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This dark chocolate bark is loaded with sweet and crunchy caramelized cashews! It’s easy to make, absolutely delicious, and requires just 3 ingredients! Plus, it makes a wonderful edible gift!
📘 What Is a Chocolate Bark
A chocolate bark is a thin layer of chocolate mixed and/or topped with add-ins like nuts, dried fruits, crumbled cookies, seeds, etc. It is then broken into small pieces and enjoyed as a snack.
The name “bark” comes from the fact that once broken, each piece has sharp edges and a rough surface that resembles tree bark.
🍫 Ingredients Notes
- Dark chocolate – Use your favorite dark chocolate! I personally went with 55% dark chocolate chips here as I didn’t want a bitter flavor, but you can definitely use 70% dark chocolate if you want a more intense chocolate flavor.
- Cashews – Use roasted cashews or roast raw cashews by yourself.
- Sugar – Since we will make a hard caramel, you want to use granulated white sugar. Coconut sugar will not work as it would burn.
- Salt – Optional. You can sprinkle flaky sea salt on top of the bark for a balance of sweet and salty!
🥣 How to Make It
This chocolate bark is super easy to prepare and consists of just two steps: caramelizing the nuts and melting the chocolate.
To prepare this dark chocolate bark:
- Roast the cashews. If you are starting with raw cashews, roast them in the oven for 12-15 minutes at 350°F (175°C) or until golden brown.
- Caramelize the nuts. Heat the sugar over medium heat until it starts to melt. Keep heating until the sugar caramelizes. Next, add the roasted cashews and stir to coat. Transfer to a baking sheet and let it cool completely.
- Melt the dark chocolate. Over a double boiler, melt the chocolate. See below if you want to learn how to temper the chocolate. This extra step is optional but definitely gives your bark a better texture. Next, spread the melted chocolate into a thin layer on a piece of parchment paper.
How to Temper Chocolate
Tempering is a process that consists of heating and cooling melted chocolate at specific temperatures to allow the molecules to bond together. Doing so results in chocolate that snaps and has a glossy appearance.
To temper dark chocolate:
- Before starting, be aware you will need a kitchen thermometer.
- Finely chop the chocolate and transfer it to a glass bowl. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water. Melt the chocolate. Remove from heat once the temperature of the chocolate has reached 122-130°F (50-55°C). Set the pot of hot water aside as you will use it later.
- Place the bowl of melted chocolate over a bowl of ice water (be careful that no water gets into the melted chocolate!). Stir and let the chocolate cool down to 82°F (28°C).
- Next, place the bowl of melted chocolate over the pot of hot water and stir until the chocolate has reached a temperature of 88-89°F (31-32°C).
- Your chocolate is now tempered! You can spread it on the baking sheet before topping it with the nuts. Note: be quick, as tempered chocolate tends to set much quicker than non-tempered chocolate.
- Top with the caramelized cashews. Chop the caramelized cashews and sprinkle over the melted chocolate.
- Let cool. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes or until the chocolate has hardened. Break into pieces and enjoy!
📔 Tips
- If you don’t have cashews: you can use peanuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pine nuts, or basically any nut or seed!
- Feel free to be creative and add some dried fruits as well! Chopped dried figs, raisins, candied ginger, or even freeze-dried strawberries!
- If you want chocolate that snaps, I highly recommend tempering the chocolate. Your chocolate bark will have a better texture and a shinier appearance.
- You can chop the nuts very finely or make larger chunks for more crunch. That’s up to you.
- Store the chocolate bark in an airtight container: since these contain caramel, you want to keep them in a dry place, away from humidity.
💬 FAQ
Any chocolate will work; you can use regular dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or even white chocolate!
It’s not that big of a deal, your chocolate bark will still be delicious! It just won’t have that crisp finish.
If you tempered the chocolate, you can store the bark at room temperature in an airtight container. Otherwise, I recommend keeping it in a container in the refrigerator or in the freezer.
Chocolate bark will keep for up to 15 days at room temperature or 30 days in the refrigerator/freezer.
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Chocolate Bark with Caramelized Cashews
Ingredients
Caramelized Cashews
- 1/2 cup (75 g) roasted cashews
- 1/4 cup (55 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp (5 ml) water
The Rest
- 1 cup (170 g) dark chocolate chips
- flaky sea salt optional
Instructions
Caramelized Cashews
- Add the sugar and water to a light-colored pan. Heat over medium heat, stirring regularly using a wooden spatula until the sugar melts (at first, it will form clumps, which is normal). Keep heating over medium heat until the sugar turns into a golden brown color. Note: Be careful not to burn the caramel, or it will turn bitter.
- Once the caramel is golden brown, immediately add the roasted cashews and stir to combine. Cook for another 15-30 seconds, constantly stirring to coat the nuts.
- Transfer the caramel-coated nuts to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Let cool completely.
- Chop the caramelized cashews into small pieces. Be careful, as the caramel can be quite sharp. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Chocolate Bark
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt the dark chocolate over a double boiler. Tip: check the notes if you want to learn how to temper the chocolate.
- Once melted, spread the chocolate into a thin and even layer onto the prepared baking sheet. I went with a 1/8-inch thickness, but you can make it a bit thicker.
- Sprinkle the chopped caramelized cashews over the chocolate. Top with a pinch of flaky sea salt and refrigerate for about 30 minutes or until the chocolate has set.
- Break into pieces using your hands and enjoy! Store in an airtight container at room temperature (if you tempered the chocolate) for up to 15 days, or in the refrigerator or freezer for up to 1 month.
Notes
- If you don’t have cashews: you can use peanuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pine nuts, or basically any nut!
- Feel free to be creative and add some dried fruits as well! Chopped dried figs, raisins, or even freeze-dried strawberries!
- You can chop the nuts very finely or make larger chunks for more crunch. That’s up to you.
If you want chocolate that snaps, I highly recommend tempering the chocolate. Your chocolate bark will have a better texture and a shinier appearance. To temper chocolate:
- Before starting, be aware you will need a kitchen thermometer.
- Finely chop the chocolate and transfer it to a glass bowl. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water. Melt the chocolate. Remove from heat once the temperature of the chocolate has reached 122-130°F (50-55°C). Set the pot of hot water aside as you will use it later.
- Place the bowl of melted chocolate over a bowl of ice water (be careful that no water gets into the melted chocolate!). Stir and let the chocolate cool down to 82°F (28°C).
- Next, place the bowl of melted chocolate over the pot of hot water and stir until the chocolate has reached a temperature of 88-89°F (31-32°C).
- Your chocolate is now tempered! You can spread it on the baking sheet before topping it with the nuts. Note: be quick, as tempered chocolate tends to set much quicker than non-tempered chocolate.
Nutrition
About the Author
Thomas Pagot is the founder, photographer, and recipe developer behind Full of Plants. He created the blog in 2016 as a personal cookbook for vegan recipes. Through years of recipe development, Thomas has successfully grown Full of Plants into a trusted resource for plant-based recipes.
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👍🏻 Came out great! I forgot to take any pics.