Edible Holiday Gifts: Boozy Peppermint Bark
Peppermint bark is a standard for the holiday season, but since we like playing with our food here at ES we decided to give ours a bit of a boozy twist by adding in a peppermint Kahlua truffle center.
We’re so glad we did and we are betting you will too. What can you expect in this bark? How about a bottom chocolate layer crunched-up with some crushed chocolate wafers. For the center we boozed up our bark with Kahlua’s seasonal Peppermint Mocha mix, and to finish it all off is a layer of white chocolate with crushed Peppermint Andes candy.
Now that we’ve finished tweaking a classic bark, we’re off to create a new bark with a bit of wine. Stay tuned!
Peppermint Truffle Bark
Makes one 8×8 pan
Ingredients:
- 16 oz. semi-sweet Ghirardelli chocolate, divided use
- 12 chocolate wafers, crushed by hand
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons Kahlua Peppermint Mocha
- 8 oz. white chocolate
- 10 Peppermint Andes, chopped
Instructions:
1. Place 8 oz. chocolate in a Bain Marie or in a heat-proof bowl above simmering water. Heat on low until chocolate is melted. Add in crushed chocolate wafers. Pour chocolate wafer mixture onto parchment-lined pan, then using an offset spatula spread chocolate until smooth. Transfer pan to freezer to chill for about 3-5 minutes or until melted chocolate becomes solid.
2. Place remaining semi-sweet chocolate and heavy cream in a Bain Marie or in a heat-proof bowl above simmering water. Let chocolate and heavy cream heat on low and stir until chocolate is melted and combined with heavy cream. Add in Peppermint Kahlua, stir to combine. Place truffle mixture in refrigerator for about 20 minutes or until truffle mixture resembles thick cake mix (homemade – not box cake mix, which is never thick). Remove truffle mixture and pour it over the chocolate layer. Return pan to refrigerator and let chill for another 20 minutes.
3. Place 8 oz. white chocolate in a Bain Marie or in a heat-proof bowl above simmering water. Heat on low until white chocolate is melted. Pour melted white chocolate over truffle layer, then using an offset spatula, spread chocolate until smooth. Sprinkle Peppermint Andes candy on top of white chocolate. Let bark stand at room temperature for 1-2 minutes. Then score the white chocolate with a knife for easy cutting and to prevent cracks while cutting. Set aside bark for another 5-8 minutes to set (white chocolate can set without being refrigerated). Cut and serve.
I was interested to see if anyone else is having trouble with this setting up. The truffle layer never really firmed up. It tastes fabulous though. I’m letting it set in the fridge overnight. I hope it cuts tomorrow!
I have not cut into mine yet but the truffle filling also doesn’t look very set up. I even had the whole bark in the refrigerator overnight, got it out this morning, and the filling isn’t very firm. I’m sure it tastes delicious, but I don’t want it to be oozing out as it is sitting on a plate for people to enjoy!
My filling also did not set. I wish I had read the previous comments before I made this, but I read the recipe and it sounded so good that I jumped in without even thinking about reading on as usual. I guess I learned my lesson. Did anyone have success once they attempted to let it set longer. I let it stay in the freezer for another hour, but the truffle filling was still extremely soft and the whole thing became a huge unattractive mess when I tried to break it up.