I have been making dark chocolate bark for years since my husband and I both love a little piece of dark chocolate after dinner. This is one of the easiest and yet elegant desserts. We have a lot of visitors from Mexico, and we entertain a lot, so I always keep this bark in my fridge for a simple, homemade, and delicious way to end a meal.
Dark chocolate has become a superfood. One to two ounces a day of dark chocolate, that has a 70% or higher cocoa content, has many health benefits. Dark Chocolate is loaded with antioxidants, helps lower blood pressure, raises HDL and lowers LDL cholesterol. Something that is delicious and good for you...I'm so in!!!
I like to buy the pecan pieces instead of whole pecans because they are less expensive than buying the whole pecans and the they are easier to measure. You can sprinkle fleur de sel or any special salt you may have to finish the bark. I always cook with fine sea salt so that it what I use. A coarser salt would also work as well. You need either parchment paper or foil. Parchment paper is so nice for so many baking needs. It makes for a very easy cleanup.
I like to chop up the pecans a little more for 2 reasons. First when you chop them finer they create this nut sawdust that looks cool on the bark. Secondly, the finer nuts adhere to the chocolate better.
Break up the chocolate bars into little pieces and place in a microwaveable bowl.
Microwave the chocolate for 1 minute. It will look like the photo above and you will think it is not melted enough, but once you begin to slowly stir the chocolate it will finish melting.
Stir your chocolate till all the pieces have melted and it is smooth. A rubber spatula is perfect for scraping all the chocolate out of the bowl onto your flat pan.
Pour the chocolate onto your pan and smooth out to about a 7" x 11" rectangle. A offset spatula is helpful but a knife or spoon would work as well.
Use a wet paper towel to clean your bowl and spoon that touched the melted chocolate, otherwise your sponge or dishrag will become permanently brown and nasty looking. Trust me...I learned the hard way.
Sprinkle your nuts evenly over the chocolate. Do not forget about the nut sawdust from the cutting board, spread that as well. With your fingertips carefully smoosh the pecans down into the chocolate. If your fingertips get chocolaty, wipe them off and continue pressing. You do not want your nuts to be covered in chocolate from your fingertips. Sprinkle salt over the bark, then place in the fridge to get hard.
Once the chocolate is hard, carefully break up your bark with your hands. Some nuts will fall off...that is OK. Life is not perfect. Store your bark in a airtight container in your fridge. It will stay good for weeks.
It so much more satisfying to have a piece of salty pecan bark than a one ounce square of dark chocolate broken off from a bar...just sayin!
cHOCOLATE BARK RECIPE
Serves 10 people (or a 2 week supply for 2 chocoholics)
Prep Time: 7 minutes
Cook Time: 1 minute
INGREDIENTS
- Two 3.2 - 3.5 ounce dark chocolates bars (70% or higher cocoa content)
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- sea salt
- parchment paper or foil
PREPARATION
- Place the pecans on a cutting board and chop a little finer. You are trying to create a little nut dust which looks cool on the bark.
- Pull out a flat cake pan or small cookie sheet that can fit in your fridge. If a cookie sheet does not fit in your fridge, you can use any flat pan or pans that will fit. Line the pan with either parchment paper or foil.
- Unwrap your chocolate and break into pieces in a small microwaveable bowl. (Taste your chocolate. If it is too bitter for you, then you can add a tablespoon of sugar into the chocolate at this point.)
- Microwave chocolate for one minute.
- Remove the bowl from the microwave, it will look like the chocolate is not melted, but it will slowly melt as you begin to stir the chocolate. Stir until completely melted and smooth.
- Use a rubber spatula to scrape the melted chocolate on your flat pan.
- Spread the chocolate with an inverted spreader or knife on your pan. You will want to spread it to about a 11" long by 7" shape. You do not want to go much bigger than this since the bark will become too thin.
- Sprinkle your nuts evenly over the top. Make sure to collect the nut dust from your cutting board and sprinkle that on as well.
- Sprinkle sea salt over the chocolate.
- Gently press the large pieces of nuts with a few fingers into the chocolate to make sure they are in the chocolate and not just sitting on the chocolate.
- Place sheet in fridge for at least 2 hours to set.
- Break up into pieces and store in the fridge in an airtight container. The bark will last for weeks this way. The bark will become too limp and not crisp if not kept in the fridge.
Note: Use wet paper towels, not your dishcloth or sponge to clean the items needed to melt the chocolate, otherwise your sponge will turn brown and there is no turning back.
Note: For a little extra kick you can add a pinch of cayenne pepper to your melted chocolate. The spicy and salty combo is addictive!