Vegan Dark Chocolate Bark – Fantastic!

I love chocolate and I love coconut and nuts and I really love it when I can have them all at one time! This recipe for Vegan Dark Chocolate Bark is adapted from Angela Liddon – Oh She Glows fame. Her recipes and cookbooks are excellent! http://ohsheglows.com/

The problem with this recipe is its sooooo….good you will have a hard time stopping eating it! The other problem is it melts in your hand, so you just gotta eat it quickly and then lick the melted chocolate off your fingers!!! Mmmm……yummy!

When I’ve made the bark, I break it into pieces and put it in an airtight container and place it in the freezer. Easy to get it out one…maybe two pieces at a time and enjoy the flavours for a long time.

Here’s how you make it……Vegan Dark Chocolate Bark

Like most things I make, I double the recipe. If I am going to go to all this work, I might as well have extra….plus you will go through it quickly if your friends and family find out you made some. Its that delicious!

What you’ll need:

• 1/4 c raw hazelnuts

  

• 1/4 c raw almonds
• 1/4 c raw pumpkin or sunflower seeds (optional)
• 1/3 c large flake dried coconut – unsweetened
• 1/2 c virgin coconut oil
• 1 T raw almond or raw peanut butter
• 1/2 c cocoa or cacao powder, sifted if necessary (I tried cacao nibs and they didn’t melt so I strained them out and put in the cocoa powder. Worked like a charm.
• 1/4 c pure maple syrup
• pinch fine sea salt

How to make the Vegan Dark Chocolate Bark:

1. Preheat oven to 300°
2. Line a a small baking sheet with two pieces of parchment paper, one going each way. Set aside.

3. 

   Place hazelnuts and almonds on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 10 minutes.

4. Remove baking sheet and chop the nuts and add the coconut flakes and pumpkin seeds.
5. Spread out on your pan and continue roasting the nuts, seeds and coconut flakes for another 3-4 minutes, or until the coconut is lightly golden. Keep an eye on the pan as the coconut will burn quickly.
6. When you remove the toasted nuts, you can rub the hazelnuts between two pieces of damp paper towel to remove some of the skin (optional).

   

7. In a medium saucepan, melt the coconut oil over low heat.
8. Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa (or cacao) powder, almond/peanut butter and maple syrup until smooth. Add a pinch of sea salt to taste.
9. Stir in half of the almonds, hazelnuts and pumpkin seeds.
10. With a spatula, spoon the chocolate mixture onto the prepared parchment-lined pan (remember to have one sheet going each way…helps to keep the chocolate mixture from running off the paper. Pour onto the sheet and smooth out until it’s about 1/4-1/2 inch thick.
11. Sprinkle on the remaining nuts/seeds and all of the coconut flakes.

12. 

    Place into freezer on a flat surface for about 15 minutes, until frozen solid.

13. Once frozen, break apart into bark. Store in the freezer until ready to eat.
14. You gotta store in the freezer (in an airtight container). It melts to fast too leave out.