A few days ago when I made this tart, I had an epiphany: I could make my own Almond Joy candy bark. After a few searches on the internets, I found that making chocolate bark is easy. There is, however, the question of whether or not to "temper" the chocolate.
It seems that the reasons for tempering have mostly to do with looks rather than taste. Tempering creates a shiny gloss on the exterior of the chocolate once it hardens. It is necessary for dipping things, like strawberries, in chocolate because without tempering the chocolate dip won't harden properly.
I decided to make this batch without tempering to see if the bark would hold up. It did. It was creamy, decadent, and delicious. I had to give the entire batch away quickly for fear of being alone with it.
I think this recipe is suitable if you plan on pulling the bark out of your fridge and serving it for dessert. No muss. No fuss. However, if you are looking for candy to wrap and stick in stockings, then I would go through the extra steps of tempering the chocolate. (This is a helpful video). This version would mostly likely melt and get messy in packaging.
Thoughts on tempering? Please leave them in the comments. I'm interested.
Almond Joy Bark
Ingredients
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup toasted coconut
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup almonds
Directions
1. On really low heat, warm cream. When cream is hot begin to slowly add chocolate chips while stirring constantly. If the chocolate clumps, remove from heat or add a touch more cream (but keep stirring). Eventually, you will have smooth chocolate sauce.
2. Stir in almonds
3. Pour onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread evenly.
4. Sprinkle coconut on top.
5. Place in fridge for at least two hours.
