Chocolate bark hearts (homemade valentine chocolates)

Chocolate bark hearts make a fun gift for Valentine's Day. They can be decorated with toppings of your choice and are quick and easy to make.

If you are looking for a last minute gift idea for Valentine's Day, this simple no bake chocolate bark recipe is for you.

You can use heart shaped moulds if you have some, but if not you can easily make a your own moulds using foil. Make your moulds whatever size you like and adjust the quantities of ingredients to suit

If you use a 200g bar of chocolate it will make a total area of around 18cm by 18cm but this may vary depending on the thickness of the chocolate.

For other homemade gift ideas you may also like to try chocolate dates, rum and raisin fudge or chocolate salami.

Ingredients

• Chocolate - select a type of chocolate which is suitable for melting. You could use either dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate or selection.

• A selection of toppings such as chopped nuts, chopped dried fruit, seeds or salt flakes.

The nutritional information below is based on using 200g dark chocolate, 1 teaspoon dried cranberries, 1 teaspoon pumpkin seeds, 1 teaspoon chopped nuts and 1 teaspoon sunflower seeds with each serving having 25g chocolate.

How to form the moulds

Roll pieces of foil to form ribbons and shape to form hearts. Fasten the ends together using additional pieces of foil.

Check that the inner face of the foil is smooth so that the chocolate doesn't set with any edges of the foil in it.

Place a sheet of greaseproof paper on a baking sheet and place the moulds on the paper.

Prepare the toppings

Here I have used chopped dried blueberries, chopped almonds, chopped peanuts, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. Other dried fruits or nuts could be used, or even a light sprinkling of sea salt flakes.

How to melt the chocolate

Melt sufficient chocolate for the size and number of moulds you are going to use.

You can melt any dark or milk chocolate using either a microwave or the bain-marie method. If you are using white chocolate I recommend using the bain-marie method.

Using a microwave - break the chocolate and place in a bowl suitable for a microwave. Melt at half power (350 watts) for 30 seconds at a time. Repeat until melted. When the chocolate is partly melted stir between each session in the microwave. Make sure that the bowl and any utensils are perfectly dry as even the smallest amount of water will affect the qualities of the chocolate and will make it lumpy and unusable.

Using a hot water bath or bain-marie - pour hot water into a saucepan. Place a heatproof bowl over the saucepan (use a size of bowl and pan so that the bowl sits over the level of the water without touching the water). The steam from the hot water will slowly melt the chocolate. Heat the water gently until the chocolate has melted, stirring as it melts. Remove from the heat as soon as it has melted to avoid burning. Make sure that the bowl and any utensils are perfectly dry and be careful not to splash any water onto the chocolate as even the smallest amount of water will affect the qualities of the chocolate and will make it lumpy and unusable.

Form the chocolate bark

Spoon the melted chocolate into the moulds and smooth the tops with a spoon. Don't worry if some of the chocolate seeps through the bottom of the mould as this can be trimmed off when the chocolate has set.

Sprinkle the toppings over the top of the chocolate and leave until the chocolate has set. The setting time will vary depending on the size and thickness of the chocolate.

When the chocolate has set and has fully hardened carefully peel the foil moulds from the hearts trying not to leave any traces of foil behind.

Trim any uneven edges of the chocolate hearts with a sharp knife.

To store

• Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
• This chocolate bark is not suitable for freezing.

Tips

1. Try to ensure that the inner face of the foil is smooth so that the chocolate doesn't set with any edges of the foil in it.
2. You can follow the same steps to make chocolate bark in other shapes for other times of the year such as Christmas. You could also prepare your chocolate bark in a lined tin and break into pieces before sharing.

FAQ

Other chocolate recipes

Other no bake gift ideas