Decadence in Disguise....Chocolate Mousse Brownie Bars with Beets!

I have this odd craving lately and it’s not chocolate or ice cream or cake…its for beets. I can’t stop eating them, juicing them, and now I have started putting them in my desserts! Whaaaaa??? Yeah you heard me right, but hey when somethings good why not run with it? 

Less is more you say? 

BALDERDASH! 

This is America….More is More!

So stick with my kids because I’m putting beets in my ultra rich and chocolate  mousse bars with a pecan coconut crust and guess what?

Your going to fall madly in love with beets just like I have.

Have a non beet lover in the group? Have them try this mousse bar and don’t tell them what the magic ingredient is. Shhhh I won’t tell if you won’t.

Now go get some beets steaming so you can make a puree. The rest of this recipe is made in a blender and the crust comes together in minutes in a food processor so this recipe is easy breezy. Yep this baby is a no bake, vegan, sugar-free, gluten-free, grain free dream that tastes so decadent you will forget that it’s actually good for you. 

No Bake Chocolate Beet Mousse Bars

Serves 8

Vegan - No Bake - Grain Free - Gluten Free - Refined Sugar Free - Paleo 

Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup Beet Puree (see notes)
• 1/2 Cup + 2 Tbl Raw Cacao Powder
• 1/3 Cup Coconut Oil Melted
• 1 Cup soaked cashews (or nut/seed of choice)
• 2 oz Finely Chopped Unsweetened Chocolate
• 25 Pitted Medjool Dates Softened in Warm Water
• 2-4TBL Coconut Milk as needed
• 1/4 tsp Celtic Sea Salt

Crust

• 3/4 Cup Medjool dates
• 1/2 Cup Raw Unsweetend Shredded Coconut
• 1/2 Cup Raw Pecans
• 1 Tbl Raw Cacao
• 1/4 tsp Celtic Sea Salt

Vegan Coconut Whipped Cream

Instructions

1. Line a 9x4 standard bread pan (I use a square corner pan for clean corners bought at a restaurant supply store) with parchment paper. One piece should run the long way and another piece should run the other way and the paper should hang over the edges like a sling so the bars can be removed easily.
2. Grease the parchment paper with coconut oil or light oil.
3. Add the ingredients of the crust (dates, salt, cacao powder, pecans and coconut) and pulse until the pieces are broken up and the crust stays together when pressed between your fingertips. If its not coming together add a few more dates until it sticks together.
4. Pour the crust into the bottom of the pan and press it firmly with the bottom of a greased flat bottomed glass or a greased spatula to form a flat surface.
5. Place the crust in the fridge to set up while you assemble the rest of the bars.
6. Cover the dates being used for the mousse bars in some hot water and set aside.
7. In a small bowl add the coconut oil and the chopped unsweetened chocolate and microwave for 15 seconds at a time stirring in between until fully melted. (You can also do this on your stove in a double boiler). If there are still some small pieces of chocolate visible try stirring for a few seconds to see if they will melt so you don't overheat the chocolate in the microwave.
8. Drain the dates and add them to a blender along with the pureed beets, salt, raw cacao powder, melted chocolate/oil mixture and blend until smooth.
9. Drain and rinse the soaked cashews. 
10. Now add the cashews and blend until smooth.
11. If the mixture is too thick start adding coconut milk 1 TBL at a time until the mixture can run smoothly in the blender but is still very thick.
12. Taste for sweetness. If you like it sweeter feel free to add some maple syrup or sweetener of choice to your taste.
13. Pour the mixture over the crust and use a spatula to smooth it out. Tap the bottom of the pan flattly on the counter to flatten the mixture out.
14. Place in the fridge to firm up at least 3 hours.
15. Remove from the pan and slice the loaf in 4 long equal pieces lengthwise and then slice across to cut the 4 pieces in half to make 8 long skinny rectangular bars.
16. Serve with a scoop of coconut cream.

For the Beet Puree

1. Steam 4 beets until fork tender. Remove skin after steaming with gloves and cut up the beets into small pieces. Add the beets to a blender along with 1-2 TBL of the cooking water and blend until you have a smooth puree. Measure out 1/2 cup puree for this recipe.
2. This recipe can be doubled to make a full cake using a 9'' spring form pan or a 9x9 baking pan.