Pencil&Spoon

Mark · Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 12:59 am Post subject: Chocolate Dates

I just love chocolate dates, they are a great dessert or just a brilliant snack. And they really couldn't be simpler to make...here is how you do it:

A big bag of medjool dates – you will want at least 5-6 each, but make too many as they are terribly addictive!

A big bar of whatever chocolate you want (a 200g bar will happily cover about 15 large dates, with enough in the bowl to lick after - my preference is for milk chocolate but use your favourite)

Melt the chocolate over just boiling water in a bain marie, you shouldn’t really need to stir it, just let it ooze away on its own. Meanwhile de-stone the dates and close them back up again to stop too much chocolate getting inside, you want that to stay like the most deliciously moist soft caramel. When the chocolate it melted take it off the heat and let it cool for about 5 minutes, then just tip in the dates and stir them around until they are all covered. Leave for another few minutes while you take a sheet of greaseproof paper. Lay this on a plate and sprinkle with a snow covering of cocoa powder, then with a teaspoon remove each date from the bowl and place on the paper. Drizzle over any extra chocolate and let cool before you place in the fridge until an hour before you eat them.