Fresh Coconut Paleo Bounty bars sweetened with Stevia

 

Does the tast of  a Bounty bar make you feel you have entered paradise?

I can’t even remember the last time I have had a real Bounty bar, it must have been a  good 10 years! Yes, although I liked them I did not often buy one since growing up.

Lucky that although I think I used to have the blue milkchocolate version in the past, I do actually prefer the dark chocolate which is useful when rebuilding this yummy treat into a paleo-ish treat.

I have done several trials and amended versions of this recipe, the one below I find works best.

I saw some similar recipes using dried desiccated coconut but not too keen on that as it takes too much re-hydrating with other fluids to make it moist to match the sticky, moist texture of the original.

Yes – this tastes amazing, but it is so satisfying that you don’t need to be worried about loosing control, one will make you happy and because the ingredients are natural it shouldn’t trigger a binge.

It certainly doesn’t  for me and I used to be a finish what’s there kind of person when it came to sweets.

 

 

Makes: approx. 7-9 bars depending on box used (1/4″/ 2cm square and 3.7″/ 9cm long)

Box size: 9cm x 18cm (or any other box that will take the coconut mass filled at least 2cm high)

Prep time bounty base: 30 min

Freezing: 60-90min

Chocolate Covering: melting approx. 20 min ( I do this during the freezing time), covering bars approx. 20min

 

 

Fresh Bounty bar base mass:

You need:

• 160g fresh coconut meat (finely chopped in food processor)
• 70g Nutiva Coconut Manna / or Creamed Coconut (melted)
• 70g Coconut oil (melted)
• Juice of 1-2 Lemons (depends on personal preference, it is not essential but takes the heavy fatty edge of the mass)
• 2 tbsp dark Rum (optional)
• 2 knife tips  Stevia-sweet extract powder (taste test to ensure you are happy with the sweetness)

Note: getting the sweetness to the desired level is a matter of trial and error, the best thing is to start with a smaller amount of whatever Stevia you have on hand, it can be ready-use, liquid or tabs (need to be dissolved too), adding more is easier than diluting – you could end up with a huge amount of treat -Don’t have any Stevia yet? – you can always use normal sweetener products until you are set up.

1) open the coconut and extract coconut meat, cut into rough chunks and use a food processor to blend until the coconut is finely  chopped like desiccated coconut.

2) melt both the Coconut oil and Manna/ Creamed Coconut together on low heat; take – care the Manna can go brown when heated to much.

3) squeeze Lemon juice into bowl with finely grated coconut meat

4) dissolve the stevia-extract in the Rum (or water) add to mass and stir very well

5) stir in the melted ingredients (oil and manna) combine well – taste for sweetness and zing!!!

6) fill into a freezer save box, lined with cling film so that the  fill level is at least 2cm high, patt down

7) freeze  until set solid (take approximately 45-90min)

8.) remove from freezer and take of the foil, carefully cut the frozen block into desired bar width with sharp knife, take care not to press, rather do a  sawing motion otherwise it might crumble.

9) have the melted chocolate covering ready to go

 

 

Chocolate covering:

You need:

• 70g Cocoa liquor/ 100% Chocolate (alternatively use 85-90% Lindt by itself no cocoa butter or Stevia necessary)
• 40g Cocoa Butter
• couple of drops vanilla extract – optional
• 2 knife tips  Stevia-sweet extract powder (taste test to ensure you are happy with the sweetness)

Note: getting the sweetness to the desired level is a matter of trial and error, the best thing is to start with a smaller amount of whatever Stevia you have on hand, it can be ready-use, liquid or tabs (need to be dissolved too), adding more is easier than diluting – you could end up with a huge amount of treat -Don’t have any Stevia yet? – you can always use normal sweetener products until you are set up.

1) Finely chop or grate 100% Chocolate to speed up melting process.

2) Slowly melt Chocolate/ Cocoa butter/ Stevia-sweet Stevia extract sweetener in double boiler (one pot with water with another one inside that contains ingredients to melt). Or use a normal pot but have it on the smallest setting, keep checking melting process to avoid the chocolate mass burning.

I do the melting during the freezing time and set it a side so that it’s all ready to go when the block is solid.

3)  take the still frozen cut coconut bars, dunk the bottom in first and let it drip off.

4) place on a fork and drizzle with melted chocolate until covered all over.

5) place on a rack with baking paper underneath to allow excess chocolate to drip off

6) once chocolate is touch dry you can put the bounty bars into a box separating each with baking paper and put them back into the freezer until consumption.

They are nice semi frozen, the chocolate has a nice crunch to it.

Tip:

Why not make a smaller version, just one bite in tiny silicon moulds.

It makes it easier to cover them in chocolate too, I now put the melted chocolate into a small bowl so that it becomes deeper, I drop the frozen bounty base into the chocolate, flip it over, take it out with a fork, let excess chocolate  drip off and place it onto a piece of cling film. Placing it on cling film makes it easier to take them off once set to put into a container to put back into the freezer.

Just take out what you want to eat 10min beforehand, it will be lightly frozen but melting in the mouth.

Did you know that a coconut that is more hairy when you get it is easier to open without having the shell jumping all over your kitchen? I opened one where the flesh part came out in one piece.

This happens regularly now.

Here’s the calorie count approximately 260kcal/pcs.

If all the chocolate is used up in the covering:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have you reconstructed your favourite candy bar?

MK xx