Features / 23 April, 2020 / My Baba

Hemsley + Hemsley’s Paradise Bars

Coconut and chocolate are a combo made in heaven, and here’s how you can make a healthy version of that famous chocolate bar. Hemsley + Hemsley are geniuses when it comes to making healthy food that tastes just as delicious as the naughty versions! I can’t wait to give this one a try this weekend. 

Ingredients:

• 200 g bar of creamed coconut
• 6 tbsp. coconut oil
• 3 tbsp. raw honey
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• A pinch of sea salt
• 150 g desiccated coconut
• 200 g (85% cocoa solids) dark chocolate

Method: 

1. Line a 20 cm square tin with baking parchment. In cold weather, place the unopened packet of creamed coconut in a bowl of warm water to melt it through (you can massage the packet to help it along).

In warm weather, the creamed coconut will already be fluid enough.

2. When it’s soft all the way through, pour into a bowl and mix in the coconut oil (it will melt if it’s hard), raw honey, vanilla, salt and 2-4 tablespoons water if you like a softer centre.

3. Stir in the desiccated coconut evenly to create a doughy consistency.

4. Pour the dough into the prepared tin. Press the mixture down with the back of a spoon to make it level and set in the fridge for 15 minutes until hard.

5. Turn the tin of coconut mixture out onto a chopping board and slice into 6 horizontal slices by 4 vertical. Place them onto a baking tray lined with baking parchment and keep in the freezer while you prep the chocolate.

6. Melt the chocolate in a glass or metal bowl over a pan of warm water – make sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl and do not allow the water to boil or simmer – you may have to keep removing from the heat. This should take about 30 minutes.

7. When the chocolate has almost melted, take the bowl off the heat and place on a tea towel to avoid slipping. Leave it to cool as much as possible without it hardening to give a thicker coating to the paradise bars – stir occasionally.

Extracted from The Art of Eating Well by Melissa and Jasmine Hemsley. (Ebury Press, £25)

Photography by Nick Hopper