This delicious keto bark features layers of dark chocolate with a gooey center of sugar free caramel and pecans. So supremely decadent and easy to make, too!
Raise your hand if the combination of chocolate, caramel, and pecans sends you into paroxysms of delight.
Yeah, friend, me too. I love the flavors of a classic turtle and I try to work them into as many recipes as I can think of. I’ve got copycat Keto Turtles, and keto turtle cupcakes. I’ve even got a turtle biscotti recipe.
And now I’ve got keto chocolate bark that has that same gooey caramel pecan goodness going on. It’s a must make for turtle lovers!
Chewy Keto Caramel
The inspiration for this recipe is a new keto caramel that I’ve been secretly working on for months. It uses allulose as part of the sweetener so has a stickier, chewier quality that’s missing from a lot of sugar-free caramel.
Now, don’t panic. If you love my Keto Caramel Sauce, I am not touching that recipe. I promise that one will stay as is. I would risk the ire of many a devoted fan if I messed with it!
But I love nothing more than experimenting with new techniques and ingredients, and allulose creates a stickier consistency more like real caramel. I played with the proportions and found that half allulose and half Swerve gave me a chewier quality.
I am still working on a way to turn it into caramel candies and I think I am close! So I am excited to introduce it in this keto bark recipe.
How to make keto pecan turtle bark
You are going to love this easy and delicious this keto dessert recipe!
The caramel pecan layer
- You want to prep this first so it has time to cool and thicken as you work on the chocolate. Besides the two sweeteners, the caramel takes just a few ingredients: butter, cream, vanilla, and salt.
- I highly recommend using a good stainless steel saucepan for making any kind of caramel. Good quality cookware keeps things from heating up too quickly, and the light color allows you to easily see the caramelization in process so you don’t overcook it.
- The caramel will bubble up quite spectacularly when you add the cream so make sure your pot is large enough. A 3 quart pan should be sufficient.
- An instant read thermometer helps determine when the caramel is done. It’s not required, however, as you can go simply based on the color and consistency.
- Let it cool, but not completely. You don’t want it to be hot, as it will melt the chocolate layers. But it does firm up as it cools and becomes more like chewy caramel candy. If it’s not liquid enough to spread over the chocolate layer, simply warm it very gently until it is.
- I purchase pre-toasted, chopped pecans to make recipes like this even easier. But if you can’t find them, simply toast the chopped nuts on a baking sheet at 350F for 5 to 7 minutes. Keep your eye on them, as they can burn quickly!
The chocolate layers
- Line the pan with parchment paper with enough overhang that you can life the bark out more easily.
- You could just do a single chocolate layer, top it with the caramel and pecans, and be done. But I love the look of the layered bark with the caramel and pecans in the middle.
- I always recommend melting keto chocolate with cocoa butter, to melt it more smoothly and to thin it out. This helps keep the carbs down and makes the chocolate less likely to seize.
- Freezing each of the layers before adding the next one helps keep each layer nice and defined, so they don’t mix together.
Frequently Asked Questions
Please make sure you read this section, as I do my best to anticipate any questions that might arise for every recipe. It helps eliminate the need for me to respond individually to multiple readers with the same question.
For many people, a high concentration of allulose causes severe tummy upset. Additionally, I find there is a slight sourness to allulose on its own, whereas combining with Swerve minimizes that flavor.
You will be thrilled to know that with this combination of sweeteners, there is no recrystallization. The caramel does firm up as it sits and cools, but there is no grittiness. That’s why it’s perfect for the filling of this bark. It’s both chewy and firm enough not to goo out everywhere.
Indeed you can! I tried a version of the chewy caramel using coconut cream in place of the whipping cream. Just skip the butter altogether or use palm shortening (coconut oil tends to separate out). You may need to boil it a bit longer to thicken it.
These days, you have many options when it comes to sugar-free dark chocolate. I usually use ChocZero or Lily’s but I’ve discovered that Pascha now carries sugar-free chips that are totally dairy free.
Yes, but I recommend making it a little thicker. Don’t add any water at the end in Step 4 but do bring it back to a boil to help it thicken up a bit more.
Storage information
Store the keto bark in a covered container on the counter for up to 5 days, and in the fridge for up to 10 days.
You can also freeze it for several months, although the chocolate can change a bit in the freezing and thawing process.
More delicious keto caramel recipes
- Salted Caramel Brownie Bites
- Keto Caramel Cake
- Keto Coconut Flan (Creme Caramel)
- Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate
- Keto Twix Bars
Keto Pecan Turtle Bark
Ingredients
Chewy Keto Caramel
- 1/3 cup (63.6 g) allulose
- 1/3 cup (60.67 g) Swerve Granular
- 3 tbsp butter, cut into 3 pieces
- 1/3 cup (79.33 g) heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) sea salt
Turtle Bark
- 7 ounces (198.45 g) sugar-free dark chocolate, chopped
- 3/4 ounce (21.26 g) cocoa butter, chopped
- 3/4 cup (74.25 g) chopped toasted pecans
Instructions
Chewy Keto Caramel
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the allulose and Swerve. Cook until the sweeteners have melted. Allow to come to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and cook until caramelized and amber, about 3 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and the cream. The mixture will bubble vigorously; this is normal.
- Return to medium low heat and cook until deep amber and thickened, another 2 minutes or so. The mixture should reach 250 to 265F on an instant read thermometer.
- Remove and stir in the vanilla and the salt. Let cool while preparing the chocolate.
Turtle Bark
- Line a 9×9 inch baking pan with parchment paper. Allow the paper to overhang the sides for easy removal.
- In a heatproof bowl set over a pan over barely simmering water, combine the chocolate and cocoa butter. Stir until melted and smooth.
- Spread half of the chocolate mixture over the bottom of the prepared baking pan, spreading to the edges. Freeze until firm, 10 to 20 minutes.
- Pour the caramel layer over the chocolate (if the caramel has firmed up too much, warm gently until pourable). Sprinkle the caramel with the chopped pecans and freeze about 30 minutes to firm up.
- Re-warm the remaining chocolate and spread over the caramel layer. Refrigerate at least 1 hour to firm up.
- Lift out by the edges of the parchment paper and cut into bars or triangles.
Nutrition
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This recipe sounds delish. I will try making them.
I just started reading labels for Keto and was wondering if I am doing my math correctly.
+17 g carbs
– 2 g fiber
-12g alcohol sugar
______
3g net carbs
Yup!
Can regular butter be substituted for the cacao butter?
I don’t like dark chocolate; how about milk chocolate?
I can’t find cocoa butter. Can it be made at home?
I have tried 3 times to make this caramel sauce and have ended up with a sauce that has a bad after taste. Th first time I might have burned it by cooking too long in every stage. The second time I think it was the part of trying to get up to 250° that made it taste funny. The 3rd time I went strictly by the suggested time or shorter and it still has a slight after taste. Could it be my brand of allulose? It doesn’t taste burnt, just really funky and bitter.I know it’s not the recipe and I have a good sauce pan so thinking it has to be the brand of sweetener that I here in Canada off Amazon which is by Fancy Sweets.
Does it taste a bit sour? Because I experience that with some brands of allulose as well. You could try using more Swerve and less allulose (like 7 tbsp Swerve and 4 tbsp allulose).
Do you store in fridge or will it keep out of frig ?
It’s fine out of the fridge for a while.
When the sugar starts to bubble; do you not stir anymore? I know when make regular Carmel with cane sugar; you don’t stir after it starts to bubble for it will make it gritty. I don’t want to burn it or make it gritty ! Thanks! May Jesus continue to bless you and your family!
Don’t think in terms of sugar… it behaves completely differently from keto sweeteners. Just follow the directions in this recipe!
Carolyn, when are you going to hook up with a professional kitchen and make your caramel sauce and a few of your caramel based goodies available for purchase?
You have such a large following I can’t imagine that they wouldn’t be a huge success!
Thanks for all of your recipes and your great blogs to go with them!
This is absolutely incredible. Don’t not-make this!!
I just want to get this straight, just the sweetners and nothing else to start?
Yup! Stay nearby as they melt together, don’t let them burn! A good pan helps a lot.
How is this sugar free?!? It turned out sooo good. This is great for office gifting!
This was SO tasty!! Loved how easy it was to make too and I’ll be making it for my friends this holiday season.
This chocolate bark was os good, makes for the perfect snack after lunch or dinner! I love it, perfect to cure a sweet tooth!
Awhile back I purchased 2 bottles of liquid allulose at Costco before I knew that all recipes are calling for the dry version. I’ve never used them for that reason and was wondering if it would work in this recipe. I’ve seen so many of your recipes call for allulose and always skip right past them, so disappointed because of mine being liquid.
Well, because they are already liquid, I am not sure it will work to make this caramel. I think it might be worth a try, though. You can always add a bit of xanthan gum to thicken it, if it’s too thin.
I just tried your suggestion on using xanthan gum to thicken it when using liquid Allulose. I used 1/4 tsp and it worked! In fact it was absolutely delicious and your recipe is pretty much the best candy I’ve made so far, and I’ve tried a lot. Thank you!!
Thrilled to hear it!
Kudos to you my friend you can tell you really love what you do, you put all your heart into all your recipes. I so can’t wait to try this one. I love all your recipes. Keep pressing on much ❤️
Finally,
I found Bocha Sweet!????????????
Sold in Canada!????????
$62.00 a pound!????????????
My head shakes NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT!
What do you pay for it, please?
It may be better to import it ourselves by purchasing it in the USA????????
Pay the shipping.
There shouldn’t be any duty or taxes…. There isn’t on NOW stevia powder!
I buy Bochasweet from a store in Canada for $20 lbs. Sweetandsprouted.com
Do you have to use bochasweet ? is there a substitute that will work as well ?
This recipe doesn’t use BochaSweet.
I have an allulose/monk fruit blend and bochasweet…which is the better choice?
Honestly.. neither. I think I am pretty clear on that in the blog post. You can try using my original caramel recipe with the adjustments I note in the FAQ.
Is the butter unsalted and would Bocha work the same as the allulose because still nog able to buy it here in Canada. Thanks for this great recipe.
Doesn’t matter if you want salted or unsalted. But if you want to use BochaSweet, I suggest using my original caramel as I mention in the FAQ.
I have bad reactions to Swerve and Allulose. Could I use Birch Xylitol for both? If not, what do you suggest?
Honestly… I don’t know if xylitol will caramelize and get chewy but I highly doubt it. I have no suggestions beyond that because this is how the recipe works.
This looks fabulous. I love your caramel sauce and I always wonder if there would be a way to make it into caramel candies. I’m so excited that you’re working on that. I’m going to make this bark as soon as possible.