Raw Coconut Chocolate Slice
A fudgy cacao brownie base, a thick layer of sweet, chewy vanilla coconut filling, and a snappy dark chocolate topping, finished with a sprinkle of coconut. All the flavor of the classic coconut candy bar, with no refined sugar. Vegan, grain-free, and gluten-free.
Yield: One 8x8 pan, 16 squares · Active: 40 min · Total: 3 hours, mostly setting · Year-round · Best eaten: midday or early afternoon
Ingredients
Chocolate brownie base
1 cup almonds (or sunflower seeds, for nut-free)
1 cup desiccated coconut (finely shredded, unsweetened)
1½ cups Medjool dates, pitted and soaked 10 minutes in warm water, then drained well
⅓ cup raw cacao powder
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt
Vanilla coconut filling
2½ cups desiccated coconut
1 cup cashews, soaked 2–4 hours, then drained well
½ cup coconut butter, softened
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
⅓–½ cup maple syrup, to taste
1 tsp vanilla bean powder (or 2 tsp vanilla bean paste)
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt
2–4 tbsp full-fat coconut cream (with no guar gum), as needed
Vanilla chocolate topping
¼ cup cacao butter, melted
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
½ cup raw cacao powder
3–4 tbsp maple syrup, at room temperature
½ tsp vanilla bean powder
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt
To garnish: a sprinkle of desiccated coconut or toasted coconut flakes
Method
Make the base. Line an 8x8 pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on two sides. Process the almonds and coconut to a fine crumb, then add the dates, cacao, and salt and process until the mixture sticks together when pressed. Press it firmly and evenly into the pan and freeze 15 minutes.
Make the coconut filling. In a food processor, process the cashews until finely broken down. Add the coconut, coconut butter, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt and process until the mixture is thick, moist, and holds together like a soft dough when pressed. Add coconut cream 1 tbsp at a time only if it's crumbly. You want it dense and chewy, not runny. Taste and adjust the sweetness.
Set the filling. Press the filling firmly and evenly over the base, smoothing the top with the back of a spoon or an offset spatula. Freeze 1 hour, until firm.
Make the chocolate. Whisk the melted cacao butter and coconut oil with the cacao, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt until smooth, thick, and glossy, about 1–2 minutes. Keep whisking if the maple syrup starts to separate. Let it cool to room temperature, but still pourable.
Top. Pour the chocolate over the frozen filling, tilting the pan to spread it evenly, and sprinkle with coconut right away. Freeze 30 minutes, until set.
Slice. Lift the slab out by the parchment and let it sit 5–10 minutes, so the chocolate doesn't crack. Cut into 16 squares with a sharp knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry between cuts.
Make classic bars instead: Skip the base. Shape the coconut filling into small logs, freeze them 30 minutes, then dip each one in the chocolate with a fork, letting the excess drip off. Set them on parchment and chill until firm.
Storage: Refrigerated up to 1 week, or frozen up to 2 months. The coconut oil softens in warm rooms, so serve them chilled.
A note on "raw": Every cashew sold has been heat-treated to remove the caustic oil in its shell, and U.S. almonds are pasteurized by law, so "raw" here means no-bake.
Nourishment Notes
Coconut and coconut butter — fiber, manganese, copper, and lauric acid, a medium-chain fat.
Almonds or sunflower seeds — vitamin E and magnesium, plus selenium from the sunflower seeds.
Cashews — magnesium, copper, and zinc.
Medjool dates — potassium, magnesium, and fiber, with natural caramel sweetness.
Raw cacao and cacao butter — magnesium, iron, flavanols, and theobromine, plus stearic acid, a saturated fat that research shows has a neutral effect on cholesterol.
Maple syrup — unrefined, with manganese and zinc.
As a circadian treat, these squares land best at midday or in the early afternoon, when your body handles sweets most gracefully in daylight.
Sourcing
Desiccated coconut and coconut flakes — organic, unsweetened, and sulfite-free
Coconut butter — organic, made from just coconut
Coconut oil — organic, virgin, and cold-pressed
Coconut cream — organic and full-fat, made with just coconut and water, with no guar gum (Native Forest Simple comes in BPA-free cans)
Almonds — organic and unpasteurized, like Terrasoul's organic Spanish almonds (or organic sunflower seeds)
Cashews — organic (every cashew sold has been heat-treated, even "raw" ones)
Medjool dates — organic, soft, and plump
Raw cacao powder and cacao butter — organic and raw, and ideally tested for heavy metals
Maple syrup — organic Grade A dark
Vanilla — organic vanilla bean powder or paste
Baja Gold sea salt
— Anna aka Food Marshall