Chocolate Sour Cherry Slice

By Lilian Dikmans

Recipe

I love the combination of sour cherries and chocolate. That’s why I created this decadent Chocolate Sour Cherry Slice. (Also, have you tried Pana Chocolate’s Sour Cherry + Vanilla bar? Yeah, I’m a huge fan).

I used unsweetened dried sour cherries in this recipe and adore their sour tang. You can buy them at health food stores or online. But if you can’t find them, you could use another dried fruit instead. Finely chopped dried apricots, figs or dried cranberries would be nice.

Chocolate Sour Cherry Slice
Chocolate Sour Cherry Slice

This recipe makes quite a lot (18 pieces) because I was catering for quite a few people. If I was making it for myself, I’d halve the recipe and set it in a smaller container.

I usually prefer to make smaller batches of sweet food to avoid the temptation to have ‘dessert’ after every meal (including breakfast).

Serves
18 pieces

Prep time
25 mins

Cook time
1 hour chilling

Ingredients

For the base

  • 2 cups raw cashew nuts
  • 2 cups unsweetened desiccated coconut
  • 1/2 cup raw cacao powder (or cocoa powder)
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil + 1/4 cup cacao butter (or 1/2 cup extra virgin coconut oil)
  • 1/2 cup rice malt syrup
  • 1 x 20ml tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened dried sour cherries

For the topping

  • 200g dark (at least 70% cocoa) chocolate
  • 2 x 20ml tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil

Method

  • 1
    Line a 22 x 11 cm loaf tin with baking paper or cling film.
  • 2
    Process the cashew nuts and desiccated coconut in a food processor until you get fine crumbs. Add the cacao powder and salt and process until well combined.
  • 3
    Melt the coconut oil (and cacao butter, if using) in a large saucepan over the lowest heat on your stove. Add the rice malt syrup and vanilla extract and stir to combine.
  • 4
    Take the saucepan off the heat, tip the dry ingredients from the food processor and the sour cherries into the saucepan and stir everything together until well combined. Press the mixture into the prepared tin, smoothing the surface with the back of a spoon (and your hands, if need be). Place the tin in the freezer to chill.
  • 5
    To make the topping, melt the chocolate and coconut oil together in a double boiler or in the microwave. Remove the slice from the freezer and pour over the topping. Return the slice to the fridge for an hour or so to set.
  • 6
    Once set, remove the slice from the tin and cut into squares. Store in the fridge or freezer.

Notes

I use an Australian 20ml tablespoon. 1 x 20ml tablespoon = 4 teaspoons.

I used 1/4 cup coconut oil + 1/4 cup cacao butter because I love the smooth and creamy texture that cacao butter provides. You can buy cacao butter at health food stores or online, but it can be expensive, so just use 1/2 cup coconut oil if you prefer.

Did you make this recipe?

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10 COMMENTS

    • Hi Katie, for the chocolate topping, you can use normal unsalted butter instead of the coconut oil. For the base, you could just use 1/2 cup cacao butter (instead of half cacao butter, half coconut oil). You could also try using unsalted butter in the base, but I haven’t tested this. You may need to increase the amount of sweetener if using butter (as the cacao butter and coconut oil provide natural sweetness).

  1. Hi Lilian,

    Could the dessicated coconut be substituted with coconut flour?

    If I used the coconut flour, would I need to add more fat in the form of coconut oil or butter?

    Thank you

    • Hi Vicky,

      My apologies for the delay in replying to your message!

      I fear that coconut flour would mess up the texture of the slice because it absorbs so much moisture, so I don’t think it would work unfortunately (even with added oil). You could try substituting extra nuts instead of the coconut – I haven’t tested this, but would love to hear if you do!

      Lilian 🙂

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Lilian Dikmans

Lilian Dikmans is an Australian model, Muay Thai fighter and founder of Real Food Healthy Body

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