Black Forest Chocolate Bark
No-bake. Simple. Snappy! My Black Forest Chocolate Bark combines the delicious flavours of a Black Forest Cake with the beauty of a rustic chocolate bar.
Loaded with dried cherries, cacao nibs, and shaved chocolate pieces – this dark chocolate bark is going to be your go-to snack for dinner parties and meet-ups with friends! To top it off, this recipe can be prepared in less than 10 minutes and is quickly set in the freezer. Give it a try today!
What does “tempering” chocolate mean?
Tempering chocolate is a fancy way to say to making chocolate have a nice shine and snap! It involves heating and cooling chocolate in several steps to get chocolate that is not dull or grainy in texture. Usually tempering chocolate is done over simmering water in a “bain-marie” (double boiler setup) however…sometime, you simply don’t have time for that fanciness! The quick version of tempering used for this Black Forest Chocolate Bark is done using one bowl and a microwave. The results are a quick “tempered” chocolate in minutes. If you are looking to be extra fancy during this Microwave chocolate tempering process, you can also use a candy thermometer to check your chocolate temperature to make sure it’s just right. Below are the rough temperatures of the three most popular chocolate types:
- Dark Chocolate: 88 – 90 degrees F (31-32 C)
- Milk Chocolate: 86 – 88 degrees F (30-31 C)
- White Chocolate: 82 – 84 degrees F (28-29 C)
Sofia's Baking 101:
Dark Chocolate melts at a higher temperature than milk and white chocolate allowing it to be more forgiving during the heating process. Always heat your chocolate in 15-30 second intervals, between stirs, to ensure you don’t burn your chocolate!
I don’t have dried cherries. What can I use instead?
I usually find dried cherries in my local bulk foods store (or online tbh) but if you aren’t able to find them anywhere, a good dried fruit substitute would be dried cranberries or black currents.
What are cacao nibs? Is there a substitute?
Cacao nibs are small pieces of crushed cacao beans. They are hard and crunchy in texture and have a slightly bitter taste. I love to add cacao nibs to my chocolate barks and cookies. If you don’t have cacao nibs on hand, you can substitute them with additional mini chocolate chips or chopped nuts.
To make this recipe you will need:
- Semi-sweet Chocolate (good quality chocolate, chopped is better for chocolate tempering than chocolate chips if you have the choice but both will still produce delicious results for this chocolate bark)
- Fruit: Dried Cherries (whole or halved)
- Additional Toppings: Cocoa nibs (for crunch), additional chocolate chips/melted chocolate, or chocolate pieces/sprinkles
Let’s make some Black Forest Chocolate Bark
Start by lining a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a microwave-safe bowl, add 3/4 of your dark chocolate. Melt in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring well after each heating. Heat until chocolate is almost completely melted (with a few chocolate pieces remaining).
Add remaining 1/4 cup of your dark chocolate to the already melted chocolate and stir until all chocolate has fully melted. If chocolate is still thick – return to the microwave for an additional 5-10 seconds, and stir once more. Chocolate should be shiny and liquid.
Chocolate Making 101:
If you are looking to be extra fancy during this Microwave chocolate tempering process, you can also use a candy thermometer to check your chocolate temperature to make sure it’s just right. Below are the rough temperatures of the three most popular chocolate types:
Dark Chocolate: 88 – 90 degrees F (31-32 C)
Milk Chocolate: 86 – 88 degrees F (30-31 C)
White Chocolate: 82 – 84 degrees F (28-29 C)
Pour melted chocolate onto parchment lined baking sheet and spread flat with spoon or spatula.
Optional: Melt white chocolate in 20 second increments, stir and add food colouring (or freeze-dried raspberry powder). Add dollops of white chocolate to bark and swirl through bark with a knife.
Top with scattered dried cherries, cacao nibs, and mini chocolate pieces onto melted chocolate.
Place in the freezer or fridge to set quickly (3-5 min in freezer, ~15 min in fridge) or in a cool, dark, place to slowly set over 2-4 hours. You will know that the Black Forest Chocolate Bark is ready when it is hard to the touch, not tacky, and at room temperature makes a crack sound when broken.
Use your clean hands to break chocolate bark into pieces.
Enjoy!
Also check out:
Black Forest Cheesecake Brownies
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake
Black Forest Chocolate Bark {Quick & Easy}
Ingredients
- 150-200 g (5-7 oz) Dark Chocolate (50-70% Cocoa) roughly chopped chocolate or good quality chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup White Chocolate Chips optional for swirled chocolate
- 1/4 cup Dried Cherries
- 2 tbsp Cacao Nibs
- 2 tbsp Mini Dark, Milk, or White Chocolate curls/pieces
- 1 tsp Freeze dried raspberry powder or two drops of Red/Pink food dye optional for swirled chocolate
Instructions
- Start by lining a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, add 3/4 of your dark chocolate. Melt in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring well after each heating. Heat until chocolate is almost completely melted (with a few chocolate pieces remaining).
- Add remaining 1/4 cup of your dark chocolate to the already melted chocolate and stir until all chocolate has fully melted. If your chocolate is still thick – return to the microwave for an additional 5-10 seconds, and stir as needed to melt. Chocolate should be shiny and liquid.
- Pour melted chocolate onto parchment lined baking sheet and spread flat with spoon or spatula (note: thickness of chocolate layer is up to you however for ease of handling, I recommend ~1/4 inch thick)
- Optional: Melt white chocolate in 20 second increments, stir and add food colouring (or freeze-dried raspberry powder). Add dollops of white chocolate to bark and swirl through bark with a knife.
- Top with scattered dried cherries, cacao nibs, and mini chocolate pieces onto melted chocolate.
- Place in the freezer or fridge to set quickly (3-5 min in freezer, ~15 min in fridge) or in a cool, dark, place to slowly set over 2-4 hours. You will know that the Black Forest Chocolate Bark is ready when it is hard to the touch, not tacky, and at room temperature makes a crack sound when broken.
- Use your clean hands to break chocolate bark into pieces.
- Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Don’t have dark chocolate? You can easily swap dark chocolate with semi-sweet chocolate here.
- Don’t have dried cherries? Try using dried cranberries or black currents instead
- Leftover Black Forest chocolate Bark can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature or in the freezer.
