What’s a Valentine’s Day without chocolate? Valentine’s day without chocolate is like Thanksgiving without turkey. I hope you all had a chocolate filled holiday.
For this years V-Day, I made this Coconut Berry Dark Chocolate Bark and let me tell you, I can’t stop eating it. I tried to limit myself to just a couple pieces tonight but then my roommate and I started watching the latest episode of the bachelor, poured some red wine, and had way more than just a “few pieces.” Can’t stop. Won’t stop. It’s addicting.
So, what is chocolate bark anyways?
Chocolate bark consists of a base layer of chocolate and topped with various toppings. Once the chocolate sets and becomes hard, you can break the chocolate into pieces, ultimately forming the “bark.”
The fun part about chocolate bark is that it is completely customizable and can be made in all different ways. If you don’t like a certain topping, substitute it for another. Try different combinations until you have your favorite chocolate bark. I personally love freeze-dried berries (which I used in this recipe) and nuts in my chocolate bark.
Not all chocolate is created equal.
Comparing one kind of chocolate to another chocolate is like comparing apples to oranges. One brand of chocolate can have different additives or percentage of cocoa, making it completely different than other types of chocolate.
For my dark chocolate bark, I like to use at least 60% cacao dark chocolate and I look for chocolate that has a simple ingredient list with no additives. Steer clear of chocolate that lists sugar as its first ingredient, rather than cacao. I like to use Guittard extra dark 63% cacao chocolate chips.
Melting the Chocolate
The best way that I’ve found to melt the chocolate is to create a double burner. To create a double burner, you heat a large pot of water and place another bowl on top. Put the chocolate in the bowl on top and allow the water in the pot below to heat and melt the chocolate. Constantly stir the chocolate until there are no more clumps and the chocolate is silky and smooth.
When using a double burner, I don’t turn the heat too high. I usually keep the heat at medium or medium-high. I feel like this level of heat keeps the chocolate from burning.
Assembling the Chocolate Bark
Once the chocolate is melted, pour it onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Next, prepare your strawberry coconut mixture by placing a slightly melted coconut butter and cream into a blender with freeze dried strawberries, blending until thoroughly mixed and smooth. Then, pour dollops of the coconut mixture on top of the dark chocolate and use a toothpick or tip of a knife to create the swirls. Top with freeze dried raspberries and strawberries and let it sit in the freezer to harden. Then, voila, you have your delicious dark chocolate bark!
Coconut Berry Dark Chocolate Bark
Ingredients
- 1 lb Dark Chocolate Chips
- 2/3 cup Coconut Butter
- 1 5.4 oz can Coconut Cream
- 1 oz Freeze Dried Strawberries
- 1 oz Freeze Dried Raspberries
Instructions
- Heat a large pot of water over medium-high heat on the stove. Add a glass or metal bowl on top of the large pot of water to create a double-burner.
- Add the chocolate chips to the bowl on top, constantly stirring while the chocolate chips melt.
- Heat the chocolate chips until the mixture is smooth and all the clumps are gone, being careful not to overheat or burn it.
- Once the chocolate mixture is done melting, pour onto a parchment lined baking sheet and use the back of a spoon or knife to spread and smooth out the mixture.
- In a small bowl, mix together the coconut cream and the coconut butter.
- Place the coconut cream and butter mixture in the microwave for about 30 seconds until the mixture is slightly melted and blended together.
- Add the coconut cream and coconut butter into a food processor or high speed blender with 1/2 cup of the freeze dried strawberries. Blend until the mixture is smooth.
- Spoon dollops of the coconut strawberry mixture onto the chocolate and use a toothpick or the tip of a knife to drag through the dollop and create swirls.
- Lightly crush the leftover freeze dried strawberries and the freeze dried raspberries and sprinkle all over the chocolate mixture.
- Place in the freezer and let the chocolate bark cool and harden (about 20 minutes or so).
- Once the chocolate bark has hardened, take out of the freezer and using your hands or a knife, break into pieces.
- Store in the fridge if you don't eat all at once (it'll be hard not to). Enjoy!
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