Recipe: Date Bark – Viral Recipe
Date Bark – Viral Recipe is one of the easiest and quickest dessert recipe I have tried. Basically you need 4 basic ingredients to make this delicious and healthy sweet treat. It does taste a bit like Snickers without all that refined sugar. Whenever I buy a fresh batch of dates, I make Date Coconut Energy balls. So this date bark is a much needed change.
Why Date Bark For The Theme Healthy Desserts?
Well, I first came across the viral Tiktok video sometime in September 2023. And I thought, well this is something hubby and I may like as we always crave for some chocolate after our meal. Had all the ingredients at hand so went ahead and prepared it. I held my breath as hubby took the first bite…and he goes ummmmmmm, this is soooo good!
I made it twice, both times using Lindt 70% dark chocolate which we love, not too much sweetness from the chocolate and yet not too bitter. When Rafeeda suggested we prepare Healthy Desserts using natural sweeteners like maple syrup, honey, agave, etc, I thought that I can’t make date bark as chocolate still has some sugar.
Got discussing with hubby —one of the few times when he actually was listening to what I saying. Asked him how he felt about yogurt bark. He responded, “no, don’t you think it is too cold (weather wise) now to sink my teeth into a frozen dessert? Don’t mind if it is ice cream. So I was thinking out aloud that I cannot make date bark and he asked why. “It has chocolate, which has a bit of sugar.” He asked “so what are you going to make with that sugar free chocolate chip packet that you got as a gift?” That was a light bulb moment. I can use the Hershey’s Sugar Free Chocolate Chips.
Date Bark Using Sugar Free Chocolate
Would I make it again with the sugar free chocolate… umm nope unless I have to. The Hershey’s Sugar Free Chocolate Chips didn’t have a bitter after taste like most sugar free chocolates but it is expensive. The sweetness comes from malltitol. And we both prefer the taste of Lindt chocolate or the normal Hershey’s dark chocolate chips.
Sharing This Recipe With Shhhh Secretly Cooking
For this month’s theme, Rafeeda who blogs at The Big Sweet Tooth suggested we make healthy desserts without using brown, coconut sugar or jaggery. She wanted us to use ingredients that are naturally sweet. Rafeeda has a huge collection of desserts on her blog, do check them out. When I last met her in Dubai, she gifted me her home baked Easy Jam Bars. They disappeared in no time between hubby, daughter, son in law and myself!
For this theme she has prepared….
My Partners
As this group largely depends on partners, mine for this month is Priya who blogs at The World Through My Eyes. She suggested I use almonds and salt. I suggested she includes cream cheese and walnuts in her healthy dessert. Using those she has prepared an easy, quick but delish dessert Cream Cheese Stuffed Dates. I’m making these for my Diwali party as a dessert option.
My second partner is Renu who blogs at Cook With Renu. As her partner backed out, as the admin I gave her dates and nuts. She could use a mixture or one type of nut. With those ingredients she has prepared healthy No Bake Makhana Chocolate Energy Bars. What I love about this recipe is the use of protein rich makhana or fox nuts.
Some Refined Sugar Free Desserts You May Want To Check Out
Ingredients Required For Date Bark – Viral Recipe
Dates
Best to use Medjool or any other soft variety of dates. You have to remove the seeds.
Chocolate
Any chocolate of your choice that melts well. Use milk, dark or sugar free chocolate. I usually use Lindt 70% dark chocolate or Hershey’s dark chocolate. You need ½ cup of the chocolate chips. Or about 85g of chocolate.
Peanut Butter
I buy organic peanut butter. Popular brands like Jif, Kraft, etc all contain sugar. Check the labels. Most organic peanut butters though a bit more expensive than the popular brands usually contain no sugar. I buy Adams brand which contains only peanuts and salt. Or make the peanut butter at home. Use smooth or crunchy. You may need to warm the butter up a bit to make it drippy. I actually forgot to do that and it was a little difficult to spread it out over the dates.
Nuts
Use any nuts of your choice. Can use a mixture. I used almonds. Chop the nuts into smaller pieces but do not powder them. One should be able to bite into the nuts easily. I prefer to roast them lightly before adding to the bark. Always handy to keep roasted nuts in an airtight jar for puddings, oats, pancakes, desserts, smoothies, etc. I roast them lightly in the microwave oven for 1-2 minutes.
Salt
Usually sea salt tastes awesome with chocolate. I didn’t have any so opted for Himalayan Pink Salt. Tastes good. Need very little to sprinkle on top of the melted chocolate. Adding salt is optional.
Watch How To Make Date Bark
DATE BARK
Ingredients
- 12-16 dates soft and pitted
- 2 tbsp peanut butter drippy
- 2-3 tbsp almonds or any nuts chopped
- ½ cup dark chocolate approx 85g
- ⅛ tsp sea salt/rock salt optional
Instructions
- Line a 8X8 inch tray with some parchment paper.
- Cut a slit on one side of the date. Remove the seed.
- Place the date on the tray with the cut side down. Flatten it a bit by pressing it down with a spoon.
- Repeat, the above steps with the remaining dates. I prefer to arrange them close together, almost overlapping each other.
- Heat the peanut butter slightly so it becomes a bit runny or drippy. Best to place it in the microwave oven in a heatproof bowl.
- Drizzle or spread the peanut butter over the date layer.
- Sprinkle the chopped nuts over it.
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave oven for 1 minute. Make sure you use a heatproof bowl.
- Pour the chocolate over the nuts. Using a spatula, you may need to spread it out gently. Make sure the nuts do not go over to one side.
- Sprinkle the salt.
- Put the tray in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Remove the date bark from the freezer. Peel off the parchment paper.
- Cut the date bark into pieces using a sharp knife. The size of the pieces depends on your preference.
- Store the date bark pieces in an airtight container in the fridge.
Notes
- Use any chocolate of your choice, milk, dark, sugarfree, etc.
- If the dates are a little dryish you may need to soak them for 15 minutes in warm water. Make sure you pat them dry before layering them on the tray.
- Use any nuts of your choice.
- Can use crunchy or smooth peanut butter.
Pin For Later:
A Little Request:
If you do try this recipe then please either
- add a comment below,
- send a picture to my email mayuri.ajay.patel62@gmail.com
- tag me as #mayuri_jikoni on Instagram
- or tag me on Twitter as #Mayuri1962