Choc Coconut Slice
24/05/2018 | Tamara Brown

So delish, you won't believe this one is raw...

INGREDIENTS

Base

• 3 1/2 cups shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 4 medjool dates
• 1/3 cup cashews
• 3 Tbsp maple syrup

Topping

• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup cacao powder
• 4 Tbsp maple syrup
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Place all the base ingredients except for the shredded coconut into a food processor and process on medium to high speed until the mixture turns into a paste. Don't worry if it's not totally smooth - you still want there to be small chunks of dates in the mixture.
2. Add the shredded coconut and mix on a lower speed until well combined.
3. Transfer the mixture to a square 20x20cm silicone cake container (or metal cake tin lined with baking paper) and freeze for at least 15 minutes.
4. To make the chocolate topping, place all the topping ingredients into a food processor and process on the highest speed until very smooth. The consistency should be tar-like.
5. Spread the topping over the base and freeze. Once it's hard, cut into squares and serve.
   

A word from The Raw Food Girl

Vertical Divider

This has got to be one of my favourite raw chocolate recipes of all time. Even after over three years on a very clean diet, I'm still a bit of a sweet tooth. And these eggs hit the spot every single time.
Cadbury's Caramel Eggs clock up at 187 calories per egg. These ones are still up there at 150 per egg, but let's have a closer look at the nutritional profile of both.
Here's the ingredient list for Cadbury's Caramel Eggs:
"MILK, sugar, glucose syrup, vegetable fats (palm, shea), cocoa butter, glucose-fructose syrup, dried whey (from MILK), cocoa mass, dried skimmed MILK, emulsifiers (E442, SOYA lecithin), salt, sodium bicarbonate, flavourings."
So here we're looking at 4 types of sugar (sugar, glucose syrup, glucose and fructose), which are all pretty much the same thing BUT in order for Cadbury's to state that milk is the main ingredient in this product, they need to split up the sugar content into 4 different sources. Because sugar isn't as attractive first ingredient as milk. Very sneaky Cadbury's, but you're not fooling us.

Vertical Divider

It would be prudent to look further at the long term affects of fructose consumption however. In a short-term study such as this, the results are probably not unexpected - the glucose in plain sugar elevates both blood sugar and insulin levels, whereas fructose does not. It's still not something I would want to be putting into my body on a regular basis, because even though agave has a much lower GI (Glycaemic Index) rating than sugar, it's only one component of the nutritional framework for categorizing food. So treat agave as, well, a treat.
One more thing - we're using lots of coconut here (as you might expect in a Coconut Slice), but if you're not fond of the strong taste of extra virgin coconut, opt for a flavourless (deodorised) variety like this one. If you'd like to learn more about the difference between the two, have a read of this article.
In short, cold pressed extra virgin is more nutritious, but haas a much stronger taste. So choose wisely! ;)