Chocolate Mint Bar with Edible Silver Leaf
April 21, 2017
“Chocolate Mint Bar with Edible Silver Leaf on top”
I cut a slab of glossy chocolate into sharp-edged rectangles and marked each one with a small, crumpled piece of silver leaf. I tagged it #fancyfood, naturally.
Clean cuts in a layered chocolate bar are all about temperature. You chill the slab until it is firm but not brittle, then cut it with a long knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry between every cut, so the blade melts its way through without cracking the top. Edible silver leaf, like gold, is pure metal beaten to a few millionths of an inch. It has no flavor and has been used on sweets for centuries, especially in India, where it is called vark.
This article is written in Corey’s voice for this tribute site, based on his captions and blog. His own words are the quotes above.
Layered Chocolate Mint Bars with Silver Leaf
Three-layer chocolate mint bars, a thin brownie under a peppermint cream and a dark chocolate glaze, are a long-standing American bake sale and holiday classic. This version keeps the layers thin and sharp, cuts them cleanly with a hot knife and finishes each bar with a fleck of edible silver leaf, a decoration with a long history on the sweets of South Asia, where it is called vark.
Ingredients
Brownie base
- 115 g unsalted butter (1/2 cup)
- 115 g dark chocolate, 60 to 70 percent cacao, chopped (4 ounces)
- 150 g granulated sugar (3/4 cup)
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 5 g pure vanilla extract (1 teaspoon)
- 2 g fine sea salt (rounded 1/4 teaspoon)
- 65 g all-purpose flour (1/2 cup)
Mint layer
- 85 g unsalted butter, softened (6 tablespoons)
- 240 g powdered sugar, sifted (2 cups)
- 20 g heavy cream (1 1/2 tablespoons)
- 3/4 teaspoon pure peppermint extract, or to taste
- Pinch of fine sea salt
Chocolate glaze
- 170 g dark chocolate, 60 to 70 percent cacao, finely chopped (6 ounces)
- 120 g heavy cream (1/2 cup)
- 15 g unsalted butter (1 tablespoon)
Finish
- 2 to 3 sheets edible silver leaf, sold as food grade
Method
- Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 20 cm (8 inch) square pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on two sides to lift the slab out later.
- Melt the butter and chocolate for the base together over barely simmering water or in short microwave bursts, stirring until smooth. Whisk in the sugar, then the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla and salt, and beat until the batter is thick and glossy.
- Fold in the flour until no streaks remain. Spread the batter level in the pan and bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until a skewer comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool completely in the pan.
- For the mint layer, beat the butter until smooth, then beat in the powdered sugar, cream, peppermint and salt until creamy and spreadable. Spread it over the cold base in an even layer with an offset spatula and refrigerate for 30 minutes, until firm.
- For the glaze, bring the cream just to a simmer and pour it over the chopped chocolate. Wait 1 minute, stir from the center until smooth, then stir in the butter. Let it cool to about 90 to 95°F (32 to 35°C), fluid but no longer warm to the touch.
- Pour the glaze over the mint layer and tilt the pan to level it, using as few spatula strokes as possible. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until fully set.
- Lift the slab onto a board. Dip a long, thin knife in hot water and wipe it dry, then trim the four edges and cut the slab into bars about 2.5 by 5 cm (1 by 2 inches), pressing straight down and reheating and wiping the blade before every cut.
- Using tweezers or the tip of a dry brush, lift small pieces of silver leaf and touch them to the glaze on each bar. Serve cool but not ice cold, so the layers are soft enough to bite through cleanly.
Chef’s notes
- If the glaze melts into the mint layer and the line between them blurs, the glaze was too warm or the mint layer was not chilled. Wait until the glaze is at body temperature or just below before pouring.
- Ragged cuts and smeared layers come from a cold or dirty knife. A hot, dry, clean blade for each cut is the whole secret of a sharp edge.
- Peppermint extracts vary a great deal in strength, and peppermint oil is several times stronger than extract. Start with less, taste the cream and add more a drop at a time.
- Buy silver leaf that is explicitly labeled edible, and keep fingers off it: it sticks to skin and tears. Apply it last, since it tarnishes and wrinkles if the bars are handled or stacked.
Drawn from the methods of
- Maida Heatter, Maida Heatter's Book of Great Cookies (1977)
- Alice Medrich, Bittersweet (2003)
- King Arthur Baking Company
Corey has not published his own formula for this piece. This reference recipe is compiled from the published methods of the chefs and bakers listed above, written in our own words.
