Making Your Own Chocolate Bark Candy and Bringing in Yuletide

Little B is not a much of a chocolate lover, or of any other sweet thing for that matter. With all the sugary treats that she was forced to consume when she was in my womb, it seems that now she is indifferent to sweet things. She doesn’t like them, she doesn’t dislike them. She might eat them or she might not eat them at all. Little B is often gifted chocolate after chocolate by friends and family, but she doesn’t consume much. The chocolate packs just keep piling in our refrigerator shelves.

And that is why I love chocolate barks. Chocolate packs get utilized in making the barks. The barks are easy enough for a kid to make with just a little help. Therefore, Little B makes them with toppings of her choice. And because she makes them, she eats them as well. Silly enough, I feel proud of Little B for eating loads of chocolate on that day!  

FYI Little B has started calling me “mum” because she is loving using fancy British vocabulary.

Coming back to the chocolate bark, it doesn’t really require a recipe. However, if you are making it for the first time, you might feel a little comfortable having a “recipe” around, so here it is –

Making Your Own Chocolate Bark Candy

What You Will Need

Chocolate (You can use whatever kind you like – dark, white, milk. It can be Cadbury, Nestle, Lindt or anything as long as it is chocolate.)

Toppings (Again, you can use whatever you like! Nuts, seeds, raisins or other dried fruits; they can be chopped or sliced or ground. Have some candies or mints in the kitchen? You can also use them too. You can dare and try sea salt or pepper or even crushed chips!

How to Go About It

Roughly chop the chocolate into smaller pieces (around 1 inch pieces). Keep all your toppings ready.

Line a thin tray with aluminium foil.

Take all the chopped pieces in a microwavable bowl.

Pop it in the microwave and heat it up for not more than 20 seconds. Do not overheat the chocolate at all as that leads to chocolate losing its texture and we want the smooth texture! When you take out the bowl after 20 seconds, gently stir with a spatula for a few seconds. If the chocolate has melted completely, stop right here. If the chocolate is still solid, put the bowl back in microwave and heat for just 10 seconds. Take it out of the microwave and gently stir again. Continue heating for 10 seconds and then gently stirring till your chocolate is completely melted with no solid chunks.

Now pour the molten chocolate onto the foil-lined tray. You can use a spoon or spatula to level the chocolate evenly.

While the chocolate is still warm, add your toppings. Just drop them on the chocolate. You can drop the toppings randomly or make patterns with them.

Let the chocolate in the tray cool completely by popping it in a fridge. It may take about an hour or more.

When the chocolate has solidified completely, take out of the refrigerator and the tray and peel the aluminium foil away. You should be able to remove the foil off the chocolate easily.

Now break the set chocolate into rough pieces and dig in.

The bark pieces can be stored at room temperature (4-5 days) or refrigerated (2 weeks). They are also a beautiful gift to be given to family and friends for Christmas or Diwali other festivals.