. I wasn’t sure they’d work, as they have the skin on, but they were great. You need 1 and 1/2 bags (6 oz. bags). I also used Valrhona Le Noir Amer 71% Cacao bars (from Trader Joes). - In preparation for making caramel, I fill a 1-cup measuring glass half-full with water and place the pastry brush in glass – next to the stove – ready to brush down the sides of the pan.
- While the recipe calls to cool the chocolate-nut mixture for 3 hours, I found it easier to cut into pieces after 1 1/2 to 2 hours of cooling.
- Make sure you use very coarse sea salt. The chocolate looks better with small, coarse chunks of salt.
