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Mexican Chocolate Mousse Bars

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a stack of crunchy mousse bars enrobed in chocolate
Prep Time: 
45 minutes, plus soak / dehydrate / freeze times
Number of Servings: 
30 bars
Recipe Source: 
The Art of Raw Desserts by Crystal Bonnet ($23.99, Page Street Publishing, 2022)

Ingredients

Blond Buckwheat Crunch Base

Mexican Chocolate Mousse

  • 2 cups peeled, pitted, and chopped ripe avocado (about 3 small avocados)
  • 3⁄4 cup cacao powder
  • 1⁄2 cup coconut milk
  • 2⁄3 cup coconut nectar
  • 1 1⁄2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1⁄8 tsp Himalayan salt
  • Pinch of ground cloves
  • 1⁄8 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1⁄4 cup melted virgin coconut oil

Enrobing Dark Chocolate

  • 1⁄2 cup chopped cacao butter
  • 1 1⁄2 cups chopped cacao paste (also known as cacao mass or cacao liquor—NOT chocolate liqueur)
  • 6 Tbsp coconut nectar
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Equipment

  • Dehydrator
  • High-Speed Blender
  • Food Processor

Directions

  1. Prepare Almonds
    1. Place almonds in a glass jar or bowl filled with enough filtered water so they’re submerged. Cover the jar or bowl with a clean towel.
    2. After 8 to 12 hours of soaking, strain and rinse well. Dehydrate on a lined dehydrator tray at 115° for 24 hours, or until fully dried.
  2. Prepare Buckwheat
    1. Soak the raw buckwheat groats in a bowl with enough filtered water to cover the groats. Soak for 20 minutes.
    2. Rinse well in a strainer. Leave groats in the strainer and place over a bowl to catch excess water.
    3. Place a clean tea towel over the top of the strainer and set aside at room temperature for 24 to 36 hours to sprout, rinsing 2 to 3 times a day.
    4. The sprouting process is complete when the tail is the same size as the width of your pinky finger. Rinse well one more time, strain, and spread on a lined dehydrator tray.
    5. Dehydrate at 115° for 8 to 12 hours, or until dried. Store at room temperature until ready to use.
  3. Prepare Oat Flour
    1. Soak 5 cups of raw oat groats with enough filtered water to cover. Soak for 6 to 8 hours, strain, and rinse well.
    2. Spread groats on a lined dehydrator tray and dehydrate at 115° for 12 to 20 hours, or until dried.
    3. Ensure your high-speed blender container is fully dry, and then blend the dehydrated oat groats in two separate batches until flour is formed.
    4. Sift the oat flour through a fine-mesh strainer or sieve over a dry bowl to remove any leftover unblended, hard granules. If the flour still looks grainy, repeat the blending and sifting process.
    5. This recipe yields 3 1⁄4 cups of activated oat flour. Store unused flour in the freezer for optimal freshness.
  4. Make Blond Buckwheat Crunch Base
    1. in a food processor, process almonds, buckwheat, oat flour, coconut sugar, mesquite powder, and cinnamon until mixture resembles coarse flour.
    2. Add melted coconut oil, tahini, and vanilla. Process again until batter starts sticking together.
    3. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper and, using your hands, press blond buckwheat crunch base into bottom of pan, creating an even layer.
    4. Using back of a spoon, firmly smooth out layer and set aside while you make Mexican Chocolate Mousse.
  5. Make Mexican Chocolate Mousse
    1. In a food processor, process avocados, cacao powder, coconut milk, coconut nectar, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, cloves, and cayenne pepper together until mixture is smooth. This will take a couple of minutes, and you will need to scrape down sides of food processor.
    2. Add melted coconut oil and process again until mixture is well combined.
  6. Prepare the Bars
    1. Pour mousse on top of crust in square pan, and even out the layer using an offset spatula. Chill pan in freezer for 8 hours or overnight, until firm.
    2. Remove pan from freezer and trim edges with a knife to create a clean line on all four sides. Slice into 2x1–inch bars (you can use a ruler to mark each cut with a knife). Make sure to clean your knife in between each slice.
    3. Line a cutting board or tray with parchment paper and transfer bars to prepared surface. Place bars back in freezer for a few hours to firm up before enrobing.
  7. Make Enrobing Dark Chocolate
    1. In a stainless steel or heatproof glass bowl, combine cacao butter and cacao paste and melt them down using the bowl over bowl method, being careful not to burn chocolate.
    2. For bowl over bowl method, fill a stainless- steel bowl with boiling water from a kettle.
    3. Place ingredients to be melted in a second stainless steel bowl (bigger than bowl of boiling water), so it doesn’t rest on water.
    4. Rest larger bowl with ingredients in it on top of smaller bowl with boiling water. Stir until ingredients are melted.
    5. While bowl is still over hot water, add coconut nectar and vanilla and stir until combined.
    6. Remove bowl from heat and let chocolate sit at room temperature for 15 minutes to cool. (If you use the chocolate while it’s still hot, the bars will melt.)
    7. Transfer melted chocolate to a small bowl for enrobing.
  8. Enrobe the Bars
    1. Remove bars from freezer and, using a chocolate dipping fork or regular dinner fork, dip a bar into melted chocolate for a few seconds with base facing down (chocolate mousse layer should be facing up).
    2. Remove bar from chocolate and allow excess chocolate to drip off.
    3. Transfer enrobed chocolate bar to lined surface and repeat process until each bar is enrobed.
  9. Place bars back in fridge for 10 minutes to set before serving.

Notes

  • Bars will keep in fridge for 1 week in a sealed container or in freezer for up to 1 month. They store better in fridge, as freezer will create condensation when thawing.
  • If you like a lighter and less bitter chocolate to enrobe the bars, try using equal parts cacao butter and cacao paste.
  • If you use coconut nectar with a thick consistency, it will cause the chocolate to seize. Use pure maple syrup or agave instead.
Nutrition Info: 
1 bar: 361 Calories, 9 g Protein, 28 g Carbohydrates, 14 g Total sugars (7 g Added sugars), 8 g Fiber, 28 g Total fat (10 g sat), 14 mg Sodium, ★★★★ Vitamin E, ★★ Vitamin B2 (riboflavin), Magnesium, Phosphorus, ★ Iron, Zinc

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Contributor

Crystal Bonnet

Crystal Bonnet is a professional raw vegan chef and founder of the raw culinary school Crystal Dawn Culinary. She also cooks and develops recipes for raw retreats and vegan restaurants across the globe.

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