Chocolate bark can be covered in chopped, roasted nuts like almonds, or filled with chewy, sweet dried fruit. Whether you choose semi-sweet or dark, chocolate bark is a come-one-come-all treat. Cut it into classic shards, or use my technique for creating cute, seasonal, or festive chocolate bark shapes. It's a literal snap to make!
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🗞The Story
Chocolate bark is a rich concoction of melted chocolate with a variety of mix-ins that are spread and cooled, then cut or broken into shards. The freeform chocolate treat is a perfect vehicle for nuts, fruit, candy, pretzels, and more. Even melting and cooling a bar of high-quality dark chocolate and sprinkling pink sea salt on top makes for a delicious indulgence.
Making chocolate bark is a quick and easy process that doesn't require any special equipment or skill. And you can create a batch of delicious shards with pantry staples.
🍫 Choosing Chocolate
There is no need to overthink when shopping for chocolate. Unless you love diving down the rabbit hole of artisanal brands and varieties (and what chocolate lover doesn't). However, the better the quality of chocolate you buy, the more seductive and delicious your bark will be. But that doesn't mean we need to spend more on a chocolate snack than on dinner. Trust me, it could easily happen.
I tend to keep my local market's brand of organic dark chocolate in the pantry for such occasions. And for clients, I source bars of Ghirardelli or Valrhona chocolate. The former can be found in many national grocery chains, Valrhona is a commercial brand of couverture (premium chocolate) and can be ordered online. If you choose to work with couverture, it will need to be tempered using the professional technique recommended by the brand. Not with the steps described here.
Here is a list of fairtrade chocolate brands, if you are interested in buying from a chocolate producer that chooses respectful farming practices and sustainability.
💭 Tips on Chocolate Varieties
For a luscious, nuanced dark chocolate bark, choose a chocolate that is at least 63% cocoa. The higher the percentage listed on the label, the more chocolate liquor or cocoa solids in the chocolate. The darker the chocolate, the more intense and bitter the bite. As a starting point for any chocolate bark, reach for semi-sweet or around 60% cocoa solids.
White chocolate is technically not chocolate. It's cocoa butter (the fat from the cacao bean) combined with loads of sugar, milk solids, and often pesky emulsifiers. To whip up white chocolate bark, choose the purest white chocolate you can find.
What to Avoid
Steer clear of any chocolate that contains excessive emulsifiers or processed palm or vegetable oils. Most brands use soy lecithin which is fine in small amounts, a better choice would be sunflower lecithin. As long as it is the last ingredient listed, the chocolate should melt just fine.
Many common brands of chocolate chips are made with oils and ingredients that don't melt as smooth and shiny as less adulterated chocolate. One chocolate chip brand I've found that does melt well is Enjoy Life. It's also allergen-free... bonus!
Avoid chocolate candy melts from the craft store for chocolate bark, they are meant for coating and are typically artificially colored and flavored.
🧾 Ingredients
All you need for crunchy, scrumptious chocolate bark is two ingredients:
- good quality chocolate, chopped or as chips
- garnishes, chopped into small pieces
Nutrient-dense nuts, seeds, and dried fruit add flavor, texture, protein, and fiber to your chocolate bark moment. A win-win if I ever heard of one!
🌡️On Tempering
Most of the chocolate you buy at the grocery store is already in temper. This is a chocolatier's term, that among other characteristics, means the sugars in the chocolate are crystallized appropriately. So they will melt nicely, then set shiny and break with a lovely snap.
Only premium chocolate called couverture needs to be tempered with professional technique. Most, if not all, store-bought baking chocolate contains an emulsifier like soy lecithin. The lecithin acts as insurance against "blooming" by binding the cocoa solids and butter together. And also eliminates the need for classical, multi-step tempering.
So while it's not necessary, I quickly "temper" retail baking chocolate for homemade treats because it's an easy process. And when making chocolate bark it helps the melted chocolate arrive naturally at a temperature that spreads easily (not too quickly).
📋 Method
You can certainly use a thermometer when melting chocolate at home. But as detailed above, classical tempering is not necessary for home pursuits. The most important element is to use a very dry bowl. As even a small drop of water will cause melted chocolate to seize, or harden.
If you do want to gauge the temperature of your finished, melted chocolate, around 90° F is the target for semi-sweet and dark varieties. To keep melted chocolate in this range, keep it on top of a damp kitchen towel on the counter. This also helps steady the bowl for stirring and mixing. If it cools off too much, place it back on the pot of gently simmering water for a few minutes.
The Steps
Here are the steps for easy tempered chocolate for chocolate bark, no thermometer required.
- Chop the chocolate. Roughly chop any solid bar of chocolate into small, like-sized pieces. Skip this step if using chocolate chips.
- Melt about two-thirds of the chocolate you plan to use. Fill a small pot with about an inch of water, and place it over medium heat on the stove. Place about two-thirds of the chopped chocolate in a heat-proof, completely dry bowl, and set it on top of the pot. Melt over low heat, and stir occasionally until the chocolate is melted and smooth.
- Let the melted chocolate cool slightly. Cooling the melted, tempered chocolate a little will allow you to pour and spread it more easily. If it's too hot, the chocolate will spread and you'll end up with thin chocolate paper instead of chunky bark. I find five to ten minutes of cooling is plenty.
- Stir in the remaining chocolate. Add the reserved chopped chocolate and whisk or stir with a spatula until the melted chocolate is completely smooth. If the chocolate still seems too hot and thin to spread into a typical chocolate bark thickness, simply cool longer off the heat.
- Pour and spread the chocolate. On a silicone baking mat or a parchment or wax paper-lined baking pan, pour and spread the chocolate into a loose rectangle. No need for perfection, one of the beauties of chocolate bark is its imperfect shape. How thin or thick you spread the chocolate is up to you. I aim for bark that's about a quarter-inch thick, like a typical chocolate bar. If you like your garnishes dispersed throughout the bark, mix them in the melted chocolate before pouring and spreading.
Extra Melted Chocolate
Don't be afraid to melt more chocolate than you think you might use. You can always cool it and reuse it. Simply pour any leftover melted chocolate out onto parchment or wax paper. Then wrap the paper around it and store it in an airtight container. Next time you make a recipe that calls for chocolate, simply chop it into small chunks or break it up into larger pieces to melt it again.
French-Style Chocolate Bark
On this side of the pond, you will often find chocolate bark with garnishes mixed in. In France, they simply sprinkle the toppings, well, on top. I love this method because it gives you a chocolate confection that is both scrumptious to eat and a rainbow of beautiful colors to admire. After all, we first eat with our eyes!
For Kids
I especially enjoy making a French-style bark with little kids. After I melt, cool, and spread the chocolate, they can literally go nuts.
A plateful of crunchy garnishes is a fun way to involve little ones. It will buy you at least ten minutes of peace and quiet. Fun toppings for kids can be chopped pretzels (we use gluten-free), white chocolate chips, candied citrus peel or ginger, and even any cake decorating sprinkles you have on hand.
🔪 Cutting
At room temperature, chocolate bark and all its glorious flavor bits will take about an hour to two to set. For faster cooling, you can pop the pan in the refrigerator (sacrilege in professional circles, but hey, we're at home here). Wipe your knife with a damp cloth in between cuts for the cleanest-looking pieces.
I like cutting it first into small rectangles, then halving the small pieces into long, thin triangles. But your kitchen, you're the boss. Break it up with your hands, or bring the kids back in and let them have at it. There is, of course, no wrong way to bark.
Sweet Shapes
I'm not one to get overly excited for cupid's arrival on February 14th. But I do get excited about any excuse to eat chocolate. Or play with it. Or both. If you don't own any candy or confection molds, but do have a few cookie cutters lying around, you can create fun and festive chocolate bark.
To shape your bark with a cookie cutter, let it cool until almost hard, but still soft enough that you can press the cutters through with a little force. Carve out as many shapes as you like, but don't pop out the shaped chocolate bark until it is completely set.
Storage
Store chocolate bark at room temperature in an airtight container, or in the refrigerator. But serve chocolate bark at room temperature, especially bark with any dried fruit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely, not! Especially for chocolate bark, tempering chocolate with professional techniques is overkill. Chocolate from grocery stores and gourmet markets is already in temper. The reason the recipe here borrows from the classical technique is to ensure smooth melted chocolate that is the right temperature for spreading into bark (not too hot, not too cool).
The type of chocolate used by pastry chefs, couverture, is lower in sugar and higher in cocoa butter content than most retail chocolate bars. Couverture needs to be tempered to ensure the shine and snap truffle dreams are made of!
I think so! Dark chocolate around 70% cocoa solids contains much less sugar than its semi-sweet or milk chocolate counterparts. Throw in protein and fiber in the form of nuts and seeds, and you create a nutrient-dense snack that's easy on the insulin levels.
A few chocolate producers sell dark chocolate sweetened with coconut sugar or monk fruit extract, which paleo and keto diet followers enjoy.
If you want to melt baking chocolate in the microwave, heat chopped chocolate or chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl in thirty-second intervals. Stir or whisk between each burst. It can be helpful to reserve a small portion of the chocolate to whisk in once the rest is nearly melted. Reserve a portion of the batch to stir into the melted chocolate. This is one step of the classical tempering technique, but it's not imperative. Since most chocolate available at grocery stores contains emulsifiers that render tempering less necessary.
👩🏻🍳 Edible Epilogue
I love mixing up a small batch of chocolate bark in the winter when it's simply too cold for outdoor pursuits. And we often whip up a batch of chocolate bark hearts around Valentine's Day.
It's a fun family activity for any time of year. Plus, it calls for chocolate. And all manner of savory, sweet, and salty nuts and toppings. Which for me is 100% edible times.
📖 Recipe
Dark Chocolate Bark (French or American)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10-15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 20-25 pieces, depending on size 1x
- Category: Chocolate, Sweets
- Method: Tempering
- Cuisine: French
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Simple, quick, scrumptious, and quick and easy project for kids and grown-ups alike. Spice and mix up chocolate bark any way you like, with whatever you have on hand. Or leave it pure and just have fun playing with chocolate!
Melt as little or much chocolate as you wish. I give a measurement in the ingredient list as a starting point for a decent-sized batch that can serve a crowd.
For French-style chocolate bark, sprinkle the garnishes on top the poured chocolate. Otherwise, mix the garnishes in before spreading the melted chocolate for American-style bark.
Ingredients
- About 8 ounces of semi-sweet or dark chocolate, chopped (or chocolate chips)
Garnish Ideas
- small pieces of dried fruit
- sliced or chopped nuts
- crushed pretzels
- crystallized ginger or citrus peel, chopped into very small bits
- rice cereal (mix in before spreading)
- any flavor baking chips
- marshmallows and graham cracker crumbs for s'mores chocolate bark
- cake decorating sprinkles
How much of any garnish you use is a personal preference. Start small, as you can always add more as you mix.
Instructions
Wash your hands, gather your ingredients, tools, and equipment. Mise en place! Everything in place!
- Cut, crush or dice any garnishes you're adding and set aside.
- Chop the chocolate. Roughly chop any solid bar of chocolate into small, like-sized pieces. Skip this step if using chocolate chips.
- Fill a small pot with about an inch of water, and place it over medium heat on the stove.
- Place about two-thirds of the chopped chocolate in a heat-proof, completely dry bowl, and set it on top of the pot. Be very careful not to let any drops of water near the bowl of chocolate, as even the tiniest bit of water will cause melted chocolate to seize, or harden.
- Melt over low heat, and stir occasionally until the chocolate is melted and smooth. You can also melt chocolate in the microwave. I recommend reducing the power to around 70%. Heat the chopped chocolate in a large bowl using thirty-second intervals. Stir between each 30-second burst.
- Let the melted chocolate cool slightly. If you have a kitchen thermometer, aim for around 95° F. But about five to ten minutes of cooling should be enough in a room temperature (72° F) kitchen.
- Add the reserved chopped chocolate and whisk or stir with a spatula until the melted chocolate is completely smooth. If all of the remaining chocolate doesn't melt with stirring, place the bowl back on the pot to warm it slightly and melt the remaining solid pieces.
- For American-style chocolate bark, mix in your garnishes, using as much or little as you like. The more you add, the chunkier and chewier the bark will be.
- On a silicone baking mat or a parchment paper-lined baking pan, pour and spread the chocolate into a loose rectangle. An offset spatula is a great tool for this, but you can use any wooden spoon or flexible spatula you have. No need for perfection, one of the beauties of chocolate bark is its imperfect shape. How thin or thick you spread the chocolate out is up to you. I aim for bark that's about a quarter-inch thick, like a typical chocolate bar.
- For French-style bark, sprinkle your garnishes now on top of the chocolate after pouring and spreading.
- Cool at room temperature until the chocolate bark is hard and set.
For Chocolate Bark Shapes
After spreading and garnishing the chocolate, let it cool until almost hard, but still pliable. Press and remove any shape cookie cutter into the bark and remove carefully. Repeat as many time as you like. Let the chocolate bark cool completely before pressing the shapes out of the whole. An easy way to get the shaped bark out is by pressing up from underneath the parchment or wax paper.
Notes
On Cooling
Cooling the melted chocolate a little will allow you to pour and spread it more easily. If it's too hot, the chocolate will spread quickly and you'll end up with thin chocolate paper instead of chunky bark. I find five to ten minutes of cooling is plenty, and aim for an 80°-90° F range after the reserved chocolate is added.
On Extra Chocolate
Don't be afraid to melt more chocolate than you think you might use. You can always cool it and reuse it. Simply pour any leftover melted chocolate out onto parchment or wax paper. Then wrap the paper around it and store it in an airtight container. Next time you make a recipe that calls for chocolate, simply chop it into small chunks or break it up into larger pieces to melt it again.
On Nutrition Facts
The Nutrition Information below is based on eight ounces of dark chocolate and a half of a cup of chopped pistachios and a few pinches of sea salt.
Keywords: how to temper chocolate, Valentine's Day treats, chocolate bark recipe, chocolate bark, dark chocolate bark, French style chocolate bark, American chocolate bark
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