Chocolate barks have fascinated me in the recent times. They looked so lovely, jewel like and added lots of colour to the candy as well as life

They make amazing gifts during holidays, festivals and return gifts. Once the bark sets, you can break into pieces of desired size and pack them in transparent plastic covers with a gift tag.

I went hunting for those lovely colourful candied fruits. As a matter of fact, not just the dried fruits add flavor, you could add in anything that you may think will combine with chocolate. Crushed pepper/ chilly flakes with dark chocolate is a great addition. Sea salt can be sprinkled on top of any combination. Candies like pepper mint, orange or any flavor can be crushed and added along. Biscuits of choice can be crushed and added. Multigrains like muesli, cornflakes, butterscotch nuts, pralines, rice krispies, marshmallows and the choices are endless.

I am still not comfortable with tempering of chocolate and I will nail that in the near future . So as of now I am sticking to the compound.

1. Toast the nuts in microwave oven at high power for 1 to 2 minutes. Chop them once cool. Chop the dried fruits into small pieces.

2. Put the chocolate in microwave safe bowl. Each of them in different bowls. Microwave on medium high power in one minute bursts and mix well using a spoon until completely melted.

3. Add half of each chopped nuts/ dried fruits into each chocolate in desired combination and mix well.

4. In a tray ( I used cake boards ) line with butter paper and pour the chocolate mixed with nuts. Spread it out evenly to about 1/4th of an inch thickness and then sprinkle the top with the remaining half of the nuts reserved.

5. Set in room temperature for 2 to 4 hours until completely firm. Or pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes, in freezer to firm up in 10 minutes. Do not keep in freezer for long, condensation will be high.

Break them into pieces using your hands, or use a bench scrapper to cut through into sizes that you prefer.