Chocolate and Christmas are a great partnership. We give lots of choccie gifts at Christmas. But what about mixing things up a bit and trying something just a wee bit different with this sweet and savoury Bacon Chocolate Bark this year.
Bacon Chocolate Bark
Okay guys it’s December and time to start thinking about those foodie gifts if you haven’t done so already.
This bacon chocolate bark will have to be made just before giving as it doesn’t keep long.
Oh, but it is so moreish it never lasts long anyway! So don’t just think of bacon for breakfast, it’s for any time especially with chocolate!
The bacon craze
Bacon is everywhere these days. You used to just find it playing best buddy to the fried egg at breakfast and appearing in the good old bacon and egg quiche.
Now it is sold in jars as crumble topping for everything from soups to muffins. It appears in jams, in cocktails, even in vodka.
And here in chocolate. Who would have thought that the king of breakfast could be so versatile?
Bacon and chocolate?
Oh, I can just see some of you wincing at the mere thought of combining bacon (that ultimate piggy breakfast food) with their beloved chocolate (that ultimate sweet treat).
But I assure you folks I haven’t lost the plot completely this combo really works and once you’ve tried this bacon chocolate bark yourself you will agree and be making more and more of the stuff.
The complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making this recipe can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Crispy bacon!
The trick is to make sure that the bacon is really crisp and dry before combining it with the chocolate and nuts.
If the bacon is at all soft and wet it will not work and you will end up with something that has a one-way ticket to the bin.
Extra ingredients for bacon bark
You could of course just go for bacon and chocolate with no other flavours. But why stop there, get creative my friends, and make that bacon chocolate bark positively sing with flavour!
Added flavours
I use walnuts for crunch as well as the crispy bacon and have cardamom, chilli and fennel in there as well as just a wee pinch of sea salt flakes.
What type of chocolate
Use high-quality dark chocolate with over 70% cocoa solids for your bacon chocolate bark, milk chocolate makes it all just too sweet.
The dark chocolate works really well with all those savoury goodies you are adding.
How long will this bacon chocolate bark keep?
It’ll keep for up to a week in an airtight container in the fridge.
So here we are with bacon chocolate bark, another foodie gift for Christmas.
This recipe makes a great foodie gift, so why not check out my post on how to make Christmas hampers.
Want more Foodie Gift ideas? Then check out my ebooks;
Naughty and Nice Edible Gifts For Christmas
Looking for more homemade sweet treats to make? Then check these out before you go;
4 Ingredient Chocolate whisky truffles
Refined sugar-free oat and nut snowballs
Refined sugar free mocha truffles
Nutty stuffed chocolate dipped apricots
Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.
Bacon Chocolate Bark
Ingredients
- 6 rashers streaky bacon smoked
- 50 g walnuts chopped
- ¼ tsp fennel seeds
- 4 cardamom pods seeds removed and pods discarded
- 1 Pinch dried chilli flakes
- 1 Pinch sea salt flakes
- 200 g dark chocolate
Instructions
- Grill the bacon on a rack until crisp and drain on kitchen roll and cool
- Crumble the cooled bacon
- Toast the walnuts in a dry pan for 1 minute till golden and aromatic, tip into bowl
- Toast the fennel seeds and cardamom for 30 seconds
- Grind the toasted seeds with chilli flakes and sea salt in pestle and mortar
- Melt chocolate in a bain marie (glass bowl over pan of simmering water but make sure water does not touch base of bowl
- Stir in the spice mix
- Pour the chocolate on to baking tray lined with patchment
- Scatter over the crumbled bacon and the toasted walnuts
- Set in fridge then break roughly into shards and pieces
- Pack in bags and store in fridge for up to a week
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