Last minute peppermint bark for festive feasting

If you've never tried peppermint bark before, I can't recommend it enough. It's sweet, minty, melts in the mouth and everyone falls in love with it.

I started making it a couple of years ago after stumbling across it on a couple of US blogs, and now we're all hooked.

My mother-in-law can eat a whole tray of it in one sitting and she's not even a lover of chocolate, so it's now an essential part of our festive gift making. You can whip it up in hardly any time, it tastes gorgeous and requires no skill apart from the ability to melt chocolate without burning it (and not scoffing the results).

So, without further ado, here's how to make it:

Take 2 large bars of chocolate, one milk and one white, and at least 6 candy canes. I bought my chocolate from Aldi and my candy canes from WH Smith as they were on special offer (3 for 2). But I did spot candy canes in Aldi tonight - lovely green and red ones too that looked very festive.

First, melt your milk chocolate, either in a microwave if you trust it not to burn, or in a bowl over a pan of water. Spread your melted chocolate onto baking paper on a baking tray and pop it in the fridge. Don't worry about neat edges. We're making bark, rough and uneven is good.

Next, unwrap your candy canes and place them in a plastic bag. Then take a rolling pin to them and bash away to your heart's content. They need to be nicely broken up with lots of lovely peppermint tasting crumbs, but try to leave some chunky bits (about the size of your pinkie nail) too.

Then, melt your white chocolate. I always melt my white chocolate over pan of water on the hob as my microwave *always* burns it. When your white chocolate is melted, mix in the crushed candy candy and give it a quite mix before spreading the white chocolate/candy cane mix over the milk chocolate layer.

Pop it back in the fridge until it has completely set. I usually leave mine overnight, but an hour should do it. When it's completely set, peel your chocolate slab away from the baking paper, break into chunks and resist the temptation to scoff it all there and then.

Pop the 'bark' into pretty boxes or bags, add a festive ribbon and voila you have a couple of gifts to give that cost in total, about £3 to make if you source your chocolate and candy canes from Aldi or somewhere similar. Festive frugality that doesn't taste like you've skimped - genius.

Pop along to the Advent Blog Hop at Snafflesmummy and check out all the other lovely, festive ideas!