Festive Chocolate Bark with Craft & Crumb

It's the most wonderful time of the year! The twinkly lights are up, the Christmas music is playing and there’s a very good chance that somebody in the house is already asking, “Can we have a chocolate?”

We couldn't be more excited for Christmas — and our friends at Craft & Crumb have come up with the perfect festive treat to make with the whole family.

Say hello to festive chocolate bark! This wonderfully simple recipe is part baking, part crafting and a whole lot of festive fun. There’s no complicated mixing, no fancy equipment and very little washing up — hurrah! Instead, all you need to do is melt some chocolate, swirl it into a beautiful pattern and then let the children go wild with the toppings. Think candy canes, colourful Smarties, squishy marshmallows, gumdrops and anything else that looks suitably festive. It's perfect for making homemade Christmas gifts, keeping little hands busy on Christmas Eve or filling those magical — and sometimes rather long! — days between Christmas and New Year.

Why we love chocolate bark

Chocolate bark is one of those wonderfully forgiving recipes where there really is no right or wrong way to do it. You don't need to make perfect shapes. You don't need to pipe intricate decorations. In fact, the more colourful and chaotic, the better! Children can choose their favourite toppings and create their very own festive masterpieces. And because the chocolate is simply melted and decorated, it's a brilliant recipe for little helpers to get involved with. Just remember that the oven and hot baking tray are jobs for grown-ups.

What you'll need

Gather your festive ingredients:

• 4–6 large chocolate bars
• Candy canes
• Marshmallows
• Smarties
• Gumdrops
• Parchment/baking paper

And that's it! Of course, you can swap and change the toppings depending on what you have in the cupboard. Chocolate buttons, sprinkles, festive sweets, chopped nuts or dried fruit could all make delicious additions. The more colourful, the merrier!

Let's make some Christmas magic

1. Prepare your tray

Preheat your oven to 50°C and line a baking tray with parchment. This is a great moment to get your little elves involved with choosing the toppings. Put everything into little bowls so that the children can see exactly what they've got to work with. It makes the decorating stage much easier — although you may need to keep an eye on those Smarties!

2. Arrange the chocolate

Place your chocolate bars side by side on the lined baking tray. Try to arrange them so they're touching, creating one big chocolate canvas. Pop the tray into the oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes, until the chocolate has melted. Grown-ups should handle the oven and hot tray. The chocolate may not look completely melted when you first take it out, so give it a gentle prod with a knife to check that it's soft enough to swirl.

3. Swirl, swirl, swirl!

Now for the fun part. Take a knife and gently drag it through the melted chocolate to create a lovely swirly, marbled pattern. Don't worry about making it perfect. In fact, encourage the children to experiment with different patterns. Make waves, zigzags and swirls, or simply drag the knife backwards and forwards to create a magical marbled effect. It will look beautiful once the toppings are added.

4. Pile on the toppings

Now it's time for your little elves to take over! Scatter the candy canes, marshmallows, Smarties and gumdrops across the melted chocolate. You can create a carefully decorated pattern, or simply sprinkle everything over the top and see what happens. There are no rules when it comes to chocolate bark. Want extra marshmallows? Go for it. Think the bark needs more Smarties? Absolutely. Have a sweet that isn't on the ingredient list? Throw it on! This is where children can really let their creativity shine.

5. Let it set

Once you're happy with your festive creation, carefully transfer the tray to the fridge. Leave it to chill for around 1 hour, or until the chocolate has completely set. This might be the hardest part of the whole recipe… waiting! Why not use the time to make Christmas cards, watch a festive film or wrap the chocolate bark ready for gifting?

6. Break and enjoy!

Once the chocolate is completely set, take it out of the fridge and carefully break it into pieces. And there you have it! A wonderfully colourful batch of festive chocolate bark. There’s something rather satisfying about snapping the big slab into irregular pieces. Every piece will be different, covered in its own combination of chocolate, sweets and festive decorations.

Now comes the important question: who gets the first piece?

Make it into a homemade Christmas gift

Chocolate bark makes a lovely homemade present. Wrap pieces in clear cellophane bags, pop them into little gift boxes or tie them with festive ribbon. Children can make their own labels and add a little handwritten message. It makes a wonderfully personal gift for grandparents, teachers, neighbours, friends or anyone who deserves a little Christmas sweetness. And because children have made it themselves, it's extra special.

A Christmas Eve activity

We think this recipe would make a particularly lovely Christmas Eve activity. Once the presents are wrapped and the excitement starts building, get everyone into the kitchen and make a batch of festive chocolate bark. Put on some Christmas music, pop the kettle on and let the children decorate to their heart's content. You could even make a little Christmas Eve chocolate buffet with different toppings and let everyone design their own piece. Just don't expect much chocolate bark to be left by Christmas morning!

So gather your little elves, melt some chocolate and get decorating. Because Christmas is always a little bit more magical when you've made something delicious together.