White Chocolate Bark

White chocolate is a thing of beauty--although you wouldn't know it from so much of the stuff that's out there. First off, there's all that imitation junk, pretending to be white chocolate: basically sweetened Crisco with vanilla. Or more accurately, hydrogenated shortening and some flavorings. Really, what's the point?

White chocolate should be cocoa butter, the fat from the cacao pod--pure and simple. Except it's often not. Even the stuff that's sold as pure cocoa butter is often chemically deodorized. Why? Because it's a fat. And fat's go rancid. So the cocoa butter is chemically cleaned up. And thus loses most of its taste.

That said, there are non-deodorized, pure versions of white chocolate. And let me tell you: taken as a whole they're a revelation with deep hints of the original cacao; as well as nutty, even bitter overtone; all combined with velvety, buttery cocoa butter, sweetened of course, and very creamy. A pure delight. If you want to know more, check out El Rey Chocolates here. Their white chocolate is simply fantastic--and about as much real food as you can get.

To make the bark, chip up about 1 pound of white chocolate. Put about two-thirds of it in the top half of a double boiler or in a mixing bowl set in a saucepan, either one with about an inch of barely simmering water underneath.

Stir until the white chocolate has melted, then remove the top half of the double boiler or the bowl from over the heat. Add the remaining white chocolate, then stir until fully melted--and keep stirring even beyond that, until the white chocolate has a gorgeous sheen, until a little dribbled back into the mixture holds its shape momentarily.

Pour the melted white chocolate out onto a silicone baking mat or onto parchment paper spread out on a baking sheet. Spread it until its about 1/4-inch thick.

Sprinkle it with 1/3 cup shredded un-sweetened coconut. Then sprinkle with 1/3 cup chopped roasted cashews and 1/3 cup diced, dried pineapple. Press the fruit and nuts down slightly, then set aside. White chocolate takes a little longer to set than dark chocolate because of the higher fat content. Plan on a couple hours.

Finally, chip the bark into pieces, maybe irregular and jagged 3-inch rectangles and triangles. Done. Again, we put them in clear, cellophane candy bags, tied shut with ribbon. But there's no reason to be that foofy. Besides, good white chocolate might not last that long.