These mocha dream bars got their name for a reason... they really are a dream! They're similar to an ice cream sandwich, but have three different chocolatey layers that'll keep you reaching for a second one! They're vegan and gluten-free with no sacrifice for taste and creaminess.
I used instant espresso powder to get a strong coffee flavor, but you could also use a double shot of espresso if you're one of those fancy-ass peeps with a home machine. Or brew up a very strong batch of your favorite coffee and use ¼ cup of it in the filling. Make sure to keep these sugar babies in the freezer between snacking so they don't melt on ya!
mocha dream bars
It’s your coffee and cream all in one deliciously cool bite! Try this easy and healthy frozen dessert for a sweet treat this summer.
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Servings: large bars
Ingredients
crust
- 1 C raw almonds
- 8 pitted medjool dates
- 2 tablespoon raw cacao powder
- 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
filling
- 1 ½ C raw cashews, soaked for 20 minutes in hot water
- 2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
- ¼ cup warm water
- ⅓ C maple syrup
- 1 ¼ C coconut cream*
topping
- ⅓ C melted coconut oil
- ½ C raw cacao powder
- ¼ C maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place the raw almonds in a food processor and pulse until a fine crumb consistency is formed. Add in the remaining crust ingredients and pulse until a sticky dough forms that can be pinched together and still has visible pieces of almonds in it. If your dates are a little hard, you can soak them in warm water for 5 to 10 minutes. Drain from the water and pat dry before adding to the food processor.
- Line a 8” x 8” pan with parchment paper and dump out the crust mixture evenly in the pan. Press the crust in an even layer on the bottom and out to the edges of the pan. Place in the freezer while you make the filling.
- Drain and rinse the cashews from the soaking water and place in a high-powered blender.
- Dissolve the espresso powder in ¼ cup of warm water. Then add to the high-powered blender along with the maple syrup and coconut cream. *Ensure you refrigerate 2 cans of full-fat coconut milk overnight so that the thick cream separates to the top of the can. Alternatively, if you can find cans that are entirely coconut cream that's even better!
- Blend the filling on high until very smooth. Pour this mixture on top of the crust in the pan and freeze for at least 2 hours.
- After freezing, prepare the chocolate topping by melting coconut oil with raw cacao, maple syrup, and vanilla extract in a small sauce pan over low heat. Once just melted, remove the sauce pan from the heat and whisk until very smooth. Immediately pour this on top of the now frozen mocha cream layer. Let this freeze for another 20 to 30 minutes before removing and slicing into bars. You can also leave this in the freezer for longer until ready to serve.
- Let the pan sit out at room temperature for about 10 minutes before lifting the solid piece out from the pan with the edges of parchment paper. Cut into bars while it's still fairly solid, then allow the bars to sit at room temperature for another 10 minutes before serving to get a perfect ice cream consistency.
- Peel the paper from the edges at the bottom of the whole slab. Then using a sharp knife, cut the whole slab in half down the middle and then cut bars or squares across each half. Store any extra bars in the freezer in a container between layers of parchment paper, they will melt fairly quickly.
suzi
gosh let me be the first to comment on these little gems… WOW!!! you've outdone yourself, and i just want to say THANK YOU!!! made them today and thought oh goodie, hubs won't want any (doesn't really like chocolate, detests coffee) more for me, right? WRONG! even he went back behind my back for seconds!! well, around my back. either way this one is good enough for company and i cant wait to share 🙂
Lauren Toyota
Hey Suzi! Awww thank you! Hope your hubby didn't steal them all from you. haha Thanks for leaving such great feedback 🙂
Karyn
This looks fun! i will try to make this for my family's Christmas day lunch/dinner. It'll be a nice break away from all warm pecan and apple pies. I'll will be checking back soon to undoubtedly praise and gush about your recipe 😉
Lauren Toyota
aww thank you! Hope you like them 🙂
Maria
Do you have the nutritional info for these?
Christina Weber
I am not a vegan, not even vegetarian, but I love the creativity of your recipes and will try out more! Just tried out these bars and they taste amazing!!
Kara
Lauren! These are unreal...I made them as a father's day dessert and my (very) non-vegan father could not stop eating them. That ice cream layer is crazy good and so creamy--my new favorite dessert recipe.
Leigh
Insane! So amazingly good. I'm starting my journey into veganism & if I keep making food as good as these, this will be a breeze.
Thanks for an awesome recipe!
Melinda
I asked my mom to make me these for my birthday last week. They were amazing! She subbed out the dates for dried cranberries and they have this fruity hint to them. One of my favourites. 🙂
Janet Whitley
Hi....these look amazing!! Just a quick question....do you use the refined (non tasting) coconut oil?
Thanks
Jan x
Joyce Kim
Hey Lauren! I'm making these right now and sneaking some tastes and oh my god I'm scared to feed these to anyone because they'll just die from how good they are.
Anyways, was wondering if you have any suggestions for what to do with the left over liquid in your coconut milk cans once you scoop out all the coconut cream from it?
Don't really want to throw it away but can't think of a use for it.
Thanks!
Małgorzata Kisielewska
what means C in mesurment of ingredents?
Maya
I make these bars every now and then because they are my favorite raw vegan sweet bites 🥰👌😋
I would just prefer if you would put measure in grams (next to the cup ) for us who don't use C as measure but grams. Please, do so, it would be much easier. Thanks 🙏