How to make simple and tasty chocolate buttons for Valentine's Day

Ahead of Valentine's Day, ​Julia Platt Leonard whips up some tasty little chocolate buttons topped with sea salt, pink peppercorns and chilli flakes

Being handed a box of chocolates and asked to choose one is my idea of confectionary Russian roulette. There are so many opportunities for it all to go wrong – anything with a fruit, cream or – heaven forbid – floral flavour makes me queasy simply thinking about it. I’m a chocolate puritan: I like it plain, with nuts, caramel and that’s about it.

Sure, sometimes there is a ‘handy’ diagram on the lid but is there really time? The unspoken message seems to be to pick a chocolate and pass the box on. Plus, I find the diagrams a bit enigmatic. Is that swirl on the top the sign of salted caramel (yes!) or violet crème (no!)?

I find it easier to mumble some excuse and pass the problem on to the next person. It’s why I like chocolate with the toppings on – well, on the top. You can see what you’re getting before your fingers commit to a course of action that your mouth may regret.

These chocolate buttons are simply kid’s chocolate with a grown up twist. They couldn’t be easier – simply melt the chocolate and pour it into rounds. The fun bit is adding the toppings. I’ve gone for dark chocolate with chilli pepper flakes (a natural partner with chocolate) or pink peppercorns with white chocolate, as a nod to Valentine’s Day. Both get a flick of crushed sea salt.

You could add nuts – chopped pistachios, bits of almond or even pine nuts would be a treat. You could even pour out the rounds and let your guests top their own, but on second thought that feels vaguely Stepford Wife-ish, so perhaps not. Either way, there’s no confusion and not a whiff of violets anywhere.

The simplicity of the buttons means you can choose whatever kind of toppings you prefer

Chocolate buttons

The most challenging part of this – and trust me it’s not hard – is melting the chocolate. Chocolate doesn’t like water and it doesn’t like extreme heat, so don’t melt it at too high a temperature or for too long. And if you’re using the stove top bain marie method, ensure that no water gets into the chocolate.

Makes 20 white and 20 dark chocolate buttons

1 x 100g bar of white chocolate
1 x 100g bar of dark (70%) chocolate

To garnish:

Red chilli pepper flakes
Pink peppercorns
​Maldon sea salt

Other topping options:

Nuts (chopped pecans, pistachios, almonds or pine nuts)
Dried fruit, like cranberries or cherries

There are two easy ways to melt chocolate. If you have a microwave, place the white chocolate in a heat proof jug and the dark chocolate in a second jug. Microwave one of the jugs for a minute. Stir and heat again at about at 15 second intervals. Stop microwaving when most of the chocolate is melted but there are still lumps. Remove from the microwave and stir until the chocolate is smooth.

Pour a small amount of the chocolate on to a silicone baking sheet placed in a sheet pan. I aim for around the size of a fifty pence coin. Repeat until you use up all the chocolate. If the chocolate starts to harden, you can microwave it again for 10 seconds. While the chocolate is still soft, garnish with whatever toppings you’re using plus crush a tiny bit of sea salt on to each one.

Repeat with the second chocolate. You can melt the chocolate on the stove too, using a bain marie or water bath. Bring a small amount of water to boil in a saucepan. Place a heat-proof bowl on top so it covers the opening of the pan completely but the bottom of the bowl doesn’t come into contact with the water. Stir until the chocolate is almost melted then remove the bowl from the pan and continue stirring until it’s completely melted and smooth. Pick up from the instructions in the second paragraph.

Once you’ve decorated the buttons, place the sheet pan somewhere cool (but not the refrigerator) to allow them to harden. When they’re hard, remove them from the silicone sheet and serve. Keep any leftovers in a sealed container in a cool, dry place.