How to Make Chocolate Bark, Easy Chocolate Bark I Baker Bettie (2024)

How to Make Chocolate Bark

Making chocolate bark is simple: melt the chocolate, spread the chocolate, add toppings, and let the bark harden. That’s it! Chocolate bark is a delicious treat for snacking, perfect for gifting, and is a really fun (kid-friendly) activity to do around the holidays.

Customize the Flavor of your Chocolate Bark

The below chart includes some ideas for chocolate bark toppings. For chocolate bark success, I recommend using a mix of 2-4 sweet and salty toppings and up to 1 cup of toppings total, per batch of chocolate bark.

This is not a comprehensive list by any means, but I hope it provides some flavor ideas and inspires creativity! See the notes section in the recipe card for flavor combination ideas.

Step 1: Prepare the Toppings and Chocolate

Use a sharp knife to chop the chocolate into very fine, small pieces on a cutting board. Prepare the toppings by gathering, chopping, and/or roasting. I suggest chopping pieces like nuts and candies into smaller bite-sized pieces. To bring out even more of the nutty flavor, toast the nuts before adding to the chocolate. Dried fruits like cranberries and cherries are already small and chewy.

Step 2: Melt the Chocolate

Simmer a couple inches of water in a saucepan to create a DIY double boiler. Start off on medium heat but when it reaches a simmer, reduce to low. Top it with a metal bowl. The water in the pan should not be touching the bottom of the bowl. Double check this before adding your chocolate.

Add the chocolate to the metal bowl and stir occasionally while it melts. Watch the water and make sure it isn’t boiling too aggressively (pick up the bowl with an oven mitt and look underneath). If the water is boiling too rapidly, turn down the heat. Keep melting the chocolate until it’s about two-thirds of the way melted.

Remove the bowl from the saucepan and keep stirring until the chocolate is completely melted. If it doesn’t fully melt, return the bowl to the saucepan and heat while stirring for another minute or two. Repeat this step until it’s fully melted and reaches temperature.

Alternatively, you can melt the chocolate in the microwave in small increments however, this method is risky. If the chocolate gets too hot, it will seize and not temper properly which results in a matte, chalky-looking surface on the chocolate.

Step 3: Spread the Chocolate and add Toppings

Pour the melted chocolate onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Use an offset spatula or the back of a large spoon to spread the chocolate until it’s ¼ inch thick. Don’t let the edges get too thin. While the chocolate is still warm, evenly sprinkle the prepared toppings all over the top.

Step 4: Harden the Chocolate

Move the sheet pan to the refrigerator and chill for about 10 minutes until it’s hardened all over. If you aren’t in a rush, you can leave it at room temperature (chocolate bark will take about 2-4 hours to harden at room temperature). After hardening, break the pieces of bark with your hands into smaller chunks. I like to use my hands in order to get organic-looking pieces, however, you can also use a kitchen knife though it still may not break apart evenly.