Three Layer Peppermint Bark | Mum In The Madhouse

Three Layer Peppermint Bark

I first came across peppermint bark three years ago on SouleMama blog and was intrigued   I love the look of candy canes, but we never eat them, so decided to give Peppermint bark a try and guess what we all love it.  The boys included.

pappermint bark

 

The secret in making this a grow up and delicious peppermint bark is buying the best quality chocolate you can afford.  The dark chocolate needs to be 70% plus and the white chocolate needs to have cocoa butter in (so no milky bars!).

Ingredients

  • 500 grams white chocolate,  chopped
  • 30 candy canes,  coarsely crushed (I did this by popping in two two plastic bags covering with a tea towel and then bashinf with a rolling pin)
  • 200 gramsof dark chocolate, chopped
  • 6 Tbsp of double cream
  • half ts. peppermint extract

Method

  1. Turn a large baking sheet upside down, and cover it securely with tin foil. Mark a 9- by 12-inch rectangle on the foil.  I use my glass worktop saver for this.
  2. Put the white chocolate in a heatprool bowl, and place it over a saucepan of barely simmering water.
  3. Stir occasionally until the chocolate is melted and smooth
  4. Turn the pan off
  5. Remove the chocolate from the heat. Pour half of it onto the rectangle on the foil. Using a spatula, spread the chocolate to fill the rectangle.
  6. Sprinkle with half of the crushed candy canes.
  7. Chill until set (I pop mine outside for 15 minutes)
  8. Meanwhile, combine the dark chocolate, cream, and peppermint extract in a saucepan. Warm over -low heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture is just melted and smooth.
  9. Cool to barely lukewarm, about 5 minutes and pour the dark chocolate mixture over the white chocolate rectangle.
  10. Using a spatula chocolate in an even layer.
  11. Chill until very cold , which is about 25 minutes.
  12. Rewarm the remaining white chocolate over barely simmering water  and then pour the white chocolate over the firm dark chocolate layer, using your spatula to spread it to cover.
  13. Sprinkle with remaining crushed candy canes.
  14. Chill just until firm, about 20 minutes.

peppermint bark

At this point you should be able to remove the bark from the foil on to a chopping board and you can trim the edges  Carefully lift the foil from the baking sheet onto a large cutting board. Trim away any ragged edges of the rectangle. Cut the bark in to bite sized pieces.
Pack into an airtight container, Store in the refrigerator. When serving let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes to emphasise the softer middle layer.