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.
Yum Yum. i made this today. It is delicious! Thanks Angela for another superb recipe.
I have an unrelated question. I recently made a homemade green monster smoothie – baby greens, apples, pears, carrots, and chia seeds. It needed a little more sweetener so I decided to use blackstrap molasses – a new purchase because I am currently low on iron since I am pregnant. BIG MISTAKE! The smoothie tastes strongly like molasses and I cannot eat it. Is there any way I can salvage the smoothie/dilute the flavor? Please give me ideas! I don’t want to throw it away. Thank you!
I made these last night for a dinner party tonight and just tried a little bite as I was cutting them into squares- they are AMAZING! Yet another excellent recipe Angela- thank you! I just used my Cuisinart Mini Chopper food processor and the filling turned out beautifully smooth.
I made these last night – what a treat! Sobey’s only had Y&Y brand coconut milk and it whipped up nicely. Can’t wait to get home tonight for another piece (or two!).
I’ve been suffering from a real sweet tooth lately, and it has been making feel (and act) so guilty! Finally, a relatively healthy, guilt-free dessert for me to enjoy! Thanks for sharing!
Absolutely delicious! Thank you for this amazing recipe!
Made these last night for a party with a family who has just recently turned to a vegan diet. They were a huge hit, and as I started talking you, your blog, and your cookbook up, the woman told me she had already bought it! Thanks, as always, for your amazing recipes … I don’t know what I’d do without them!
Wow, it’s getting so hot here, I can’t wait to try these! Love all the layers of chocolately goodness!
These were delicious but I do need to tell you a bit of a story about the bars…I am a Home Ec. teacher in BC. The BC government has locked out teachers and we have begun rotating strikes. So, the lockout means, as teachers we have to leave the building at lunch…so we sit across the street, off school property and eat our lunch. As you can imagine we are all feeling a bit of strife from the situation. So, I decided to cheer up my staff and gave them all one of the bars I had made the night before…a great treat on a sunny day…chocolate makes everyone happy. Except the staff member who is allergic to cashews (I am new on staff and didn’t know) and he forgot to ask…next thing he jumps up asks me if there are nuts in them, I reply yes and off to the hospital he goes as he is starting to have an anaphylactic reaction…he is fine and texted me today to apologize for the panic he caused by not asking about nuts…I told him …luckily we don’t have to rename the bars – Death by double chocolate crispy frozen dessert bars:).
I made these bars yesterday and they are dangerously addictive. I like the rice crispy base much better than a nut-based one – much lighter and easier to digest. Well done on this recipe!
This looks so decadent and delicious! Which do you recommend or prefer using- coconut nectar syrup or brown rice syrup? Is either one healthier than the other?
This recipe turned out GREAT for me. I used maple syrup instead of brown rice syrup so they do crumble a tiny bit but it’s pretty fun munching on the extra pieces of cereal ;) My blender was a lower power one too but I soaked the cashews for longer which definitely helped!
Xoxo
emily
I made this yesterday, and followed the recipe precisely. I really loved the crust, it’s a great idea, but I found the filling to powerful and sweet. It’s a lot of cacao, sweetener and coconut oil for that amount of cashews. Next time I’ll add the ingredients to taste.
I made these over the weekend and everyone loved them (of course!)…I did have an issue with my vitamix though – made a double batch (with 3 teen boys, double to quadruple batches are a necessity!)…the machine stopped working after a minute or so – was not making strange noise or smoking or anything. after awhile it would start again but then stopped. I actually had thought it would work better with double batch as I recently made a similar dessert (one of the pies I think) but it seemed hard to get going as there was not a lot of stuff in the blender. Anyway – the vitamix people were great about it and thank goodness the machine takes care of itself by turning off before the motor gets too hot. I finished it up in the food processor and it was fine. Worth it to have a frozen treat when it is to be in the 80’s this week! Thank you so much for these inspiring recipes that I can feel good about serving my kids (and sneak some healthy nuts in them!)
These are AMAZING! My husband and I made these this weekend and already need to make another batch! We now have our summer dessert! Or breakfast..or lunch…or dinner :)
These look ridiculously good! I also love the idea in a previous comment to make it in small mason jars for individual servings. I could totally see throwing them in a cooler for a picnic dessert :)
Hi Angela! I’ve been following your amazing blog for a while and I’m always looking forward to see what you’ll create next. I made this last night and it is absolutely DIVINE :) Today I threw one into my blender with some coconut almond milk to make a “milkshake”. So good!
milkshake = genius! Glad you are enjoying the recipes :)
I’m a new follower. I love that most of your recipes are gluten free for my newly gluten free husband and daughter. My husband has always been dairy free, so adding gluten in to the forbidden list has been tough. I’ve made two of your recipes so far and they were both fantastic. I made this today with almonds and it’s chilling in the freezer. Can’t wait for dinner tonight! I licked the spatula clean as I was scraping out my blender and the filling was so delicious. Your cookbook has already been ordered and I can’t wait to work my way through it!
You are TRIPPING on chocolate lately…
This turned out amazing. I’m trying to have one piece with my morning coffee, but somehow it never ends there. I didn’t have rice syrup so I used sugar cane syrup. The.crust seemed dry so I added extra syrup and coconut oil. The filling is great frozen, but it was just as good when I was scrubbing it out of my Vitamix and licking my fingers.