Chocolate bars

Preheat the oven to 150 °C fan setting. Place a perforated baking mat on a perforated tray and spread 50 g of nuts on it. We have mixed hazelnuts, pistachios and peanuts, so 50 g in total.

Put the nuts in the oven at 150 °C fan setting for 15 minutes. Roasting makes them more aromatic and crunchy. Then let them cool.

While the nuts are cooling, prepare the molds: rub the dry chocolate molds with cotton wool. This way the bars won't get marks when you remove them and will shine nicely. For small molds with edges, cotton swabs help.

We'll show you with milk chocolate, but white, dark or Dulcey chocolate works the same way. Melt 90 g of chocolate in the microwave or over a water bath. In the microwave, first heat the chocolate for 1 minute at 400 watts, stir, then add another 30 seconds to 1 minute depending on the type. Milk chocolate melts faster than white or Dulcey.

The target is 42 to 45 °C. Make sure the chocolate doesn't exceed 50 °C, otherwise it will burn and become lumpy.

Once the melted chocolate has reached 42 to 45 °C, add the remaining 30 g of unmelted chocolate. Stir carefully with a spoon until everything has melted. The chocolate will then drop to about 31 to 32 °C: perfect! Let it stand for a few minutes.

Repeat this with the white and the Dulcey chocolate. You'll find all the details on tempering in our guide How to temper chocolate properly.

Put the roasted nuts in a zip bag and roll a small rolling pin over them. Because they are roasted, they are firmer and easier to crush.

Peel the hazelnuts beforehand by rubbing them between your hands. Not every bit of skin has to come off, just remove the skins that loosen on their own. Have the chopped nuts, goji berries, crispy pearls and chocolate drops ready in small bowls.

Pour the tempered chocolate into the molds. We used 35 g for the classic mini chocolate bars and 25 g for the heart-shaped bars. Depending on the shape, each type of chocolate yields 3 to 4 bars. You will find many chocolate bar molds in our range.

Tap each filled mold about ten times on the work surface so that the air bubbles rise to the top. This is important, otherwise the bar will have small holes after it is removed from the mold.

Once the air bubbles have risen, decorate the bars as you like. Our combinations: pistachios and goji berries, hazelnuts and dark chocolate drops, peanuts and hazelnuts, peanuts and chocolate drops, peanuts and crispy pearls. Be creative and use whatever you enjoy!

Place the moulds in the freezer for a good 15 minutes. After 15 to 20 minutes, take them out and carefully turn them out onto the work surface. Note: the bars often fall out on their own, so don't hold the mould too high.

If they don't come out, no need to panic: tap the mould at an angle against the work surface, one or two taps are usually enough. If it still doesn't work, put the moulds back in the freezer for another 10 minutes. If you've tempered properly, this is normally not a problem.

And that's it! Your chocolate bars are ready to enjoy or give away.