The Easiest Way to Combine Salty, Meaty Bacon & Chocolate
Chocolate bark is simply chocolate – your choice of dark, milk or white – gussied up with some sort of mix-in. Molded in slabs and then broken into random pieces, the hunks are supposed to resemble real bark, hence the name. Almond bark and other nut barks are the classics but really, any dried fruit, bits of candied fruit, anything that you might like to eat with chocolate that is not too moist can be added in.
So fresh fruit isn’t a good choice, but how about candied orange zest or sunflower seeds or in this case, bacon! In our never-ending quest to combine the salty, meaty deliciousness that is bacon with sweet things, this treat sprung to mind. Dried pineapple and cranberries add the sweetness while pepitas add crunch.
The bacon adds that savory aspect that some of us are just addicted to. And all in all they provide a nice panoply of color on the backdrop of semisweet chocolate.
By the way, classic chocolate bark can often be quite thick – up to ½-inch thick. You can double the chocolate if you like, but we went for a slightly thinner variation. All the better to experience a higher ratio of the mix-ins. See Tips for extra information and a tempered chocolate variation. Also see our fave way to cook bacon in our article How to Cook Bacon.
- 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 2 dried pineapple rounds, cut into ¼-inch to ½-inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons dried cranberries
- 2 tablespoons pepitas
- 2 slices crisp cooked bacon, drained, cooled and chopped
- Smooth a piece of aluminum foil on a baking sheet pan.
- Melt chocolate in top of double boiler or in microwave and stir until smooth. Scrape out onto aluminum foil into a large puddle of chocolate about ⅛-inch thick.
- Sprinkle and scatter the pineapple, cranberries and pepitas evenly over the chocolate while it is still wet. Finish with the bacon. Refrigerate briefly until chocolate firms up. Break chocolate bark into random slabs and store in airtight container in the refrigerator up to 1 week.
Bakepedia Tips
- Play with the amount of chocolate and the thickness of your finished chocolate bark. If you want a higher chocolate proportion it is as simple as melting 1 pound of chocolate and spreading it in a thicker puddle before festooning with the fruit, nuts and bacon.
- For a more elegant approach, temper the chocolate before spreading out on the pan. You can store it at room temperature and it will have a nice sheen and snap to it. If you are making this as a gift for someone, this would be a good option.
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