In 1910 the Jewish entrepreneurs Samuel Hammer and Wolf Zimand opened the HAZET sweets and chocolate factory in Lviv – the name is the Polish pronunciation of the letters H and Z. In the 1930s it was one of the city’s largest confectioners, and its most popular products were “Caldorina” and “Tutti Frutti”. In 1932 the poet Emanuel Schlechter wrote the advertising “Sweetest Tango” for the factory. Today Svitoch operates in its buildings.
The factory made chocolate, marmalade, caramels, wafers, cakes and sweets. These simple sweets are a homemade tribute to its range: dark chocolate, dried fruit, candied peel and nuts.
About 20 sweets · 40 min + setting · Difficulty: easy
Ingredients
- 200 g dark chocolate
- 100 g white chocolate (optional)
- 50 g dried cherries or apricots
- 30 g raisins
- 30 g candied orange or lemon peel
- 40 g toasted almonds or hazelnuts
- 1 tbsp rum or orange juice
Method
- Finely chop the dried fruit and candied peel and soak in the rum or juice for 15–20 minutes.
- Dry well on kitchen paper.
- Chop the nuts.
- Melt the dark chocolate in a bowl over hot water, stirring so that it does not overheat.
- Stir in the dried fruit and nuts.
- Spoon small portions onto baking paper. Leave to set for 15–20 minutes.
- If you like, drizzle with melted white chocolate. Store in a cool place in a closed box.
Tips
- The dried fruit must be dry: even a drop of water can make the chocolate thick and lumpy.
- Melt the chocolate slowly over barely hot water. Overheated chocolate loses its shine.
- Replace the rum with juice if the sweets are for children.
About the recipe
This is not the recipe for a specific HAZET sweet. The factory made both chocolate and caramels, and this recipe is a reconstruction in the spirit of its pre-war range.