Play Hard

Wait, choc-uterie boards are a thing?! Tell us more…

Check out the fanciest new addition to your festive spread...

Written by High Life North
Published 26.12.2020

We all know that this time of year is one for indulgence, nay, over-indulgence.

And while we might not be celebrating in our usual way, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be able to scoff our way through all the usual festive foodie favourites: namely, chocolates. And in the unlikely (in our cases, anyway) chance you have leftover chocolates left, why not make them the fanciest new addition to your festive spread? 

HLN always keep our eye on the latest trends, and grazing platters have risen to the top of 2020’s culinary crazes, perhaps due to the fact we haven’t been able to go out as much as we’d like. A picky feast is always a winner, but this isn’t just any picky feast – this is a chocolate picky feast.

So what are you waiting for? Pull out your best wooden board, grab some ramekins and let’s go. 

Chocolate-dipped strawberries

Name a better combo, we’ll wait. Get a few juicy (out of season) strawberries, dip them in your favourite melted chocolate, and leave them to set for a little while. Sorted! Feeling crazy? What about a few white, a few milk and a few dark? Get that colour scheme popping for the inevitable insta-shot. 

Fudge 

So tasty, so sugary – perfect to go with this board of delights. We suggest having a crack at making your own crumbly fudge (we have a great recipe on our website), but you only need condensed milk, brown sugar and a bit of butter. Oh, and patience! Cut up some little chunks to include on the board, remembering to put some aside for a hot chocolate with panache. 

Biscuits 

Maybe you actually do have some self-control and have some leftover from Christmas? If not, that’s what shops are for. Biscuits will add a great extra texture to our choc-uterie board and will go very well with all the other tasty treats. We reckon wafers or shortbread will work best for something a little different from the other, chocolate-covered fare.  

Hot Chocolate

We need to include a drink, don’t we? So sticking to the theme, we should have a big mug of the good stuff each to go with this smorgasbord. We suggest a rich cocoa with full-fat milk (because at this point, why not?) and with piles of whipped cream on top. Don’t forget your fudge! 

Marshmallows

This brings us nicely to the soft and sweet all-time favourite, marshmallows. We think some of the big chunky ones would be a good fit here, perhaps a pile somewhere near the fudge to make easy dipping into the hot chocolate. Vanilla marshmallows go with everything, and if you’re sat near the fire while enjoying this board then whack a mallow onto a stick and get toasting! 

Salted Caramel Sauce

Time for a ramekin – we did say you’d need one! We think no choc-uterie board is complete without something to dip into. A fudge sauce would also work, but we think the board is fudgey enough. Salted caramel is so tasty and also really easy to make if you want to give it a go yourself – you only need some butter, double cream and soft brown sugar. BBC Good Food has an easy recipe.

Chocolate 

We did say that this is a CHOCOLATE board, after all. Gather all of your ‘leftover chocolates’ – aka those broken chocolate Father Christmases and bags of chocolate coins that are now on offer at your local supermarket – spread them all over the board at jaunty angles and make easy picking for you and your kin. 

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