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

FAQs

What brand of chocolate is best for bark? ›

Use quality chocolate.

For bark-making, use the best chocolate within your budget, either in bars or discs meant for melting and baking. Valrhona, Callebaut, Scharffen Berger, Guittard, and Ghirardelli are all good options.

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.

Chocolate bark is a simple application for a first-time chocolate project that is a great way to get your feet wet. The bark doesn't involve any molds or dipping techniques—and it's delicious! Whenever working with chocolate it must be tempered; we're about to simplify the science and make it easy for you.

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.

A: The main difference is that almond bark does not contain chocolate liquor, an essential ingredient in real chocolate to provide flavor.

The white appearance is due to a process known as 'blooming' - either 'fat bloom'. This occurs when the cocoa butter in the chocolate separates and rises to the surface due to temperature fluctuations, or 'sugar bloom', which happens when the sugar in the chocolate absorbs moisture and then crystallises on the surface.

You don't add ingredients to chocolate to make it harden, you temper it by heating it to a specific temperature, cooling it to another temperature, then heating it again. This causes the chocolate to crystalize in a way that leaves it hard and shiny. The temperatures are different for different kinds of chocolate.

If your chocolate is too thick, you can thin it by adding a little bit of milk, water, or oil.

If kept unopened in a cool, dry place, chocolate bark can last up to a year. Once you've opened the package, aim to consume it within a few months.

Coconut oil is the secret to achieving a super-shiny chocolate coating. It brings a little extra luster to melted chocolate, which, on its own, can become matte when dry. Not only does coconut oil make your chocolate coating shine, but it also helps the chocolate harden.

Does Ghirardelli chocolate have to be tempered? ›

That said, if you don't have the time or patience to temper real chocolate, the Ghirardelli wafers will do in a pinch. (Avoid the “candy melts” that are available in craft stores.

What is the best chocolate for tempering? We would recommend using high quality bars of chocolate or couverture chocolate. The latter melts quicker due to a higher cocoa mass, and is normally available as large buttons. If using bars, finely chop the chocolate with a serrated knife as this will melt more evenly.

Seized chocolate occurs when the chocolate you're melting comes into contact with moisture. Chocolate itself doesn't contain any moisture, so adding a small amount of liquid can disrupt the melting process.

Put both knives into a large measuring cup, add boiling water onto the knives, and before cutting the chocolate or the dessert into pieces, wipe the knife with a towel. The warm knife will easily cut through without cracking.

Spread the melted chocolate on parchment paper, roll it up and let it cool down, once hardened, roll out the parchment paper and it automatically breaks into tree bark looking pieces.

Above: Because chocolate bark is usually jagged, irregularly shaped pieces, I think glassine bags (shown) or a small box work best for packaging.