Process:

1. Get everything ready before you start. Get your tools and ingredients out and make sure you have everything you need before you start.
   TIP: This way you’re not running around looking for something – especially with something like chocolate where timing can be crucial!
2. Put some water in the bottom pot of a double boiler or in a pot that you will place a bowl on top of.
   TIP: You don’t want to fill the pot with a lot of water! Only about 1 inch or so and you do not want the bottom of the bowl to be able to touch the water at all! The point of the water in the pot and the distance from the bowl – is that you want to heat the bowl using STEAM heat! It’s a delicate way of heating something because it’s indirect heat. Most everything with chocolate requires a delicate touch!
3. You may need to try out different chocolate bars before finding the one that works for you and what you’re making (in this case chocolate bark).
   TIP: I personally use Trader Joe’s Belgian Dark Chocolate. I find it works well with the transfer sheet – the cocoa butter print adheres to this chocolate really well. Try whatever brand of chocolate you like and see which ones work for you.
   TIP: Testing out chocolates – a key thing is how well the finished product turns out. MOST chocolates will require really being kept in the refrigerator as once melted and hardened again – they tend to get “soft” or “melty” quicker than if you hadn’t melted the bar at all!
   Remember, we’re not using couverture chocolate and tempering this chocolate – so they really can’t stay out of the refrigerator for long periods of time. If they get soft and melty, then just place them in the refrigerator for a few minutes again (15 minutes or so should do the trick!)
4. Prepping the Chocolate:
   • Chopping the chocolate – chop it into small size pieces so that it melts faster and chop it up around the same size – you don’t want uneven sizes – because the larger size pieces will take longer! Even sizes = even melting!
   • When the double boiler is heated – TURN the heat OFF! Then put the chocolate in the pot. Let it just sit in the bowl – the heat of the bowl will melt the chocolate.
   • Stir it after a few minutes and if it’s not all melted in about 5-10 min. Then maybe turn the heat back on for a minute or two. Just to heat the bowl again. Then turn the heat off and let it continue melting!
   • TIP: You don’t want to cover the chocolate with any type of lid! Doing so will cause steam = water with the chocolate! Chocolate and water do not go together at all! Water will ruin the chocolate – it won’t melt correctly and it won’t harden correctly and should it harden – the texture is completely ruined for sure! So don’t cover the chocolate.
   • TIP: Stirring chocolate when melted is important. The chemistry of the chocolate requires stirring it – as the melting process “de-constructs” the chocolate from a solid state to a liquid state and so stirring helps reset this chemistry so it will harden correctly again.
5. Your toppings:
   • If your toppings aren’t pre-chopped, then you’ll want to prep your toppings by cutting them into small pieces that you’ll sprinkle all over the chocolate later.TIP: If you have anything in a type of liquid or syrup, like candied orange peel – in a syrup, then just make sure it’s not dripping in liquid! Sugar syrups, etc. are not good for chocolate. Much like water. If your candied fruit is in syrup – just use a paper towel to dry off most of the syrup then chop up your fruit and it’s ready for later!
6. Prepping your Sheet Pan tray:
   • If you are using a Chocolate Transfer Sheet – you want a sheet pan that will be the same size. The ones I have in the video are the size of a ½ sheet pan. If you buy your transfer sheets from Amazon (see our links that we provide) or from anywhere else – you’ll want to check the size – some of them are the size for a ¼ sheet pan – so you may want to use/buy a ¼ sheet pan.
     TIP: Why a sheet pan? The reason is very simple and relatively necessary! The lip or sides of the sheet pan act as a barrier so that the melted chocolate doesn’t just go everywhere! Its stopped by the sides and gives you a nice sheet of chocolate!
     TIP: Which side of the Transfer sheet is up when pouring the chocolate on it?
     One side is shiny and the other side looks dull. The dull side is actually the cocoa butter (print)! This side should be facing up! So that when you pour the chocolate it’s on top of the cocoa butter!
     TIP: DON’T KEEP TOUCHING THE TRANSFER SHEET!
     You want to be careful when handling the sheet – hold it from the sides. Because it’s cocoa butter – it is easy to smudge it with the heat from your hand/fingers. So, you’ll want to take care with it.
   • The reason you’ll want to use the parchment paper is to help you lift the solid bark out of the tray when it has set. It will also help with any chocolate coming to the edge of the pan – it will keep your tray clean. This being said, it isn’t completely necessary to use/buy parchment – you can do without it if necessary.

     So, after prepping the sheet pan, put aside and get back to your chocolate!

7. At this point, you have your chocolate melting in your double boiler; you have prepped your toppings and set them aside and you have also prepped your sheet pan with your transfer sheet.
8. Your chocolate is melted and ready! Now, be careful when lifting the bowl off the pot:
   TIP: You want to FIRST cover the pot with a lid to contain the steam from getting into the air/environment – humidity = water = not good for chocolate! So, upon lifting the bowl with the chocolate off the pot – cover the pot with a lid!
   TIP: NEXT!!! BEFORE pouring your chocolate onto your transfer sheet – you need to wipe the bottom of the bowl with a towel. Again, this is to dry off any excess water from the steaming process. You don’t want water dripping onto the transfer sheet and or the chocolate as you pour it.
9. OK, now that you’ve poured the melted chocolate onto the transfer sheet, now you can use a spatula to spread the chocolate evenly.
   TIP: You’ll want to use an offset spatula (that’s a spatula that has an angle to it –
   it’s slightly bent – this bend makes it easier when you’re spreading something).
10. You’ll have to use your “eye” when spreading the chocolate to make it an even layer.
    TIP: When pouring the chocolate – pouring it all over the area instead of in one
    spot, will assist you in creating that even layer thickness!
11. Chocolate is evenly spread out – you can now sprinkle your topping(s) all over and then place it in the refrigerator to set.
    TIP: After sprinkling your ingredients you can check to see that they’re actually
    sticking to the chocolate. Sometimes ingredients are so lightly touching the
    chocolate that when the chocolate sets, the toppings aren’t quite fixed onto it and so they can just fall off! – After sprinkling toppings just use your eye to scan it and see that everything seems to be “in” the chocolate.
12. Almost all done! Put in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours – depending on the thickness of the chocolate – it could take longer – and of course you can leave it overnight in the refrigerator uncovered.
    TIP: To check to see if chocolate is set – check to see if it has a dull or shiny look
    – shiny = still wet = still melted and not quite set yet!
13. OK, the bark is hardened and ready to come out!
14. Lift it out with the parchment paper.
    TIP: If not using parchment – just place your hand on the chocolate and turn it
    over and it is out of the pan. Then just continue!
15. LAST step…
    Peel off the parchment and with some care handling it (so as to not smudge the cocoa butter print) – break up the chocolate into pieces!
16. All done and ready to eat!
17. Storage: place it in tupperware and it should last for a couple of weeks!