Cherry Blossom (Sakura) Dark Chocolate Bark

Preparing the cherry blossoms can be done 4-5 days ahead of time. Fill a small bowl with water and carefully add the cherry blossoms, gently separating any that are stuck together. Let them soak for 10-15 minutes to remove the excess salt.
Before removing them from the water, gently shake the flowers from the stems to open any folded petals. Fan out the petals and place the flowers on a paper towel or clean dish towel. (The way the petals are laid out on the towel is how the flowers will look when they're dried.) Firmly pat dry until most of the moisture is gone and gently press to flatten. Keep any petals that have fallen off while soaking. Pat dry and lay them out with the flowers.
Place the dried flowers and petals on a parchment lined baking sheet. Turn your oven on to the lowest heat (200°F). Place the pan into the oven but make sure to keep the oven door OPEN. Let them dry in the oven for 4 minutes then remove and flip the flowers. Place them back into the oven (keeping the oven door open) for another 3-4 minutes, until they are dried to the touch. Watch them carefully as they will start to brown on the edges if kept in the oven too long. Smaller/thinner flowers will dry a bit faster and may need to be removed earlier.
Once the flowers are dried, let them cool on the pan. Once cooled transfer to a sealed container. They can be kept for 4-5 days.

Break the chocolate up into small pieces and put into a medium sized bowl. Fill a small pot 1/3 with water and place on the stove. Turn the heat to low/medium and place the bowl of chocolate on top (double boiler method). Stir the chocolate occasionally as it melts. If you would like to temper the chocolate please follow the instructions in the post.
As the chocolate is melting, chop the almonds and dried cherries. Set aside.
Once the chocolate has melted remove from the heat and stir in the chopped almonds and dried cherries. Place your chocolate bar molds onto a cutting board or tray, as this will make it easier to transfer to the fridge. Pour the mixture into chocolate bar molds or if you don't have any you can pour it onto a parchment lined baking sheet and cut it into pieces when it dries.
Let the chocolate sit for 4-5 minutes before adding the toppings (if added right away they tend to sink to the bottom). You can test this by placing a piece of flaked sea salt on top. If it sinks wait a bit longer. When ready place the dried cherry blossom flowers and petals onto the chocolate and sprinkle with the dried cherry blossom flakes and flaked sea salt. Carefully transfer the chocolate to the fridge to set.
Once the chocolate has set, remove from the molds. Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to two weeks. Enjoy!

*Make sure to get qood quality dark chocolate and vegan if necessary. I recommend using high quality dark chocolate bars instead of chocolate chips.

*If you don't have chocolate bar molds you can pour the melted chocolate onto a lined baking sheet and then cut the chocolate into pieces when set.