Mango & Praline Chocolate Snack Bars

These snack bars are the perfect treat for Christmas or any kind of celebration. They will make an elegant centrepiece when served directly on the table.
Before starting this Mango & Praline Snack Bars recipe, make sure you have organised all the necessary ingredients.

For the vanilla rich shortcrust pastry: Roll out the vanilla rich shortcrust pastry to a thin layer and cut strips to dimensions of 11 x 1.8 cm. These strips should be cut to the cavity dimensions of the mould you're using.

Bake in a preheated oven at 150-160°C for about 15 or 20 minutes, until slightly golden. Remove from the oven, then drizzle some Mycryo cocoa butter over the pastry. This will create a hard shell on the biscuit to make it resistant to moisture.

Moulding the chocolate cases: For tempering the chocolate, I recommend following the technique with Mycryo cocoa butter, which I find the easiest and most efficient method for tempering chocolate at home. Pour the tempered chocolate into the cavities of your mould, then flip to let the excess chocolate drip off. When the chocolate is set, release the hard chocolate cases from the mould.

For the mango fruit paste: Organise the necessary ingredients.

Heat the mango purée up to 40°C or 50°C.

Combine a little castor sugar with the yellow pectin. Yellow pectin is a gelling agent that is specifically designed for the preparation of fruit paste.

Add the yellow pectin and sugar mix to the hot mango purée, pouring it in a thin stream. Important: the pectin and castor sugar should be combined together before adding to the fruit purée in order to avoid any lumps.

Add the glucose syrup. Beforehand, you can place the glucose in the microwave for about 20 seconds to soften it. The use of glucose syrup will ensure the consistency of the fruit paste is soft and smooth.

Every time you add sugar, make sure it dissolves completely before adding any more. This should take about one minute each time.

At this stage, the pectin should be completely dissolved and there should be no lumps. Heat the preparation to a temperature between 104 and 106°C. This a standard process for making fruit paste. Another important thing is the size of the saucepan. Do not use a large saucepan for a small amount of preparation.

When the coulis starts boiling, the temperature should be close to 104 or 105°C. The use of a digital thermometer is essential for this operation.

Dissolve the tartaric acid in a little water, then add to the preparation. Tartaric acid helps to enhance the acidity in the fruit paste. You should notice a change in the consistency of the preparation within 2 minutes.

Whisk constantly.

Pour the fruit paste preparation into a stainless steel frame or a silicone mould.

For the praline crème mousseline: Organise the necessary ingredients.

Combine the castor sugar, egg yolks and crème pâtissière powder (or cornflour).

Blanch the ingredients using a whisk.

Add half of the hot milk, whisking constantly.

This will facilitate the incorporation of all the ingredients.

Add this mixture to the saucepan with the rest of the milk...

... and cook until thick and homogeneous. We're working with small quantities, so this operation should not take long at all.

... and the Mycryo cocoa butter to improve the consistency of the crème mousseline.

Add the pure hazelnut paste...

... and the almond and hazelnut praliné paste.

Combine all the ingredients with a whisk...

... until smooth and homogeneous.

Spread into a thin layer with a spatula...

... and cover the surface with another sheet of cling film. Refrigerate.

Assembling the snack bars: Take the crème mousseline out of the fridge and beat with an electric whisk. The cream should be cold for this operation.

After whipping, the cream should be smooth and pale. Transfer into a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle (diameter 6mm).

Pipe a lace of praline filling in the chocolate cases.

Place a thin pastry rectangle over the praline crème mousseline. Press gently on the biscuit so the praline cream comes up a bit on the sides.

On top of the biscuit, pipe another layer of praline filling in the shape of pointed dots.

This operation should be precise and regular.

When the fruit paste is set, remove from the mould and cut into squares. Coat the fruit paste squares with granulated sugar...

... then cut into four dices. These small fruit paste cubes have 2 plain sides and 2 sides coated with granulated sugar.

Arrange a few fruit paste cubes over the praline crème mousseline.

Complete the decoration with small meringues (piped with plain and fluted nozzles to alternate both patterns)...

... and chocolate sponge cake cubes, cut with your fingers to make them look like small rocks and sprinkled with cocoa powder.

Arrange a few sponge cake cubes on the surface of the snack bars.

These original snack bars are ready to serve!
We hope you will enjoy these delicious mango and praline chocolate bars. They will make a great treat for Christmas, or the perfect finger food for any celebration.