Mary berry Raspberry Bark

Rich and decadent, Raspberry Bark is love in chocolate form. (Gluten-Free, too!)

One of the things I didn’t expect during this blogging journey was to form such wonderful friendships with so many inspiring women. Cate is one of those women. She is such a loving, sweet person and is going to make the best MOM!

That’s right, Cate is having a baby girl next month! I am over the moon excited for her and her husband (known as “The Better Half” on her blog) and to celebrate, Lynn from Fresh April Flours, Amy from Thoroughly Nourished Life and I decided to throw her a little virtual baby shower.

In honor of her SWEET baby girl’s arrival, the party is centered around SWEETS (the best kind of party, am I right?!) with a little girly flare involved, of course.

PS – can we just talk about how gorgeous this baby girl is going to be? Just look at her beautiful parents!

So, for a shower themed around sweets, you KNOW I had to bring chocolate. I mean, it is a girl’s best friend after all, so introducing Baby Girl as early as possible was a no-brainer.

BONUS: This raspberry bark is also a cinch to make, and something the sweet new mama could throw together in no time flat! I hear that time is a rare thing once mamahood hits, but no woman/baby girl should have to go without chocolate, no matter how pressed for time.

Can I get an amen?

This bark is comprised of three simple layers: white chocolate, dark chocolate, and freeze dried raspberry bits. That’s it!

But OH! The decadence.

This raspberry bark is seriously habit forming – the sweet white chocolate provides a beautiful balance to the bitter dark chocolate, and the freeze-dried raspberry provides an otherworldly texture and flavor. The PERFECT treat to serve at a baby shower to celebrate a sweet little one, to share with your boo for Valentine’s day, or just to treat yo’self.

While simple, keep in mind that barks are only as good as what you put into them. Trust me: I know from LOTS of trial and error over the years!

For bark, you want to make sure you are using very high quality chocolate. Seriously, this is of utmost importance. You’ll be tempted, but you absolutely do not want to use chocolate chips (or white chocolate chips) here, as they contain stabilizers and can get very cranky in the bark making process. Also, while chocolate chips are delicious and I’ve been known to eat them handfuls at a time, they’re generally not the best tasting chocolate in the world. And for baby girl? Only the best will do!

IMPORTANT: When you’re selecting your high-quality chocolate bars, read the labels VERY carefully. You’d be surprised how many fancy candy bar brands contain barley malt or other gluten derivatives.

I am SO excited to see Cate become a mom, and am so delighted to be able to celebrate her and baby girl today!

Be sure to check out Lynn and Amy’s delectable shower sweets as well! Lynn made Red Velvet Rice Krispies Treats and Amy made a Gluten-Free Midnight Chocolate and Raspberry Cake for Two. Seriously drooling over here.

Aren’t baby showers (and BABIES!) the best?!