Meet my newest hot weather summer dessert.
It’s cold.
crispy,
creamy,
chocolaty,
nutty,
no-bake,
vegan,
gluten-free,
and seriously hard to resist! No, make that impossible to resist.
This chilled dessert is a hybrid of two of my favourite desserts in The Oh She Glows Cookbook – the Chilled Chocolate Espresso Torte (p. 241) and my Beat the Heat Frozen Dessert Pizza (p. 269). Now that the temperatures are finally rising here in Southern Ontario (YAY), I knew I had to transform my beloved torte into something that didn’t require turning on the oven.
Because a pregnant lady, humidity, and a hot oven just don’t mix.
Instead of my nut-based baked crust, I used the no-bake chocolate rice crisp crust from the frozen dessert pizza recipe. It’s such a simple swap, but it worked so well. The crispy crust is the perfect contrast to the creamy chocolate filling. Plus, it was so much faster to make. The prep is less than 5 minutes for the crust. Fool. Proof. I will be using this crust again and again this summer. In fact, I’m already planning on serving this as a dessert option at my baby shower. I think it’s going to be a big hit!
I poured on the rich & creamy chocolate filling and let it firm up in the freezer for a few hours. All you do after that is slice it and serve with some coconut whipped cream and chopped nuts, if you wish. I had some toasted hazelnuts leftover from a previous recipe so I just sprinkled those on top. Absolutely divine!
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Double Chocolate Crispy Frozen Dessert Bars
Yield
15-18 small slices
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Chill time
3 hours
Total time
This creamy + crispy double chocolate dessert is no-bake and perfect for those hot summer days. It's meant to be served chilled, straight from the freezer just like an ice cream cake. I recommend using a high-speed blender like a Vitamix or Blendtec for this recipe because you'll need a machine that blends the soaked cashews super smooth. Less powerful blenders just might not cut it for this one (be sure to let us know in the comments if your brand does a good job!). Also, be sure to soak the cashews in a bowl of water about 8 hours before you plan to make this recipe. This ensures that the cashews are super soft for easier blending and it also has the added bonus of making the nuts more easily digested. Recipe adapted from Chilled Chocolate Espresso Torte and Beat the Heat Frozen Dessert Pizza from The Oh She Glows Cookbook.
Ingredients
FOR THE CRUST:
- 2 cups rice crisp cereal (use certified gluten-free if necessary)
- 4 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 2 1/2 tablespoons brown rice syrup or coconut nectar syrup
FOR THE FILLING:
- 1 1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked in water for at least 8 hours
- 1/2 cup virgin coconut oil, melted
- 2/3 cup agave nectar or 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder or raw cacao powder
- 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt, or to taste
- 1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, for garnish
- Coconut Whipped Cream, for garnish (see link below)
Directions
- Place cashews in a bowl and cover with 1-inch of water. Let soak for about 8 hours until soft and plump.
- Grab an 8-inch square cake pan and line it with 2 pieces of parchment paper, one piece going each way so it's easy to lift out.
- For the crust: In a large bowl, add the rice crisp cereal and cocoa powder. Stir to combine. In a small pot, melt the coconut oil over low heat. Pour the oil and syrup onto the rice crisp and stir very well until combined. If the mixture seems a bit dry you can add another 1/2 tablespoon of syrup and stir again. Spoon the crust mixture into the prepared pan and smooth out. Grab a small piece of parchment paper and use it to press down the crust until packed and even. Place the pan in the freezer so the crust can set while you prepare the filling.
- For the filling: Drain and rinse the soaked cashews. In a small pot, melt the coconut oil over low heat. Pour into a high-speed blender. Now add in the agave nectar or maple syrup and vanilla, followed by the cocoa powder, melted chocolate, fine grain sea salt, and drained cashews. Starting on low, blend the mixture until it comes together and then gradually increase the speed until the mixture is super smooth. If using a Vitamix use the tamper stick to get it going.
- Remove crust from freezer and pour on all of the filling. Smooth it out with a spatula and then place the pan back in the freezer (uncovered is fine) for about 3 hours (or longer if desired) until the filling is firm to the touch.
- Slice and serve chilled straight from the freezer with a dollop of coconut whipped cream and chopped hazelnuts.
- Store leftovers in an air-tight container in the freezer for up to 3 weeks. I like to freeze the slices, then wrap them in tin foil, and place in a sealed glass container for maximum freshness.
Tip:
If your blender is having a hard time blending the filling mixture you can try adding a bit more liquid sweetener or melted coconut oil to help things along. Adding a bit of almond milk might be an option too, but I wouldn't add more than 1/4 cup at most. To make this recipe soy-free, use a soy-free chocolate such as Enjoy Life brand. Looking for a nut-free option for the filling? I haven't tested one for this particular recipe, but you might want to try out this filling recipe using an avocado-based filling (simply swap the almond milk for a nut-free milk and the peanut butter for sunflower seed butter).
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
The added bonus is that you can make this dessert in advance, freeze it, and not have to fuss with it the day of your event. The best kind of dessert if you ask me!
I hope you enjoy cooling down with this summer treat as much as we do. Happy (almost) summer.
Have to agree with ALL the comments- these look fantastic! I am going to make them as is, but my partner doesn’t do any refined sugar. Is there anything I can replace the 1/3 dark chocolate chips with? Everything else seems to be OK! Thank you!
Hey Claudia, you can probably leave out the chocolate chips if you want…i think they should still turn out fine!
You had me at crispy! Okay, maybe you had me at double chocolate. Either way, this looks so darn delicious! I just bet your baby shower is going to be full of yummy food! (Although I’m not sure you should be making it yourself. ;)
Jo
womaninreallife.com/
Hi Angela,
Do you think I could use Earth Balance in place of the coconut oil? I can’t eat coconut because I’m allergic to it.
Hey Courtney, The coconut oil is used to help the bars get solid when chilled, so I really dont know how they would turn out without it. Sorry I cant be of more help!
I lost words to describe this. You described it best! Love the brown and white contrast in the photo…it’s so appealing :)
Julie
Gourmet Getaways
While I saw the suggestions to use the avocado filling for another option, I would really like to try the cashew filling. However, I do not own a vitamix or blender. I have used my cuisinart to make sauces and things with cashews. Do you think it would work here? If anyone has had luck doing that please let me know!
I used my food processor and it worked great.
These look so pretty! I can imagine these being a great picnic take-a-long treat.
Hi Angela,
These look awesome and I’m also loving your cookbook right now!
I would love to make these bars to take to my boyfriend when I visit him next weekend, so I have a couple of questions. Could you use cashew butter (100% cashews) instead of blending your own cashews? and do you think this would last in a cooler with icepacks for 2 hours out of the freezer for the bus commute?
Thanks!
Patiently waiting for the bars to set in the freezer. As bigs fans of the chocolate avocado torte, we couldn’t resist recreating it with a new crispy base.
Any ideas for subbing the coconut oil?? My skin reacts like crazy:(
This looks so good!
These look and sound soooooooo yummy! I’ve already made the 2 layer raw chocolate brownies several times so for this weekend’s guests I’m going to try these! Do you think it would work in my food processor? Going to the cottage and only have a regular blender there, but also a cheap and cheerful food processor. Loving your beautiful cook book too!
Delicious, thanks for this recipe, i will try it!
I used our “Philips Blender Avance Collection” and it worked out good! Not as smooth as in your picture but for financial reasons the Vitamix has to wait a bit longer…
Had no time to look for rice crisp cereal this week, so I used rice cake (these round rice thingies that taste like nothing) and crumbeld it really small. Worked also but I am gonna look for the cereal over here (Germany) since it looks more neat and stays together more nicely, I imagine.
Love that I baked it today and can freeze it for busy days (but, I have an exam on Saturday so I guess there won’t be anything left to freeze…haha!)
This looks delicious! Bookmarking for when I finally make some progress on the clean-out-my-jam-packed-freezer project!
Lady! This looks TO DIE FOR. Oh my word. I can’t even imagine the creamy filling paired with the crunchy crust. A chocolate dream. :)
Holy cow, this looks amazing!!! I wish I could say the weather is scorching in Scotland but alas, I’ll happily turn on the oven to keep warm. I’d love a bit of these, though, my mouth is watering just looking at the photos! Hope you and the little bun in the oven are keeping well xoxo
Oh so tasty!! Do you ship?! ;)
I brilliant dessert recipe – my two children have licked the mixing bowl clean :o)
This looks terrific; I’m making it for a dinner party tomorrow night. I’ll also be serving your “pasta” primavera and a salad w your herbed croutons and one of your dressings (probably the lemon-tahini; it’s so delicious!). Oh, and last night I made the broccoli/cashew cheese/quinoa; it was fantastic. Thanks again for helping us (including “he”s like me) glow!
Oh my freaking goodness! I cannot wait to make these.
YUM