Mendiants, little round chocolate sweets, make for a lovely treat any time of the year though they are a tradition at Christmas in France and you’ll see them in every sweet shop! And – they’re super super easy to make! (Read about the history of mendiants).
Ingredients for 15 mendiants
200 grams of dark chocolate
Nuts – whatever you like, hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts
Dried fruits such as raisins, cranberries, crystallised oranges etc.
Break the chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl placed over a saucepan with water filled two-thirds of the way up. Heat the water gently to melt the chocolate.
Place a sheet of baking paper/parchment paper on a baking tray. Once the chocolate has melted, place a teaspoon of chocolate on the tray and spread thinly to obtain a disk about 5 cm (2 inches) in diameter. Gently vibrate the tray to avoid air bubbles. Quickly top the chocolate disc with two or three dried fruits/nuts of your choice.
Leave them to cool for an hour at room temperature – or 15 minutes in the fridge if you can’t wait that long!
More chocolate treats to make at home
Chocolate buche de Noel – Christmas yule log cake
The ultimate hot chocolate recipe
Chestnut-cream filled meringues with chocolate sauce
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