Raw Raspberry and White Chocolate Bars

These Raw Raspberry and White Chocolate Bars are healthy, fresh and super easy to make. The sweet base is made of dates and walnuts, whereas the combo of cashew nuts, white chocolate and raspberry coulis makes it the perfect dessert or snack.

You may be reading this recipe and saying: “What’s she doing sharing recipes when the world is being hit by freaking COVID-19?”

Well, this past weekend, to my surprise, I had to force myself to bake. I was feeling a bit down, without really wanting to do anything. But when I started realising that I didn’t want to bake, oh well, I got worried!

So I chose to make these frozen raw raspberry and white chocolate bars to bring some sweetness to my weekend, color to my blog and also as a gift to my new trainer. 🙂

Why you’ll love this recipe

• They are vegan, so no animal products (eggs or butter).
• No refine sugar.
• And gluten-free.
• They are full of flavors and colors.

How to make these Raw Raspberry and White Chocolate Bars

If you have ever seen my recipes, you’ll know I don’t usually make vegan desserts. Meaning, without animal products, either egg, honey, butter or milk. This time, I thought it was a nice challenge, especially because it was a gift for my new trainer, who’s struggling to support our mental and physical health.

So, keep reading to check the ingredients you’ll need, any possible substitutions and the steps for each part of this delicious treats. It looks like a lot, but it’s a very easy recipe to follow.

Base for these bars

For the base, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• Dates: In this recipe, I used Medjool dates, which is the sweetest kind. There exists a wide range of dates, so I suggest using the sweetest you can find.
• Walnuts: You can easily replace them with pecans. Before using them, roast them in the oven for around 5 minutes, making sure they don’t burn. This will dry them and enhance their flavor.
• Almond meal: Note that this is different from almond flour, which is much thinner. If you don’t have any at hand, you can easily make the almond meal at home. Using a food processor, blend some peeled almonds until you get a grainy consistency, without making it too fine.
• Coconut sugar: You can replace this one with brown or granulated sugar, o even honey (if you aren’t vegan).

Steps to make the base

Add the almond meal, coconut sugar, walnuts and soaked dates in a food processor. Pulse for several minutes until you get a smooth and wet consistency.

If you don’t have a food processor, you can do this by finely chopping the dates and walnuts and mixing them very well. It may not be as compact, but it’ll be super tasty.

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Once you get an even smooth mix, place some parchment paper in the bottom of a square cake tin (I used a 25 x 23 cm one, so almost square). I suggest you leave some “handles” on the side to help you remove the bars later on.

Next, let’s press down with our hands or the flat base of a glass or ramekin until we get a smooth surface.

When you are happy with it, pop into the freezer while we prepare the filling.

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How to prepare the filling for these raw bars

For the filling, we’ll need the following ingredients:

• Cashew nuts: This would be the main ingredient and the responsible for these treat’s smoothness. We’ll need to soak them overnight (or around 10 hours ideally). You’ll notice they became whiter and bigger.

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• White chocolate: Use the best one you can find, of course. Make sure it doesn’t have milk if you want to make this dessert vegan. It may be a bit difficult to get, but you can easily make it at home.
• Brown rice syrup: This is a very natural sweetener that doesn’t have fructose, quite similar consistency to honey. If you find it difficult to find, go ahead and replace it with some honey (it won’t be vegan though), agave or your sweetener of choice.
• Raspberries: I opted for raspberries because I love the color it gives the frozen bars. But feel free to use blueberries, strawberries, boysenberries or your prefered berries. And they can also be fresh or frozen.

Steps to make the filling

Just like with the base, place all the ingredients (except the berries) in a food processor and blend until you get a super smooth and creamy consistency.

I particularly like it with some small chunks of cashews, for a bit of texture, but this step is completely up to you.

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How to make the raspberry coulis

Don’t be afraid of the word coulis. It basically refers to concentrated fruit pulp. In this case, raspberries. The characteristic thing is that it lacks the fruit fibre and seeds, thus its smooth and silky texture.

The steps to make it are extremely simple. Add the raspberries (either fresh or frozen) to a small pan with the brown rice syrup or honey. If you choose to use frozen berries, you’ll need two spoons of water to help them thaw. Place it on low heat and stir using a spoon, until all the fruits have broken apart, approximately after 5 minutes.

Once all the raspberries are pureed, sift it and press down the raspberries with a spoon in order to catch all the seeds and not waste any pulp.

Final assembly of these Raw Raspberry and White Chocolate Bars

We almost get to the best part: eating these delicious and fresh dessert. But first things first, let’s assemble it 🙂

Let’s take the base out of the freezer, which should already be quite firm. Pour the cashew and white choc mix on top and level it using a spatula or the back of a spoon.

Then, pour the raspberry coulis as you prefer. It can be one thin layer or in the shape of swirls (see photo).

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Now, pop then into the freezer for a few hours. Ideally, leave them overnight, so you make sure they are 100% frozen.

Once they are solid, using a very sharp knife, and making sure to clean it after each cut, cut this dessert into 16 square bars, or how many you desire, and pop them back into the freezer if you won’t eat them right away.

I suggest you remove them from the freezer 5 minutes before enjoying them.

I hope you make them and you love them as much as I do! See you in the next recipe 🙂

Don’t forget to leave a comment down below if you try this recipe (and why not, an Uber-style rating? ★★★★★). It not only helps me but also other people that want to try it. You can also tag me on Instagram or Pinterest so I get to check your photos or send them to me privately if you are shy.

Other recipes with berries:

• Raspberry Bars with Chocolate and Walnuts Meringue
• Raspberries and Orange Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream
• Strawberry and Cream Tart

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