When I was growing up the purple Cadbury’s wrapper was an iconic symbol of chocolate. My mum’s best friend Auntie Bernadette used to call over and we always knew she would bring a big bag of chocolate bars. Seeing as there were 6 of us, this wasn’t a regular event. There was always a race to get to the bag early in the queue otherwise there was a danger of being left with the Cadbury’s fruit and nut – something you definitely wanted to avoid. I don’t think I knew any kid who liked fruit and nut in chocolate. If you were unlucky in this old style version of hunger games, you had to pick out the nuts and fruit in order to have a decent bit of chocolate.

I have changed since then and regularly combine the two. Here are my two favourite kinds of chocolate bark recipes – although I have noticed Eva has a preference for picking out pieces with more marshmallows.

Chocolate Bark with Dried Fruit and Nuts
200gr semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used 80% but you may prefer less bitter)
100Gr less bitter chocolate say 53%, chopped
4oz chopped mixed nuts (I used pecans almonds hazlenuts walnuts)
4oz mixed dried fruits – I prepare more cranberries in my mix – chopped if there are any large pieces.

Combine all but 30gr of the chocolate into a heat proof bowl and melt gently over a pot of simmering water.
Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining chocolate until it is all melted. This is a simple method to give you a bit of a snap in your chocolate. (It isn’t quite perfect tempering but will work pretty well – always keep aside 10% of you amount of chocolate)
Line a baking tray with parchment paper
Pour the melted chocolate over the paper and spread out to form a rectangle not too thin.
Sprinkle the nuts and fruit over the chocolate.
Set aside for 2 hours until firm. Cut the bark in slabs and serve at room temperature.
Store in an airtight container.

And for the kids……
Chocolate Bark with Toasted Coconut and Marshmallows
Same as above but replace the fruit and nuts with
toasted Coconut chips and small marshmallows.