‘Delicious chocolate with good intentions’ is what Benefit Chocolate is all about. Part of the Benefit Drinks family, who make wonderful juices like carrot, beetroot and prune, I always get excited when I get the chance to work with one of my favourite ingredients!
With three different 85% cacao dark chocolate bars in the range – Protein, Energy and Vitamins – the bars are dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan and of course are much lower in sugar than a standard chocolate bar thanks to being so high in cacao, which results in a wonderfully rich and intense flavour.
When it comes to boosting energy, these little snack bites are exactly what you need: Packed with oats for slow-release energy, dried cherries for natural sweetness and coconut to help balance the fats and sugars, they are topped with the ENERGY bar with vitamins and caffeine for an extra energy source. Feel free to switch up the dried fruit and nuts for something you love – the result will be delicious either way!
Ingredients:
For the base –
- 200g oats (I used Mornflake)
- 100g dates, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes then drained (I used Whitworths)
- 50g desiccated coconut (I used Whitworths)
- 1 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon maca powder (I used Funktional Foods)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (I used Indigo Herbs)
- 2 tablespoons almond butter (I used Indigo Herbs)
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil (I used The Groovy Food Company)
- 50g dried cherries, halved (I used Active Edge)
For the chocolate topping –
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 75g Benefit 85% Cacao Energy Dark Chocolate, broken up into pieces
- Cacao nibs
- Coconut chips
Get making!
- Place the oats, dates, coconut, cinnamon and maca into a food processor and blend until broken down.
- Gently melt the maple syrup, coconut oil and almond butter then pour into the food processor and blitz up again until you have a slightly sticky flapjack mixture. Stir in the cherries.
- Press into a lined 20x15cm tin or tub in an even layer. Place in the fridge while you make the topping.
- Gently melt the coconut oil and the chocolate until smooth then pour over the top. Sprinkle over the coconut chips and cacao nibs then chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour to set
