Chocolate & Popcorn Fridge Bars


This gorgeously indulgent treat is so easy to make, it’s dangerous. All it takes is a few blasts in the microwave and a few hours in the fridge, but it looks beautiful and it tastes utterly moreish. The combination of sweet and salty flavours is difficult to imagine until you try it, but it works so, so well.
 
Ingredients
150g milk chocolate
150g dark chocolate
125g butter
3 tablespoonfuls of golden syrup
A bag of sweet and salty popcorn – I used Joe & Seph’s Salty Caramel

Makes about 9 bars, depending on how big you cut them!

First, break up the chocolate and place in a large microwaveable bowl with the butter and golden syrup. Microwave in 30-second blasts, stirring in between – after you’ve done that three times, the chocolate and butter should be almost completely melted, and you should be able to combine it all into a smooth mixture. Don’t worry if there are a few small lumps of chocolate left – they should melt away as you stir.

Next, line a small tin with tinfoil – I used a square brownie tin. You need something that’s small enough for the chocolate mixture to form a reasonably thick slab. Pour about half of the popcorn into the chocolate mixture and stir through, then scrape it all out into the lined tin and spread it out evenly. Scatter the remaining popcorn over the top and press down with a clean spoon. Obviously you could mix it all in, but I think it looks prettier with some of the golden popcorn on the top!

Place in the fridge for about four hours. You don’t need to cover it, but make sure that there’s nothing especially strong-smelling in there as chocolate absorbs flavours quite readily. Once the mixture is solid, lift it out and peel off the tinfoil, then cut into chunky bars and serve with a cuppa. Keep the rest of the bars in the fridge, but beware – you won’t be keeping them for very long!