This easy cherry chocolate bark is healthy, fast, and delicious! It has sweet, juicy cherries topped with a rich, dark chocolate that’s deliciously bitter. All you need are cherries and chocolate to make this easy, healthy sweet treat. Start craving healthier sweets!

Here’s how to make cherry chocolate bark at home!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• It’s healthy, nutritious, and hits that sweet craving spot.
• So simple: you only need 2 ingredients.
• It’s delicious! You can’t go wrong with chocolate-covered fruit.
• Great for gifting to friends, family, coworkers, and more.
• Easy to meal prep so you can enjoy a nice sweet treat all week.

What is Chocolate Bark?

A chocolate bar is any melted chocolate spread into a thin layer and topped with various toppings like fruit, nuts, candy, and more. You can use any chocolate you’d like, but most people use semisweet or dark chocolate to balance sweet toppings and milk or white chocolate for salty toppings.

The original inspiration is mendiants, French chocolate discs from the 17th century that represented the robes of friars! It usually had nuts and fruits coordinating with the color of the robes. Now, you can find all sorts of toppings in American-style bark, ranging from the traditional to candy, pretzels, and more.

Why is it called chocolate bark? The theory is that chocolate bark, when hardened and broken into pieces, looks and has the texture of tree bark.

Do Chocolate and Cherries Go Together?

Yes! This combination is literally one of the most classic flavor combinations, ever. You’ve probably seen cherry cordials, which are chocolate bonbons that have a whole cherry inside filled with syrup or alcohol. Some other popular desserts with chocolate and cherry: Black Forest cake, Cherry Garcia ice cream…

Cherries and chocolate taste so good together because the flavors contrast nicely! Chocolate is slightly fruity and bitter, which balances anything fruity, sweet, and tart. So, it’s bound to taste good together!

Cherry Chocolate Bark Recipe: Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make cherry chocolate bark:

• Chocolate — I use dark chocolate in this recipe with 88% cocoa content, but you can use one with 60% or more! More bitter chocolate tastes better in my opinion since the fruit is already sweet, but you can use milk or white chocolate if you want it sweeter! You can use a chocolate bar or chips, just make sure that it melts completely before you pour it onto the fruit.
• Cherries — Red Bing cherries (the most popular cherries you’ll find at the grocery store) are perfect for this recipe. However, you can use any cherries you’d like! Different varieties have different sweetness levels, like Rainier cherries, which are super sweet and honey-like. Just use what you like!
• Salt (Optional) —I love adding a little salt to balance out the chocolate and cherry. It makes it not too sweet and adds the perfect little crunch!

How to Make Cherry Chocolate Bark

1. Pit and Halve Cherries. Wash cherries and pat dry with paper towels. Any water will cause the chocolate to seize and/or not stick. Cut the cherries in half and remove the pit using your fingers; you could also use a pitting tool.
2. Position Fruit. Line a flat baking sheet with parchment paper. You can secure it with tape or clips if needed. Line the fruit up facing the same way (cut half up or down, doesn’t matter), but make sure that the sides touch each other. If the fruit is too far apart, your chocolate bark won’t set together.
3. Melt Chocolate. Unwrap your chocolate bar or chips, then add them to a small bowl. Melt the chocolate in the microwave, pulsing the bowl for 15 – 30 seconds at a time, stirring inbetween until completely melted. Alternatively, you can use a Bain Marie method with hot water in a pot underneath.
4. Pour Chocolate. Once the chocolate is completely melted, pour the chocolate evenly over the fruit. Use a spoon to distribute it evenly, otherwise one side of the bark will be thicker than the rest. Spread out any excess chocolate using the back of the spoon.
5. If you’d like to add extra toppings, sprinkle the wet chocolate with salt, almonds, nuts, or other toppings.
6. Cool to Set. Place the chocolate bark in the fridge on an even surface for 30 minutes to an hour to completely harden.
7. Break Pieces. Once the chocolate bark is set, remove it from the fridge and break it into pieces using your hands or a knife.
8. Store and Enjoy! Store the leftover pieces in an airtight container in a cool place, like the pantry or a cupboard away from heat. Take out a piece and enjoy alone or with a cup of coffee!

How to Store Cherry Chocolate Bark

To store chocolate bark, place it in an airtight container and store it somewhere dark and cool, like in a pantry closet. You could also place it in the fridge, which also extends its shelf life. But if you live somewhere hot and humid, the chocolate might start sweating if you take it out.

You can also store it in a Ziploc bag, as long as there’s an airtight seal. For gifts, place the bark in plastic goodie bags and tie it with a ribbon, then leave it somewhere dark and cool until it’s ready to gift.

Tips for a Great Chocolate Bark

• Make Sure Cherries Are Dry: Your fruit must be patted dry to remove any excess water from washing. Chocolate and water do not mix, and that’s the number one way to get seized chocolate (aka grainy chocolate). I like to use some clean hand or paper towels to pat them dry.
• Work Quickly: Once you have melted chocolate, make sure you pour and spread the chocolate quickly so that it doesn’t set in lumps. It’s easy to reheat chocolate in the bowl, but impossible once you pour it onto your toppings.
• Give it Time to Set: Make sure you give the chocolate enough time to harden in the fridge. If you take it out too early, the chocolate will be semi-set and semi-liquid, and it will become messy. The chocolate should have a matte sheen to it, if it’s still glossy, it’s not set.

Cherry Chocolate Bark Variations

This recipe is just the base for basically any bark combination you want! A popular addition is almonds, which also pair well with both cherry and chocolate. Try using different nuts like pistachios or adding shredded coconut. You can also swap dark chocolate for white chocolate, making a sweet cherry and cream flavor.

Tip: You can also use this chocolate cherry bark as a topping for ice cream, or even add it to make chocolate cherry bark flavored ice cream!

FAQ’s

What are the health benefits of chocolate and cherries?

Dark chocolate is rich in antioxidants and healthy fats, while cherries are packed with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds. So, while this chocolate bark is still a treat, it has nutritional perks.

Is this healthy?

It depends on how you look at it! This is still a sweet treat, but using dark chocolate and real cherries makes it healthier compared to other heavily processed sweets. I’d call it a “better-for-you” snack rather than pure health food.

Can I freeze chocolate bark?

Yes! Chocolate bark freezes really well. Just store it in an airtight container and let it sit at room temp for a few minutes before eating so it’s not rock-hard.

Can I use dried cherries for chocolate bark?

Dried cherries work great in chocolate bark! Especially because they don’t add moisture. They are also way more potent than real cherries, so each piece of dried fruit is more tart than fresh ones.

Other Homemade Treats to Make

Chocolate bark is so easy to make at home, but it’s not the only easy homemade treat! Here are some other easy recipes to try next:

• Coffee Jelly
• Tofu Matcha Mousse
• Banana Matcha Smoothie
• DIY Hot Chocolate Mix
• Boiled Egg Chocolate Pudding