Mango & pistachio chocolate bark

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Mango and pistachio chocolate bark

I really hope that you’ll forgive me for posting a chocolate recipe in January when everyone else is posting healthy this and healthy that! In my defense, though, it is a pretty healthy chocolate recipe, if that can ever exist 😉 And … you could make it even healthier by buying chocolate with a higher cocoa solids percentage (think of those good-guy bad-busting antioxidants, flavonoids and stress-busting qualities it has!)  and even reducing the amount of – or skipping – the white chocolate if you like. Although personally I think that would be a shame as I love the marbled effect and extra ‘ooomph’ created by adding just those few swirls of white.

pistachio nuts

It’s OK, it’s OK … remember life is all about balance and balance equals …. CHOCOLATE! (well, a bit every now and then anyhow)

chocolate bark ingredients

Are you convinced yet?

melting chocolate

Actually, the main reason I racked my brains to create this ‘slightly healthier’ (?!) treat was because I wanted a quick homemade birthday gift for my friend that I knew she would eat. She loves food but I’ve noticed that she usually plumps for the healthier option in restaurants and rarely indulges in super sweet and decadent desserts … unlike myself who often goes straight for the gooey-est, chocolatey-est option on the menu!

I came across the wonderful idea of giving chocolate bark as a gift in a lovely box several months ago … and I haven’t looked back! I love that you can change it around in sooo many ways to suit the person you’re gifting it to. I love that it looks pretty and impressive and expensive, even though you use just a few simple ingredients and it takes mere minutes to make. And most of all I love that you can put it in a pretty box, tie it up with a ribbon, stick a label on it saying what it is (I thought this was necessary in this case as it wasn’t obvious what the mango bits were!) … and, hopefully and most importantly make someone feel a little bit more special on their birthday!

making chocolate bark

My original idea for this chocolate bark was to pair pistachios with dried cherries of some kind, but of course the cherries were nowhere to be found at my pesky little local supermarket. So … thinking cap went back on and I remembered that I’d seen pistachios matched with mango before. Hmm … the green of the pistachios might look pretty cool against the bright orange of the dried mango, I thought. And what if I used mostly dark chocolate? That would probably go pretty well with the slight saltiness of the shelled pistachios … and a good swirl of white chocolate on top of the dark chocolate would complement the tartness of the mango, too. This was my train of thought and, I’m happy to say, the choccy bark turned out exactly as I was hoping!

And, in case you were wondering, my friend loved her gift and I was very flattered that at first she thought that I’d bought it from a shop … result!

chocolate bark

With chocolate bark, the possibilities are endless, of course. I’m thinking cookies and cream, dark chocolate with slivered roast almonds and candied orange peel, a simple milk and white chocolate with a mix of nuts, white chocolate with macadamia nuts and dried cranberries … the variations are only limited by your imagination, really. The only thing I would say is necessary is to buy really good quality chocolate. Don’t even think about using cooking chocolate!

mango and pistachio chocolate bark

Personally, I’d love to be given a gift like this, personalised a little just for me and nicely packed in a lovely box.

mango and pistachio chocolate bark

What other chocolate bark flavour combinations do you think would work well?

a homemade chocolate gift

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5 from 1 vote

Mango and pistachio chocolate bark

Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 5 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
Servings: 10 makes the perfect amount for 1 gift, plus a few leftover bits for 'testing'!

Ingredients 
 

  • 1/2 cup pistachio nuts
  • 1/2 cup dried mango, chopped
  • 7 ounces good quality dark chocolate
  • 3.5 ounces good quality white chocolate

Instructions 

  • Cover a baking tray with baking paper.
  • Shell the pistachios and scatter half of them over the tray along with half of the chopped mango pieces (I just scattered them over the middle part of the tray as in the pictures so that the chocolate bark doesn't end up too thin).
  • Melt the dark chocolate in a dish by microwaving in 30-second spurts and stirring until smooth. (Alternatively, melt it in a 'bain-marie', or a glass bowl placed over a saucepan of boiling water, being careful not to let the bowl touch the water)
  • Pour the chocolate over the nuts and fruit, smoothing it over slightly with a knife.
  • Melt the white chocolate in the same way described above and drizzle it unevenly over the dark chocolate layer. Trail a knife through it for a marbled effect if you like.
  • Scatter the remaining pistachios and mango pieces evenly on top of the chocolate, pressing in a little if necessary to make sure they 'stick'.
  • Put the whole tray in the fridge for at least half an hour, then break up the bark into uneven pieces.
  • Package up in a pretty, baking-paper-lined box, tie up with a ribbon, label and give the gift to the lucky recipient!

Notes

Use really good quality chocolate for the best results.
Don't eat all the mango slices while you're making this - they're seriously moreish!

Nutrition

Calories: 243kcal, Carbohydrates: 25g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 2mg, Sodium: 12mg, Potassium: 233mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 17g, Vitamin A: 1280IU, Vitamin C: 2.2mg, Calcium: 47mg, Iron: 3.2mg
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About Helen Schofield

Don't expect to find anything fussy or complicated here. Just QUICK, EASY & (mostly!) HEALTHY recipes from the Mediterranean and beyond. ENJOY!

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14 Comments

  1. I can’t get over how DELICIOUS and unique this flavor combination is. Plus – the green and orange make it so vibrant and stylish. Yum!

    1. Hello, Sarah, and thanks so much for passing by and saying hi! I’m so happy you like this. You’ve reminded me now that I haven’t made this in a while … I think I need to fix that! 🙂

  2. Helen, I just now found your blog, via the site of another blogger, I’m a food blog. Love this recipe!!
    It reminds me of the French Christmas chocolate treat, called mendiant:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendiant

    I will give it a try next weekend!
    All the best and have a good week.

    1. So glad you found me and I’m looking forward to checking out your blog too! I think this is one of my favourite recipes on my blog so far – the flavours really do work well together and the friend I originally made it for has already made it again for herself because she liked it so much! Let me know how you like it if you do make it. I’ll check out the Wikipedia link!

  3. Totally sold. Love these gorgeous bars. Hey, a little treat didn’t hurt anybody. I love a little chocolatey treat everyday, and this is awesome.
    Pinning.

    1. Thank you, Asha! I’ve been trying to cut down on my sugar intake lately, but not obsessively, as you can see from this post. And anyway, it was a gift 😉 Thanks also for pinning!

  4. Love the idea of giving chocolate bark as a gift! Love the idea of receiving chocolate bark as a gift as well 🙂 What a creative combination of mango and pistachio!

    1. Thank you, Chris! I love that this gift is so easy. I made sure I tried plenty of pieces before giving the rest away 😉 and it really was tasty. I especially liked the slight addition of salt from the nuts.

  5. This looks absolutely gorgeous! Love the mix of chocolates and dried mango is so delicious, bet it works really well with the pistachio. What a lovely gift idea! Will be giving this one a try!

    1. Thank you, Claire! The combination of flavours really does work well – especially with the slight saltiness of the pistachios. Nice to meet you and thanks so much for stopping by the blog! Really love yours … it’s so great to ‘run into’ other British blogs.

  6. We all need some indulgence here and there. I love the flavor combination of this bark…sweet and salty! So delicious!

    1. Thank you, Zainab! Although I say it myself, this was even nicer than I had hoped. I know salted dark chocolate is a popular recent trend, but this is the first time I’ve tried it in a recipe and it really does bring out all the flavours.