Paradise Bars

Dark chocolate-dipped coconut blocks with either a pink or white surprise on the inside.

pink and white dark chocolate bounty bars

A take on the famous Bounty bar, made with creamed coconut, 85% dark chocolate, vanilla extract, sea salt, raw honey and a little beetroot juice (or beetroot kvass if you want add a fermented twist).

No matter how of these bars I seem to make, they are always gone in a few days as they’re just so delicious.

A thick dark chocolate shell, gooey squishy coconut on the inside and so, so good straight from the fridge on a warm day.

Dark chocolate Bounty bars (the one with the red wrapper) were always my favourite growing up. They were always harder to find than the classic blue ones and I so I made a mental note every time I found a newsagents that sold one.

I made a batch of these Paradise bars one warm Easter weekend and my mum joined me in eating them one afternoon. We sat out on the stoop in the heat, with cold bars straight from the fridge in hand.

She told me stories of her older bother, my late uncle, who’s favourite chocolate bar was also the dark chocolate Bounty bar.

I soon discovered being a lover of sticky coconut dipped in dark chocolate apparently runs in my family ( + I wrote a whole story about it over here on Substack).

The original recipe for these paradise bars comes from the wonderful book The Art of Eating Well by Hemsley + Hemsley.

I’ve adapted it slightly here by making half the batch pink using a little raw beetroot juice (or kvass). It makes for a fun element of surprise when you bite into them, never knowing which colour you have picked up.

A RECIPE FOR COCONUT AND DARK CHOCOLATE PARADISE BARS

MAKES 24 SHORT BARS OR 12 LONG ONES

INGREDIENTS:

200g bar of creamed coconut
6 coconut oil
3 tbsp raw honey
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of sea salt
150g desiccated coconut
200g (85% cocoa solids) dark chocolate
4 tbsp beetroot juice

RECIPE:

Line 2 x small square tins with baking parchment.
Place the unopened packet of creamed coconut in a bowl of warm water to melt it through (massaging the packet helps it along).
When the coconut is soft all the way through, pour into a bowl and mix in the coconut oil (it will melt if it’s hard), raw honey, vanilla & salt.
Stir in the desiccated coconut evenly to create a doughy consistency.
Pour half the the dough into one of the prepared tins, keeping the other half in the bowl.
Press the mixture in the tin down with the back of a spoon to make it level and set in the fridge.
Add 2 tsp of beetroot juice to the remaining mixture in the bowl and stir in to coat all the coconut. If the colour is not pink enough for you add 2 more tsp and repeat until you have the desired colour. Note: The more juice added, the softer the pink bars will be.
Pour the pink mixture into the second tin and press it down with the back of a spoon to make it level and set in the fridge.
Wait for 15 minutes until both mixtures are set.
Turn both tins of coconut mixtures out onto a chopping board and slice into 12 long fingers or 24 shorter bars.
Place the slices onto a baking tray lined with baking parchment and keep in the freezer while you prep the chocolate.
Melt the chocolate in a glass or metal bowl over a pan of warm water – make sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl and do not allow the water to boil or summer – you may have to keep removing from the heat. This should take about 30 minutes.
When the chocolate has almost melted, take the bowl off the heat and place on a tea towel to avoid slipping.
Leave the chocolate to cool as much as possible without it hardening to give a thicker coating to the paradise bars – stir it occasionally.
Dip the frozen coconut bars into the chocolate using two forks, letting the excess drop off and carefully place back onto the cold baking tray, leaving space between each bar.
If the chocolate mixture becomes too cold, you may need to put it back over the simmering water again.
When you’ve finished dipping all the bars, place the tray back in the fridge until set.
Once set, seal in a glass or ceramic container in the fridge or freezer until required.
If they are kept sealed in the fridge, they will keep for a month – or longer in the freezer.

These bars are so good fresh out the fridge on a sunny day and dipped in a creamy coconut milk matcha latte, letting it melt slightly before biting into it.

However, on a really hot day, a paradise bar straight out the freezer can’t be beaten.

Knowing how much my family and I love these bars, I now make double the amount and keep half in the fridge for the first week and half in the freezer.

Once the batch in the fridge has been devoured, the batch in the freezer gets moved up into the fridge and I know it’s probably time to make some more…

dark chocolate and coconut paradise bounty bars

The soft petal pink and coconut white hues together remind me of pillowy marshmallows, seaside sticks of rock, or that delightfully chewy nougat you can sometimes find in vintage sweet shops.

I find these bars so incredibly satisfying to make. Chopping the big cold coconut block into fingers when it comes out the fridge; freezing them and then coating them in melted chocolate seems to make my inner child so very happy.

They taste slightly different ( + dare I say better) than the original Bounty; the hint of vanilla extract and a touch of salt enhances the coconut’s flavour, while the honey adds a delightful stickiness in the centre. Together, these subtle tweaks elevate the classic flavour, making each bite a perfect balance of sweet and savoury.

I hope you enjoy xx