This chocolate bark recipe is salty and sweet, with the perfect crunchy texture in every bite! Here’s how to make this fun, giftable treat.
We’re chocolate junkies here, so this is one of our best treats Chocolate bark! This one’s sweet and salty, with a confetti of colorful ingredients, and absolutely irresistible. It’s the best fun that makes a great gift. We used cranberries, pistachios, coconut, and sea salt for the toppings, but it’s totally customizable to your liking. This is how the perfect chocolate crust succeeds: with a smooth, glossy shine on the chocolate and just the right crunch when you bite into it.
Tips for making the best chocolate bark
There are some tips to do that a lot better Chocolate bark. You can skip to the recipe when you’re ready to get started. But here are some more details about the why behind the what in each step of the process:
- Temper chocolate! Many chocolate rind recipes don’t call for tempering the chocolate, but it does make a far better rind. The chocolate has just the right glossy, crunchy texture and doesn’t melt at room temperature. It also prevents chocolate bloom, that white substance that develops during storage.
- Use semi-sweet or dark chocolate, about 60%. We have found that 60% dark chocolate tastes the best. 70% are too bittersweet.
- Pour the mixtures into the chocolate AND on top. Adding the mixtures to the chocolate gives the best crunchy texture. (All above make a note of it.)
How to temper chocolate
Chocolate is moody: period! But to make the best chocolate rind, we like to temper chocolate. It is a special process in which chocolate is heated and cooled to stabilize it for confectionery production. As mentioned above, it makes the texture more stable, the exterior shiny and avoids the white “bloom” that can appear on the chocolate during storage. Here are some tips for tempering chocolate:
- You need a food thermometer. You do not have ? Go to the next section. This helps to achieve the exact temperatures required.
- Don’t put water in the chocolate. That’s rule #1! You will melt the chocolate over boiling water but DO NOT let it touch the chocolate or it will set.
- Melt 2/3 of the chocolate to 108-115°F, add the rest of the chocolate and reduce to 85-86°F, then reheat the chocolate to 90-91°F. That’s the basic idea of deterring! Start high, go low, and then come back to the middle. There’s a lot of science behind this, so trust us.
Don’t have a food thermometer?
Tempering chocolate is the way to get that better Chocolate bark. But you don’t have a food thermometer? It’s good too! You can do it without cranking and it’s still good. Here’s what you need to know:
- Melt the chocolate over boiling water. Use the “makeshift” water bath method below or a water bath. You can use a microwave to melt chocolate, but that’s not our preference because it’s easily overboard.
- Skip the tempering and just use the chocolate once it’s melted. Add mixtures, pour in a thin layer and add toppings.
Chocolate bark toppings!
Once you make it to the chocolate, making chocolate bark is a breeze! For this bark we used cranberries, pistachios, coconut and smoked salt. The combination of sweet, salty, crunchy, tropical and smoky was perfection! Smoke Salt isn’t required, but if you can find it it adds a unique element (if not, use Sea Salt). Of course you can use any mix-ins. Here are some more ideas for chocolate bark toppings:
- nuts such as pistachios, walnuts, cashews, pecans, hazelnuts
- seed such as pumpkin seeds or sesame seeds
- dried fruits such as dried cranberries, dried cherries, apricots, dried blueberries, freeze dried strawberries
- crystallized ginger
- pretzels broken into pieces
- peppermint Candies, crushed
- Chopped candies of any kind
- mashed potato chips
- asparagus
Storage of chocolate bark
What is the best way to store homemade chocolate bark? Chocolate rind stays more stable when refrigerated, so we recommend storing it in the fridge or freezer. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks or frozen 3 months.
More chocolate recipes
Are you a chocolate addict like us? Here are our best chocolate recipes to make when you’re craving a treat:
This chocolate bark recipe is…
Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.
- 12 ounces Dark chocolate or plain chocolate (50% to 60%)
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
- ⅓ cup chopped pistachios
- ⅓ cup large coconut flakes
- ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt (or smoked sea salt)
Note: If you don’t have a food thermometer, simply melt the chocolate in a double boiler using the instructions below, then skip to step 5.
- Preparation: Start a small saucepan with barely simmering water. Cut the chocolate into 1/2 inch pieces. In a completely dry, heatproof bowl that fits over the pan of simmering water, add about 2/3 of the chocolate pieces. We used a small metal bowl; You can also use a water bath if you have one. Be careful not to put water in the chocolate as this will cause it to set! (There are fixes for confiscated chocolate, but it’s not pretty.)
- Melt the chocolate at a temperature of 108 to 115°F: Hold the bowl of chocolate over the other pan of boiling water to create a double boiler (or use your double boiler). Place a towel on the counter next to the stove so you can place the bowl on the counter if necessary and prevent water from entering the bowl. Hold the chocolate shell over the simmering water for a few seconds until the chocolate begins to melt. Remove from the bowl onto the towel and stir and stir to continue to melt. Check the temperature with a food thermometer and shake the water back and forth on the towel for a few seconds until it’s completely melted. The target temperature is 108-115°F, but do not let the chocolate get hotter than 115°F.
- Add the unmelted chocolate and reduce to 85-86°F: Once the chocolate is completely melted and has reached a temperature of 108-115°F, add the remaining third of the unmelted chocolate (called seed chocolate) and stir constantly until it melts and the temperature of the chocolate drops to 85-86° F falls. It takes up to 10 minutes but it’s worth the wait! Stir regularly to ensure an even temperature. (While it’s melting, you can chop the pistachios.)
- Reheat to 90-91°F: When the chocolate has reached 85°F, return the bowl of chocolate to the pot of simmering water for a few seconds until it reaches 90-91°F again. The chocolate is now tempered!
- Add the mixtures and spread in a thin layer: Add half the cranberries, chopped pistachios, and coconut flakes to the melted chocolate and stir until fully combined. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a spatula, spread the chocolate mixture in an even layer onto the parchment paper measuring approximately 8″ x 11″. Scatter over the remaining toppings and crush the coconut and coarse sea salt with your fingers to make smaller chunks.
- Refrigerate: Refrigerate for 30 minutes until hardened. When hard, cut into irregular 2-3 inch pieces with a butter knife. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks or frozen 3 months.
- Category: Dessert
- Method: hardening
- Kitchen: Dessert
- Diet: vegan
Keywords: Chocolate Bark, Recipes for Chocolate Bark
