Here at almachocolate.com, we’ve experimented with so many delicious dessert recipes, but few have tasted as incredible as these chocolate-matcha-mint bars.
These bars may make delicious treats for those moments when you’re craving something sweet, but they’re so much more than that!
The three primary ingredients in these desserts (mint, matcha, and dark chocolate) all have numerous benefits for your health.
For example, dark chocolate has been proven to boost immune function, heart health, and mood, while matcha is high in antioxidants.
Mint has great nutritional value and may help to soothe digestive issues while potentially improving cognitive function (which is yet another possible benefit of chocolate).
If you want to learn to make these satisfying, flavorful, and nutritious chocolate-matcha-mint bars, read on! We’ll be providing step-by-step instructions complete with a full list of ingredients to help you get started.
Ingredients List
To make the crust for these chocolate-matcha-mint bars, you will need:
Shredded, dried coconut (¼ cup)
Pitted medjool dates (4)
Walnuts (1 ¼ cup)
Raw cacao powder (1 tbsp)
Coconut oil (1 tsp)
Salt (pinch)
For the ganache filling, you will need:
Dark chocolate chips (¾ cup)
Coconut milk (½ cup)
Coconut oil (2 tbsp)
Vanilla essence (½ teaspoon)
And you will also need the following for the mint filling:
Matcha powder (¾ tsp)
Soaked cashews (1 cup)
Lemon juice (from a small lemon)
Liquefied coconut oil (⅔ cup)
Vanilla essence (½ tsp)
Maple syrup (5 tbsp)
Fresh mint (½ cup)
Spirulina powder (⅓ tsp)
Ground chia seeds (1 tbsp)
Water (4 tbsp)
If you want, you can also dust the bars with a sprinkling of cocoa powder, but this is optional.
The Method
Once you have all the necessary ingredients, it’s time to get cooking! Here are the steps to follow for perfect chocolate-matcha-mint bars:
1. To make the crust, take a loaf pan (standard-size is fine) and line it with baking parchment. If you don’t have any parchment you can also use plastic wrap.
2. In the bowl of your food processor, insert the dates, walnuts, coconut, cacao powder, coconut oil, and salt.
3. Turn the processor on and process until you’re left with a mixture that is crumbly, but sticks when you press it together.
4. Transfer this mixture into your pre-lined pan, pressing down from the top so that it forms an even layer over the bottom. You can use your hands for this, assuming they’re clean, but we recommend using a spoon or spatula so the warmth from your fingers doesn’t heat up the crust.
5. Put your crust in the freezer and move on to the next step, which is preparing the ganache filling.
6. Take a small saucepan and put in the coconut oil and chocolate chips. Whisk these together over medium heat until both the oil and chocolate have melted together to form a smooth mixture.
7. Remove your mixture from the heat and use a whisk to mix the vanilla into it.
8. Get your crust from the freezer (it should now be frozen) and pour your ganache over the top. Again, make sure the layer is even. Then, place the pan back in the freezer.
9. Now it’s time to make the mint filling. Start by filling a saucepan with water and heating it until it boils.
10. Take a small bowl and fill it with iced water.
11. Grab a sieve (fine mesh is best) and place your mint leaves in it. Pour the boiled water through the sieve so that the leaves start to wilt.
12. Next, take the leaves and submerge them in the ice water. Leave them there for 30 seconds before removing them. Squeeze them gently so no excess water remains.
13. Put both your mint leaves and your pre-soaked and drained cashews into a blender (you’ll need a high-speed blender, ideally). At this point, you should also add in the lemon juice, vanilla, coconut oil, maple syrup, matcha powder, and water. Continue to blend these ingredients together until the mixture is smooth and you can’t see any pieces of mint leaves.
14. Now, add the chia powder, and blend again. Keep blending until the chia powder is combined fully with the rest of the mixture.
15. Remove your crust and ganache from the freezer again and pour half of your mint filling on top. Ensuring that the top layer is even, return the pan to the freezer.
16. You should now be left with half of your mint filling. Add the spirulina powder to what remains of the mixture and blend them together using your blender. This will form a mixture that is a darker green than the last layer you added to your pan.
17. Take the pan out of the freezer again and pour the darker mixture on top. Again, ensure that you have an even top layer before putting the whole thing back into the freezer once again.
18. Leave your four layers in the freezer for about 30 minutes. If it hasn’t set after 30 minutes, put it back and wait.
19. You can now remove your pan from the freezer for the final time and put it in the refrigerator. Make sure to cover the pan.
20. Once you’re ready to serve your delicious creations, dust with cocoa powder if you want. If not, simply cut the contents of the pan into between 8 and 12 pieces depending on your desired serving size.
21. If you don’t serve all the pieces at once, transfer the rest into an airtight container and keep the bars in the fridge until you want to serve them.
Final Thoughts
Thank you for reading our recipe for chocolate-matcha-mint bars! Although these bars call for a lot of ingredients, they are well worth the extra shopping for the delicious and healthy results.
These bars are suitable for those following a raw or paleo diet, as well as vegans. They are gluten free and don’t contain any refined sugar, so you can enjoy them often without any ill effects!
Hello, my name is Rebecca Holmes and I am a self-proclaimed chocolate lover. I mean, who doesn’t love chocolate? Dark, milk, white, caramel, mint - any flavor, I’m a fan!
Over the years, as a professional chef, I have enjoyed experimenting with adding different chocolates into all sorts of meals.
Not to mention hot chocolate. Have you ever tried a pumpkin spice hot chocolate? That has to be one of my favorite chocolatey drinks in the world. But there’s so much more to choose from! Please enjoy my website and learn all about chocolate and how amazing it can be.
