Chocolate Bark Candy Recipes - Chocolate Chocolate and More! (2024)

FAQs

What brand of chocolate is best for bark? ›

And while candy melts are great for cake pops, in a recipe like this, you'll really taste the difference between actual chocolate and candy melts. I recommend Ghirardelli, Guittard, or Baker's brand bars of chocolate when making bark.

To keep your chocolate bark from melting, a proper tempering process is necessary. Tempering is a process where the chocolate is brought to certain temperatures, which essentially optimizes the form of the cocoa butter fat crystals and keeps it stable.

Chocolate Bark is the easiest 5-ingredient snack you'll ever whip up. All you need are 5 simple (and completely customizable!) ingredients – chocolate, pepitas, dried cherries, coconut flakes, and any type of nuts.

Chocolate Tempering

Proper “tempering”—heating and cooling chocolate to stabilize it for making candies and confections—gives chocolate a smooth and glossy finish, keeps it from easily melting on your fingers, and allows it to set up beautifully for dipped and chocolate-covered treats.

Artisan Chocolate Makers

Chuao Chocolatier, which has its headquarters in Carlsbad, California. Chuao was recently voted the best chocolate in the U.S. for Food & Wine magazine.

That's because your chocolate wasn't tempered. Tempered chocolate sets at room temperature and has a snap just like a chocolate bar you buy from the store.

White chocolate generally solidifies more rapidly than milk or dark chocolate, setting in around 10-20 minutes. On the other hand, milk and dark chocolate usually take 20-30 minutes to harden.

If you melt the chocolate and work with it without tempering, it will take a long time to set up, will not be shiny, and won't snap; rather, it may be flexible, dull and brittle.

If you store your chocolate bark in an airtight container in the pantry, it will keep well for up to 2 weeks. During the summer (or if you live in a warm climate), place chocolate bark in the fridge to prevent it from melting. What other toppings could be used on chocolate bark? The possibilities are endless!

this is a great do-ahead treat!

It just gets better, too – because you can make this marbled chocolate bark in advance and keep it in an airtight container for up to a week at room temperature or in the fridge or freezer for easily a month, till you're ready to gift or serve.

What happens if you put too much coconut oil in chocolate? ›

You'll want to add in only a small amount of the oil at a time — too much could create an unpleasant texture in the chocolate.

If you're looking for a little extra insurance, add about 1 teaspoon of coconut oil per 1 cup of chocolate before melting. The nearly flavorless oil helps the chocolate get extra smooth and gives it a glossy sheen.

Adding a tablespoon of coconut oil or vegetable oil while microwaving helps the chocolate melt more smoothly and makes it the perfect consistency for dipping! The caveat here is that once cool, the chocolate won't set up quite as hard as it did to begin with due to the added fat content.

Of all the edible trees, the inner bark of the elm tree is the best tasting. It is less bitter than evergreens and tastes sweet with no bad aftertaste.

Tempered chocolate is wonderful to use when making homemade candy, such as truffles or peanut butter cups, or peppermint bark, because it maintains a nice smooth, shiny, and hard texture even at room temperature.

Most chocolatiers and candymakers recommend tempering chocolate for bark because it gives chocolate a beautifully glossy finish and a satisfying, clean snap when broken. It also sets up more quickly and keeps longer at room temperature.