This colourful and festive chocolate almond bark is such an easy gift idea for the holiday season. It’s so quick and you can really make it your own based on what you like and what you have to hand!
Chocolate bark is such a fun festive treat idea – it makes a wonderful gift and is so easy.
It really is as simple as melting some chocolate and scattering over a few colourful toppings. I love the pop of colour the cranberries and pumpkin seeds bring here – and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt makes the bark a sweet and salty flavour sensation you’re going to love.
How to temper chocolate in the microwave
Tempering chocolate isn’t essential for this recipe – but it makes the chocolate more shelf-stable. It’ll be shiny, super snappable and basically just like chocolate you buy from a store. Using a microwave is by far the easiest way I’ve found to temper chocolate, and you don’t even need a thermometer:
- Add 2/3 of the chopped chocolate into a microwave-safe, plastic bowl (this won’t get as hot as glass/ceramic in the microwave so it’s easier to control the temperature).
- Melt the chocolate at 20-second intervals, stirring the chocolate after every 20 seconds.
- Once the chocolate is almost melted – it should look mostly liquidy with a few chunks remaining – stir it really well as the residual heat melts the rest.
- Add a little of the reserved 1/3 of chopped chocolate to the melted chocolate and stir until it melts too. This is going to bring the temperature of the chocolate down, to make sure it doesn’t get too hot. Once the chocolate stops melting easily, stop adding any more. If you have any unmelted lumps, just scoop them out.
And you’re done! Tempered chocolate will set pretty quickly, so you’ll want to use it straight away.
Ingredients
Only a few ingredients go into chocolate bark and the beauty of this recipe is how customisable it is, based on what you have and what you like!
- Dark chocolate. Use good quality dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa content. You could use milk chocolate or chocolate chips if you aren’t a fan of dark chocolate.
- White chocolate. I’m actually using Caramilk (caramelised white chocolate), but regular white chocolate is easier to find.
- Flaked almonds. You could also use whole almonds and just crush them up or chop them – and make sure you toast them first for the best flavour. The easiest way to do that is to pop them on a single layer on an oven tray, then get them in the oven at 180C/xF for about 8 minutes, until golden brown.
- Dried cranberries. I love using cranberries as a colourful, festive pop of colour, but you could swap them out for another dried fruit (apricots or mangoes are great).
- Pumpkin seeds. These lovely seeds give another pop of festive colour to the bark, but you could use pistachios to get the same green effect.
OPTIONAL: I’m also using beautiful little crystallised rose pieces I picked up from Sous Chef for an extra pop of colour and flavour, but these are definitely not easy to find so you could use more dried cranberries if you like.
How to make it
Before you start, line a small oven tray with baking paper and get all your toppings ready to go. Melt your dark and white chocolate in 20-second intervals in the microwave.
Pour the dark chocolate onto the lined tray, then spread it into a thin layer. Drizzle the white chocolate all over the top, then use a toothpick or a skewer to swirl the white chocolate through the dark chocolate, creating a pretty marbling effect.
Scatter over the flaked almonds, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, crystallised rose pieces and the flaky sea salt. Leave to dry for about an hour, then cut or break into rough shards!
Got a question?
Yes, you can! I know not everyone likes dark chocolate, so milk is totally fine here.
There are SO many options here! For a festive twist, I love using something red (cranberries in this case) and something green (pumpkin seeds here), but you can really use whatever you like.
Some ideas –
– crystallised ginger
– dried apricots, cherries or mango
– pistachios, pecans, cashews, macadamias, peanuts, hazelnuts or walnuts
– candied orange slices
– toasted coconut flakes or desiccated coconut
– crushed candy canes
You can store it at room temperature for at least 1 week – and it will likely last longer (though I’m sure it’ll be eaten quicker than that!)
Like this recipe? Here are some more edible gift ideas you might like
If you make this chocolate bark, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave me a comment below.
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Easy Christmas Chocolate Almond Bark
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This colourful and festive chocolate almond bark is such an easy gift idea for the holiday season. It’s so quick and you can really make it your own based on what you like and what you have to hand!
Remember, if you’re looking for US measurements, use the ‘Units’ section below and click on ‘US’.
Ingredients
- 200g dark chocolate
- 150g white chocolate
- 1/2 cup flaked almonds, toasted
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
- 2 teaspoons flaky sea salt
- 2 teaspoon crystallized rose pieces (optional)
Instructions
- Melt the chocolate. Before you start, line a small oven tray with baking paper. The easiest way I find to melt the chocolate is in the microwave in short bursts. This vastly reduces the risk of getting any water near the chocolate, and it’s easy to manage if you’re working at 20-second intervals. Chop the dark chocolate up into small pieces, then put 2/3 of it into a microwave-safe bowl. Pop in the microwave at 20-second intervals, stirring in between, until almost melted. At this point, add about half of the remaining 1/3 of chocolate and let the residual heat melt it as you stir it in. Continue adding the remaining chocolate until it stops melting as you stir. Remove any unmelted lumps. Repeat this process with the white chocolate.
- Pour the melted dark chocolate onto the lined tray. Use a small spatula or knife to smooth the chocolate out into an even, thin layer. Drizzle the white chocolate all over, then use a toothpick to swirl the white chocolate into the dark chocolate, creating a gorgeous marbling effect.
- Top the chocolate bark. Scatter over the flaked almonds, cranberries, pumpkin seeds, crystallised rose pieces (if you’re using them) and the flaky sea salt. Set aside to set for about 30 minutes, then break into rough shards.
Notes
This recipe is SUPER customisable. Swap the dark chocolate for milk chocolate, use dried apricots or mango in place of the cranberries, use pistachios in place of the pumpkin seeds or add toasted coconut or freeze-dried fruit.
The chocolate bark will keep well for at least 1 week, stored at room temperature in an airtight container or bag (but will likely be eaten faster than this!)
- Prep Time: 10
- Category: snacks
- Method: no cook
- Cuisine: american
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6 block
Keywords: chocolate bark, christmas chocolate
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