French Chocolate Anise Bark Recipe (Copy-Cat Recipe) Gluten-Free

This unique recipe is a copy of a chocolate bark made in a Paris restaurant called L'ARPÈGE. 

Make this lovely chocolate, then close your eyes, take a bite and imagine you are in Paris as you savor this delicious treat. If you want to imagine that you are in Paris anyway... I do know that this chocolate will take you somewhere... To chocolate bliss land.

This delicious chocolate is exotic with many flavor and texture dimensions. We love it. It is also extremely easy to make. You can make a half batch the first time if you are not sure what you think of anise flavoring, which is licorice-like. Trust me though, this is g-o-o-d.

To make this chocolate even better, I recommend my mother's healthy sugar-free dark chocolate formula manufactured by Lakanto. It will be sold at Whole Foods. Call your local Whole Foods store and ask them to order it in , if they don't have it in stock yet. You will love her chocolate!



Chocolate Anise Bark Recipe:

Serves: 12

12 oz high quality bittersweet or dark chocolate, finely chopped (Lakanto Dark Chocolate is our fav.)
2 t. (4 grams) anise seeds, freshly ground to a fine texture in a krups seed mill
2/3 c. (12 grams) dried (pitted) sour cherries
2/3 c. (16 grams) dried apricots, coarsely chopped
2/3 c. (12 grams) roasted salted cashews,coarsely chopped
1 drop star anise essential oil, optional



Method:

Line a cookie sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Chill the cookie sheet a few minutes.

Melt the chopped chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in 45 second intervals until melted and smooth, stirring in between.

While the chocolate is melting, prepare the fruit and nuts and mix together in a bowl.

Stir the finely powdered anise seed into the melted chocolate.

Optionally add 1 drop of star anise essential oil and stir into the chocolate very well, if you want a stronger anise flavor.

Stir half of the fruit and nut mix into the melted chocolate.

Spread the chocolate mixture onto the lined and chilled cookie sheet with a spatula into a rectangle shape.

Quickly sprinkle the chocolate with the rest of the fruit and nut mixture and gently press in so that it's slightly embedded in the chocolate.

Chill the chocolate until it is completely set up, up to 30 minutes.

Break into 12 pieces and store air-tight.


Note: Lakanto's Dark chocolate is sugar-free and delicious and it is formulated by my mom!


Photos of the process:

Enjoy!

Leila.