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

FAQs

What brand chocolate is best for bark? ›

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.

Even if you are careful about the container you melt in or the temperature, sometimes chocolate chips just have trouble melting. Using oil or shortening will greatly reduce the risk that this will happen. In fact, I've never had chocolate chips seize on me when I use one of the two.

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.

Melted chocolate must be properly tempered in order to develop its characteristic snap, shine, and smooth mouthfeel once it hardens. Once you have the tempering down (see our easy microwave method below), you're ready to make all sorts of chocolate treats. We are partial to chocolate barks.

Best Bittersweet / Semi-Sweet Chocolate

Options like Ghiradelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Baking Bars or bittersweet chocolate bars can be used interchangeably in recipes. Silva loves these varieties in desserts like chocolate truffles and tiramisu and recommends serving them with a good cup of coffee.

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.

Sugar bloom happens when moisture comes in contact with the chocolate - it dissolves the sugar crystals on the chocolate's surface, leaving a white, powdery look. Fat bloom occurs due to improper storing conditions, dramatic changes in temperature, or a poor tempering process.

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.

Combine chocolate chips and coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl; heat in the microwave in 30-second intervals, mixing well each time, until mixture is smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. It takes about 1 minute of stirring until they fully mix together. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.

Couverture, or chocolate formulated with a higher percentage of cocoa butter, is essential for making chocolate bonbons, says Ocean House Collection pastry chef Maya Hayes. "Make sure you are using bars, chunks, or callets, not chocolate chips," she says.

Why does my chocolate bark not snap? ›

If you melt the chocolate and work with it without tempering, it will take a long time to set up, will not be shiny, and won't snap; rather, it may be flexible, dull and brittle.

To thin melted chocolate, add a small amount of neutral oil, like vegetable oil or cocoa butter, stirring gently until it reaches the desired consistency. Melt slowly to avoid overheating, and keep water out to prevent the chocolate from seizing.

The best chocolate for chocolate ganache is a pure chocolate baking bar, such as Bakers or Ghirardelli brands.

The short answer is quality or couverture chocolate. The better your product is, the easier it will be to melt and temper to create unforgettably delicious confections. It's possible to use chocolate bars or chips, but they may not melt as well as chocolate made for baking like baking discs.

Choosing your chocolate

Chocolate melts faster the higher the percentage of cocoa butter and fat, so dark chocolate melts the fastest. Once melted, it's glossy and has a good viscosity. Good-quality dark chocolate with no less than 70 per cent cocoa solids will leave you with a darker, richer flavour.

Let's say it clearly here, the best (for us at least) is Valhrona. All the Pastry chefs I know personally, use Valhrona. Not because it is the most expensive, because ”it is the most expensive”, but because it is the best in flavor, in sweetness and bitter balance and also – that is important, it is consistent.