Chocolate Bark Recipe

Chocolate bark is a thin layer of chocolate filled with mix-ins like nuts, cookies, candies, pretzels, dried fruit, or toffee bits that is broken into pieces that resemble tree bark with scraggly edges and random shapes.

INGREDIENTS

• 250g solid cacao butter
• 7 tbsp raw cacao powder
• 4 tbsp honey or maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• toppings- sea salt flakes, nut butter, cacao nibs, buckinis, dried berries, pumpkin seeds, coconut flakes, rose petals, chopped nuts, sultanas, pomegranate seeds, sunflower seeds, peppermint essential oil, dried orange rounds

METHOD

• Half fill saucepan with water, bring to boil. Allow water to simmer, add cacao butter to a heatproof bowl & place over the water, ensuring no water gets in or touches the bottom of the bowl.
• While stirring, heat the cacao butter, when almost all melted, stick a digital thermometer in. Make sure the temperature doesn’t go over 48°C. If it’s close, remove the bowl from the heat & let the butter melt off the heat.
• Add the cacao powder, vanilla & honey or maple syrup to the melted cacao butter & whisk well until dissolved. The temperature will drop once you add other ingredients. Keep it at about 32-35°C, warm it up if needed, but NOT all the way up to 48°C. This will keep it smooth and silky, and decrease the chances of chocolate seize (grainy paste).
• Finally, add the salt & whisk together. Line a tray with baking paper & pour the chocolate onto the tray & let it spread into a thin bark layer & sprinkle with desired toppings.
• Place the tray in the fridge for at least 2 hours to solidify, keep in an airtight container, in the fridge for a few weeks (if it lasts that long).