No Bake Chocolate Beet Mousse Bars

Serves 8

Vegan - No Bake - Grain Free - Gluten Free - Sugar Free - Paleo 

Ingredients

  • 1/2 Cup Beet Puree (see notes)
  • 1/2 Cup + 2 Tbl Raw Cacao Powder
  • 1/3 Cup Coconut Oil Melted
  • 1/2 Cup Raw Sunflower Seeds (or nut of choice)
  • 1/2 Cup Raw Pumpkin Seeds (or nut of choice)
  • 2 oz Finely Chopped Unsweetened Chocolate
  • 25 Pitted Medjool Dates Softened in Warm Water
  • 2-4TBL Coconut Milk as needed
  • 1/4 tsp fine Sea Salt

Crust

  • 1 Cup Medjool dates
  • 1/2 Cup Raw Unsweetend Shredded Coconut
  • 1/2 Cup Raw Pecans
  • 1 Tbl Raw Cacao
  • 1/4 tsp Celtic Sea Salt

Instructions

  1. Line a 9x4 standard bread pan (I use a square corner pan for clean corners bought at a restaurant supply store) with parchment paper. One piece should run the long way and another piece should run the other way and the paper should hang over the edges like a sling so the bars can be removed easily.
  2. Grease the parchment paper with coconut oil or light oil.
  3. Add the ingredients of the crust (dates, salt, cacao powder, pecans and coconut) and pulse until the pieces are broken up and the crust stays together when pressed between your fingertips. If its not coming together add a few more dates until it sticks together.
  4. Pour the crust into the bottom of the pan and press it firmly with the bottom of a greased flat bottomed glass or a greased spatula to form a flat surface.
  5. Place the crust in the fridge to set up while you assemble the rest of the bars.
  6. Cover the dates being used for the mousse bars in some hot water and set aside.
  7. In a small bowl add the coconut oil and the chopped unsweetened chocolate and microwave for 15 seconds at a time stirring in between until fully melted. (You can also do this on your stove in a double boiler). If there are still some small pieces of chocolate visible try stirring for a few seconds to see if they will melt so you don't overheat the chocolate in the microwave.
  8. Drain the dates and add them to a blender along with the pureed beets, salt, raw cacao powder, melted chocolate/oil mixture and blend until smooth.
  9. Now add the pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and blend until smooth.
  10. If the mixture is too thick start adding coconut milk 1 TBL at a time until the mixture can run smoothly in the blender but is still very thick.
  11. Taste for sweetness. If you like it sweeter feel free to add some maple syrup or liquid stevia to your taste.
  12. Pour the mixture over the crust and use a spatula to smooth it out. Tap the bottom of the pan flattly on the counter to flatten the mixture out.
  13. Place in the fridge to firm up at least 3 hours.
  14. Remove from the pan and slice the loaf in 4 long equal pieces lengthwise and then slice across to cut the 4 pieces in half to make 8 long skinny rectangular bars.
  15. Serve with a scoop of coconut cream.

For the Beet Puree

  1. Steam 4 beets until fork tender. Remove skin after steaming with gloves and cut up the beets into small pieces. Add the beets to a blender along with 1-2 TBL of the cooking water and blend until you have a smooth puree. Measure out 1/2 cup puree for this recipe.
  2. This recipe can be doubled to make a full cake using a 9'' spring form pan or a 9x9 baking pan.