All Natural Pink Chocolate Swirled Bark

Here’s a recipe we haven’t seen anywhere—yet. Meet all natural pink chocolate swirled bark!

My mind’s eye had been dreaming up a natural pink chocolate swirled bark for Valentine’s Day, made without artificial food coloring or chemical dyes. Powdered beets are commonly used as a natural food coloring for pink cake frosting. But, I haven’t seen much about using beet powder for natural pink chocolate. I also wanted a swirled chocolate bark, marbled in that beautiful pattern you’ve seen on cheesecakes or brownies. Again, YouTube didn’t offer too many instructions for swirled chocolate bark, at least the kind I wanted. So, I set out to try it on my own.

For the food coloring, we happened to have beet root powder on-hand, ordered online to make homemade all-natural blush. (Yes, makeup! That’s a post for another time.) My first attempt at chocolate swirls was rough. The pink chocolate was lumpy as the beet root powder clumped together. And the marbling pattern was messy since the pink chocolate had already semi-hardened. However, after a few more tries we finally met with sweet success! And, we made a video so that you can see just how to swirl chocolate into a marbled pattern. It’s not hard to do, just hard to describe in words.

This chocolate bark is quick and easy to put together, somewhat healthy, and free of any unnatural dyes. It’s also gluten-free and can be dairy-free if you use vegan chocolate. Use it as a simple Valentine’s day dessert, or I think it would be perfect for a little girl’s birthday party! Let us know in the comments below if you try it out. Happy Valentine’s Day!

A few notes if you try this yourself:

• Beet root powder is available online here. Since mine was a bit clumpy, I used a mortar and pestle to even out the chunks. You could also place it in a plastic bag and work out the clumps with your fingers.
• Make sure to gently melt the chocolate to where it is fully melted and pretty runny before attempting this (the pink chocolate will be less runny than the dark chocolate).
• For the best taste, use the best quality chocolate you can find.
• For the marbling, I used a spoon to very lightly draw the lines. This leaves some texture in the top of the chocolate, which I like. For even less texture, use a toothpick and draw very, very lightly.
• If you try this out, tag us on Instagram—we’d love to see your creations. And feel free to email us for moral support.

Listen

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All Natural Pink & Dark Chocolate Bark

 

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by: a Couple Cooks

Serves: 1 pound

What You Need

• 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips
• 10 ounces white chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons beet root powder

What To Do

1. If your beet root powder has any clumps, smooth it out using a mortar and pestle, or place it in a plastic bag and work out the clumps with your fingers.
2. Fill a saucepan with water and bring it to a simmer. Place the dark chocolate chips in a smaller saucepan or skillet, then hold it above but not touching the simmering water. Stir the chips with a spatula until they are fully melted and liquid.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Pour the chocolate onto the paper and smooth it into a large rectangle with the spatula.
4. In another small saucepan or skillet, melt the white chocolate chips in the same way as the dark chocolate chips. When they are melted, add the beetroot powder 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring constantly. Return the pan to the simmering water and stir until the powder is fully combined and the now pink chocolate is very liquid and warmed fully through.
5. Immediately, use a spoon to drizzle the pink chocolate into lines on top of the dark chocolate rectangle (see the video). Use as much of the pink chocolate as you like.
6. To make the marbled swirl effect, use the spoon or toothpick to lightly draw diagonal lines one way on the chocolate rectangle, then reverse directions and draw the lines the other direction (see the video for more).
7. Place the tray in the freezer and freeze for 20 minutes until solid. Then break the chocolate into even pieces with your hands.

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