HOMEMADE FESTIVE GIFTS WITH GUITTARD CHOCOLATE

The best Christmas gifts are the personal ones – the ones that spread cheer by showing how much you care. So, whether you’re looking to make a classic Yule Log, Knock-Out Chocolate Bombe or a gift-able Chocolate Treat, make it world-class this year, make it with ethically and sustainably sourced Guittard chocolate. 

Easily purchased in a variety of different forms, Guittard is available from Lakeland, Whole Foods, M&S and Ocado, so there’s no excuse to turn up empty-handed throughout the festivities! Highly recommended is the superbly simple yet utterly decadent Dark Chocolate Almond Ginger Bark, featured in the Guittard Chocolate Cookbook (Chronicle Books). 

Guittard has been expertly crafting their products using traditional French methods in San Francisco since 1868. If nearly 150 years of chocolate making isn’t guarantee enough of its quality, you need only look to some of the UK’s top culinary talent for assurance. Great British Bake Off winner Edd Kimber said: “I was first introduced to Guittard at its home in San Francisco and was won over very quickly, the range is perfect for the home baker and the quality is excellent. I was excited to see them launch here in the U.K. as it really enables home bakers to up their chocolate game at a really affordable price.” 

Not only is it high in quality, Guittard is a chocolate brand with ethics, meaning you can give guilt-free this Christmas. The company is committed to honourable sourcing, crafting the highest quality chocolate, providing the best service and setting new standards for the industry, an approach that is illustrated by their mission to Cultivate Better™. With a passion for promoting the sustainability of the cocoa growing regions and the wellbeing of cocoa workers, Guittard Chocolate Company is giving new meaning to the virtues of chocolate. 

Spread cheer with homemade chocolate gifts that tick all the boxes this Christmas – spread cheer this Christmas with Guittard.

Chocolate Ginger Bark Recipe

230g sliced almonds
30g icing sugar
2 Tbsp golden syrup
1 Tbsp warm water
50g candied ginger, cut into 2.5cm dice
340g Guittard 74% Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Wafers.

 

Preheat the oven to 180c. Line a rimmed baking tray with greaseproof paper. 

In a small bowl, combine the almonds, icing sugar, golden syrup and water and mix until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the almond mixture onto the prepared baking tray and spread it in a thin, even layer covering the entire tray. Toast the almond mixture for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the almonds are golden brown. Remove from the oven and let the mixture cool in the pan on a wire rack. 

When the almond mixture has cooled to room temperature, add it to a medium bowl along with the candied ginger and mix to combine. Set aside. Melt the chocolate using a hot water bath or the microwave oven. Stir until completely melted and smooth. Remove the bowl from the water if you used a hot water bath and cool the chocolate. 

Add the melted chocolate to the bowl with the almond-ginger mixture and stir until the almonds and ginger pieces are uniformly coated. Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking tray (re- line with greaseproof paper, if necessary), and use an spatula to spread it out evenly, working quickly so the chocolate does not set before an even layer can be created. Let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes then refrigerate until the chocolate is hard, at least 3 hours and up to overnight.

Break the chocolate bark into pieces. Store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 2 weeks.

PRODUCTS

Complete couverture range – single origin, blends, fair trade, organic

Guittard’s single origin and blended chocolate is ideal for the professional chocolatier, cake maker, pastry chef and home baker and is made up of single origin and blended chocolates, crafted in the centuries-old, small-batch French artisan tradition. 

• The Retail baking range includes 8 baking chip bags, 3 baking wafer pouches, 3 baking bars and 2 tubs of cocoa powder. 

Available from: Wholefoods, Lakeland, Waitrose, Booths, and Ocado 

GUITTARD AND SUSTAINABILITY

In 2016 Guittard introduced Cultivate Better™, which defines the company’s longstanding commitment to honourable sourcing and expert crafting. Cultivate Better™ is an on-going journey to grow and learn together, to improve farmers’ livelihoods, and build relationships that foster better business. 

Guittard Chocolate Company is a founding member of the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF), a public-private member group of stakeholders in cocoa. Through WCF, Guittard has been a funding partner, with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and others, of the Cocoa Livelihoods Program (CLP) in West Africa that delivered essential support to insure quality of life for farmers through sustainable cocoa growing.

Guittard is a member of the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI), which focuses on child labour mitigation and remediation. 

Guittard Chocolate Company is licensed by Fair Trade USA for greater profit for the farmer, sources cocoa beans that are Rainforest Alliance Certified for greater sustainability, and has a Safe Quality Food (SQF) Level 2 Certification. Guittard’s factory is a peanut-free and gluten-free facility. The Orthodox Union (OU) certifies all Guittard products kosher. The Guittard baking range is certified organic by the USDA.