Cashew, Coconut and Puffed Rice Chocolate Bars
Cashew, Coconut and Puffed Rice Chocolate Bars.
The twins demolished the Cashew, Coconut and Chocolate Bliss Balls that I previously made. So I thought I’d use that as a base for this Cashew, Coconut and Puffed Rice Chocolate Bars. I even used some real chocolate in this recipe, which made Norah’s eyes light up! She definitely has the sweet tooth out of the two of them. Funny though, because she’d happily suck on a piece of lemon too. Sometimes I wonder if CF has given her adult tastebuds and that’s why she turns her nose up at some of the ‘kiddie’ food I try and give her.
Scribbles in the Kitchen.
I have a confession to make. I made these Cashew, Coconut and Puffed Rice Chocolate Bars nearly a month ago and I’m only just writing it up. Being a twin Mummy keeps me busy, so sometimes I have to remind myself that it’s ok not to get everything done. I took photos as we put these bars together and I scribbled down my ingredients onto an envelope that was floating around in the kitchen. I also took a photo of that, so I knew I had access to it later. Now I have to try and decipher my scribbles so that I can share it with you.
If I could only share one little tip with all of you; it would be to weigh and write down all your ingredients as you go. If you make something for the first time and the kids love it, it’s already written down for next time. You only need to calculate the fat that one time. Follow your notes when you make it the next time and you will save yourself a lot of time.
Preparing the Base; Plan a.
Because this was the first time I had made these Cashew, Coconut and Puffed Rice Chocolate Bars, I wasn’t sure about ratios and how big I should be making it. My original idea was to press the base down into a plastic container, so then when I topped it, I could just put the lid on and let it set in the fridge. That didn’t work for a few reasons. Mostly because I couldn’t spread the mixture out evenly enough.
Preparing the Base; Plan b.
I had lined the container with baking paper before I tipped the base into it. That made it easy to just lift out. This created a pretty good rectangle shape. I placed another piece of baking paper over the top and then used a rolling pin to even it out the best I could. It actually worked pretty well. I then found a tray that it would fit in, with a slight lip to hold the top layer. I know not giving you dimensions of the container or the tray is probably annoying, but this way you can use whatever you have in the kitchen that works for you. The total fat content wont change, no matter what size tray you use.
Goji Berries and Puffed Rice.
Norah love Goji Berries. I think she was more into eating them than I was the first time I bought them. I decided to add them to our diets after reading about how good they are for your immune system and because they’re packed with antioxidants. Luckily she likes them.
Both the kids like to eat puffed rice, with tahini and honey. I buy the bags from the health food isle, not the rice bubbles in the cereal isle. I’m not a nutritionist though and I have no evidence to back up why or why not one is better for you than the other. I’m just going with my Mummy instinct and hoping I’m making a good choice for our kids. I have noticed though that if Norah eats puffed rice too often, it does cause some tummy issues. We usually only use them once a week (at the most).
Putting it all Together.
Once I had figured out the base and got it as even as I could, I added the topping. For these Cashew, Coconut and Puffed Rice Chocolate Bars, I used Goji Berries and Puffed rice. Melted dark chocolate and coconut oil with a small amount of maple syrup was drizzled all over the top to set it all together.
You could add whatever you like to the top. Different nuts or seeds would be great, but just remember to add them to the total fat content before calculating the fat for each portion.
The kids helped to sprinkle on the toppings and I slightly pressed them down to help them to stick, before adding the chocolate and coconut oil. It was a little tricky to get this even; I used a spoon and just drizzled it backwards and forwards in different directions until it was fully covered.
Once the chocolate was all over the top of the bar, I put it in the fridge to set. I think it took just over an hour for the chocolate to go hard. I cut it into pieces and then stored it in the fridge in the container that I had originally tried to make it in. I assume it would work ok, kept in the freezer, but it was eaten so quickly I didn’t need to do it.
Cashew, Coconut and Puffed Rice Chocolate Bars.
Cashew, Coconut and Puffed Rice Chocolate Bar; a delicious, healthier alternative to the store bought variety.
Ingredients
- 8 pitted dates
- 150 g raw cashews 73.8g of fat
- 3 tbsp coconut oil 60g of fat
- 40 g desiccated coconut 26.8g of fat
- 2 tbsp cacao powder
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 66 g dark cooking chocolate 18.1g of fat
- 1/2 cup puffed rice
- 1/4 cup goji berries
Instructions
Base
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Place the dates, cashews, 2 tbsp of coconut oil, desiccated coconut and cacao into the food processor and blitz until it forms a sticky crumb.
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Press the crumb into a shallow rectangular tin and roll out until even.
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Sprinkle the goji berries and puffed rice over the top of the base.
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Melt the dark chocolate and last tbsp of coconut oil in the microwave and mix until combined. Mix in the maple syrup.
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Pour the melted chocolate all over the top of the base, berries and puffed rice.
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Place the chocolate bar into the fridge for at least 2 hours to set.
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Cut into pieces and divide the total fat content by however many pieces you make.
Recipe Notes
Total fat: approximately 178.7g of fat.
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