CHOCO-COCO Bounty Bars
WARNING! if you are not a fan of coconut, turn away now! If you love coconut, and you love chocolate... prepare to be blown away! I am always on the hunt for original sweets which can be made into healthier, plant based versions. These bounty bars were no exception, they taste EXACTLY like the real thing! Except made with real, plant based ingredients. So its win-win right?
So I usually make my own chocolate from scratch. But to tell the truth, on this particular day, I was feeling a little lazy! So I tried using a branded chocolate. There is absolutely nothing wrong with opting for a branded chocolate, as long as its 100% vegan and you are happy with the ingredients listed.
These bars are dairy free, gluten free, soya free and the only sweetened with maple syrup and coconut sugar (from the vegan chocolate I used). But the beauty is, you can sweeten them however you like, you can substitute the maple syrup for agave syrup or coconut nectar. The brand of vegan chocolate you use is totally up to you. I used ombar because its raw, vegan and contains only a handful of ingredients, and it tastes sooo yummy. You could also make your own chocolate from scratch (check out other recipes in the recipe section for the standard chocolate topping recipe I use in my usual creations)
RECIPE:
Makes 6-8 Bars
Coconut Filling:
- 2 cups desiccated coconut
- ¼ cup cashews (soaked overnight)
- 3 tbsp coconut milk (place tin in fridge overnight, and use the hardened part from the top)
- ½ cup coconut butter or coconut oil
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Optional for colouring: 1 tsp acai powder for a lilac hue or beetroot powder for a pink hue.
Chocolate layer:
- 1 cup or 200g Vegan chocolate or create your own chocolate (see recipe for double chocolate salted caramel tarts- just double the ingredients)
METHOD:
- Place a pot with a little bit of water in it over a low-medium heat (water bath). Place the coconut oil or coconut butter into a bowl and sit on top of the bowl allowing it to melt completely.
- Add the coconut oil, cashews, coconut milk, maple syrup, vanilla and colouring if you are using some to your food processor and blend until completely smooth and creamy (about 2 minutes).
- Place the mixture into a large mixing bowl, and add in the desiccated coconut. Mix together well with a wooden spoon. Taste and add more maple syrup if desired. The mix should be sticky and allow you to form it into bar shaped pieces. If it falls apart too much, and another 1-2 tablespoons of coconut oil to help bind the mixture.
- Once you have shaped the mixture into bar shaped pieces, place it into the freezer for about 30 minutes to help if set together.
- Meanwhile, melt the chocolate over a low heat water bath.
- Remove the bars from the freezer. Dip the the underneath side of the bars into the chocolate first. Sit them on parchment paper while the chocolate hardens. Because they are cold out of the freezer, the chocolate will set pretty quickly.
- Once set, dip the rest of the bars in chocolate, covering them completely.
- Place in the freezer to set for around 10 minutes, and enjoy!
