Berry Coconut Butter Bark
A rich, dense, deeply satisfying bark: a coconut butter base, 100% cacao chocolate swirls, and freeze-dried raspberries, finished with a marble pattern.
Yield: One 8×8 pan (about 24 small squares) · Active: 20 min · Total: 2 hr (including chilling) · Best eaten: as an afternoon treat, straight from the freezer
A heads-up: this bark is thick, rich, and very dense, so it's meant for small squares, not big slices. A little goes a long way.
Ingredients
1 cup coconut butter (sometimes sold as coconut manna)
½ cup full-fat coconut milk (no guar gum, no sweeteners)
4 oz 100% cacao baking chocolate (raw cacao is ideal; see Sourcing for low-heavy-metal options)
¼-½ cup pure maple syrup, divided between the chocolate and coconut butter (use to taste; sometimes less is more)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Optional: 1 tsp coconut oil, in case the chocolate seizes
Optional add-ins
1 cup freeze-dried raspberries or strawberries, finely chopped
1 small drop food-grade peppermint essential oil (labeled safe for internal use), or ¼ tsp pure peppermint extract
Unsweetened coconut chips (toasted are wonderful. Use large chips rather than small shredded flakes)
Dried mulberries, chopped almonds, macadamias, or chopped pistachios
Chopped Brazil nuts, as a light sprinkle (just one or two a day covers your selenium needs)
Make it your own
A pinch of flaky sea salt over the top (the single best upgrade)
Cacao nibs, for crunch and a deeper chocolate hit
The zest of 1 orange, stirred into the chocolate, for chocolate-orange bark
Dried rose petals and chopped pistachios, gorgeous with the raspberries
Freeze-dried blueberries, for a mixed-berry bark
A pinch of Ceylon cinnamon, cardamom, or cayenne in the chocolate, for a warm-spiced or Mexican chocolate twist
Toasted pecans or walnuts, or a sprinkle of hemp seeds
Bee pollen, for a floral crunch
A spoonful of tahini or almond butter, swirled in alongside the chocolate
Method
Prep the pan. Line an 8x8-inch pan with parchment, leaving some hanging over the sides so you can lift the bark out.
Melt the coconut butter. In a saucepan, warm the coconut butter over very low heat (or in a double boiler). As it melts into a liquid, slowly stir in the coconut milk. If the coconut butter turns brown, it has overheated, so keep your stove at its lowest setting.
Sweeten. Off the heat, stir in half the maple syrup (or skip it if you prefer it less sweet) and the vanilla.
Spread. Once the mixture is a pourable consistency, pour it into the lined pan and spread it evenly.
Melt the chocolate. Working quickly, melt the 100% cacao over low heat. Slowly stir in the remaining maple syrup. If the chocolate seizes and turns thick or grainy (the water in maple syrup can do that), stir in the coconut oil until it's smooth and glossy again. Optional: add the peppermint oil or extract here for peppermint bark, taking care not to add too much.
Dollop. Dollop about a tablespoon of chocolate at a time over the coconut butter in three rows of four.
Swirl. Using the back of a spoon or a skewer, swirl the chocolate into the coconut butter to make a fun marbled pattern.
Top. Scatter the bark with freeze-dried raspberries and any other add-ins, pressing them in gently so they stick.
Chill. Refrigerate 1-2 hours, until completely firm, then lift it out and cut it into small squares with a sharp knife dipped in hot water.
Storage: Keep the bark in the fridge up to 1 week or the freezer up to 3 months until serving. Coconut butter softens quickly at warm room temperature, so serve it straight from the cold.
Nourishment Notes
Coconut butter is whole coconut meat, ground smooth, so it delivers lauric acid (a medium-chain fat), manganese, copper, and substantial fiber. 100% cacao brings flavanols, theobromine, magnesium, and iron in their most concentrated form, with no added sugar, no soy lecithin, and no seed oils. Freeze-dried raspberries contribute anthocyanins, vitamin C, and a bright, tart pop that contrasts beautifully with the rich coconut and bittersweet cacao. The combination is so dense and satisfying that small squares are plenty.
Cacao's theobromine is a gentle natural stimulant, so this is best as an afternoon treat rather than a late-evening one.
Sourcing
Coconut butter — organic. I love Pachamae, from Costa Rica; Artisana and Nutiva also make organic coconut butter
Coconut milk — organic and full-fat, with just coconut and water; Native Forest Simple comes in BPA-free cans
100% cacao — organic, and ideally tested for heavy metals, since cacao can carry cadmium and lead from the soil. Pachamana publishes its heavy metal test results, and Wildly Organic is another organic option
Maple syrup — organic, Grade A dark
Vanilla — organic pure vanilla extract with no added sugar, or a whole vanilla bean
Freeze-dried raspberries, strawberries, or blueberries — organic, with nothing added
Dried mulberries — organic; Navitas Organics and Terrasoul Superfoods both make them
Coconut chips — organic, unsweetened, and sulfite-free; Terrasoul makes large-flake chips
Nuts (almonds, macadamias, pistachios, Brazil nuts) — organic; for almonds, look for unpasteurized Spanish almonds, since U.S. almonds are pasteurized by law
Peppermint — organic food-grade peppermint essential oil labeled for internal use, or organic pure peppermint extract
Flaky sea salt — Maldon or fleur de sel de Guérande
— Anna aka Food Marshall