I’m not a would-be confectioner and have absolutely no patience for tempering chocolate or simmering sugar syrup to the exact right temperature for it to become caramel. I did both of those things at least once and moved on to cooking stuff I’m better at.
BUT
I tasted some chocolates filled with cayenne-infused tangerine syrup and loved them. The store I bought them in is too far from where I live. Besides, I prefer bark to syrupy-filled candies. So I decided to make my own homemade bark with tangerine-cayenne flavor. Plus chopped nuts.
I didn’t temper the chocolate so it doesn’t have the gloss of professionally created candies. And it took hours for the melted chocolate mixture to try.
On the other hand it was about four times cheaper than the store-bought candies (I used good quality chocolate too!). And this candy was so good that it disappeared in a flash. That tiny hint of chili pepper even appealed to my 12 year old grandson.
Chocolate Bark with Tangerine and Cayenne
1 pound dark chocolate
1 tablespoon melted butter or coconut oil
2 teaspoons grated fresh tangerine peel
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon or cardamom
2 pinches cayenne pepper
1 cup coarsely chopped roasted marcona almonds
sea salt
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt the chocolate and butter together in double boiler. Stir in the tangerine peel, cinnamon or cardamom and cayenne pepper. Add the almonds and stir. Spread the mixture over the parchment. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt. Let cool and set (this will take at least 5 hours). Break into pieces. Makes one pound +