Anyone up for a chocolate bar filled with a thick and creamy chai cashew butter filling?

If you are like me and love sipping on chai with a piece of dark chocolate on the side, you are going to love these bars! The filling is nutty, loaded with chai spices, and sweet & salty. It’s so addicting you won’t stop with just one square!

We start by making the cashew butter filling. Cashews are first gently roasted until golden brown to develop their natural nuttiness. Then we blend them with some maple syrup, coconut sugar, vanilla, and chai spices until they turn into a smooth nut butter.

Next, to help the nut butter firm up we add some melted chocolate and cocoa butter. If you don’t have cocoa butter, feel free to use coconut oil or more melted chocolate.

Once the filling is ready it’s time to make the bars. It’s a 3-step process:

• We fill the chocolate mold with melted dark chocolate and tilt the mold to spread the chocolate evenly in the cavities. Then quickly flip the mold upside down to remove excess chocolate and only keep a thin layer. I used a chocolate mold similar to this one, but you can use a small baking dish lined with parchment paper and spread the chocolate into a thin layer if you don’t have a chocolate mold. Then we refrigerate until firm.
• Next, we pour some of the cashew butter into the chocolate molds, on top of the first layer of chocolate. Refrigerate again until firm.
• Finally, we spread the final layer of melted chocolate on top of the cashew butter and use a large knife to remove excess chocolate. Refrigerate and remove the bars from the molds!

If you are short on time or don’t have a mold, this recipe can also be done in cups, just like you would do with peanut butter cups. Just make sure to let each layer firm up before adding the next one, you don’t want them to mix.

I hope you will enjoy these chai cashew butter chocolate bars as much as I do! The thin and crispy coating of chocolate contrasts with the super creamy chai filling. These bars are delicious on their own, served with coffee/tea, or used as a topping for oatmeal!

Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe!

Vanilla Chai Cashew Butter Chocolate Bars

Chocolate bars filled with a sweet and salty chai cashew butter filling! A crispy chocolate shell with a creamy and nutty filling!

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★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Full of Plants
• Yield: 3 bars 1x

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Ingredients

• 1 cup (150g) raw cashews
• 1 tbsp (15ml) maple syrup
• 2 tbsp (20g) coconut sugar
• 1/2 vanilla bean (or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract)
• 2 tbsp (30ml) melted cocoa butter (or coconut oil)
• 1 tbsp (15g) melted dark chocolate chips
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cardamom
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 4 ounces (120g) 70% dark chocolate
• optional: 1 tbsp (15ml) cocoa butter

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to (160°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the raw cashews on the baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
2. Add the roasted cashews, maple syrup, coconut sugar, and vanilla bean to the bowl of a blender. Blend on high speed for 5-7 minutes, scraping down the sides as necessary until it turns into a butter.
3. Add the melted cocoa butter, melted dark chocolate chips, spices, and salt. Blend for another 2 minutes or until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and set aside while you prepare the chocolate.
4. Melt the dark chocolate (with the cocoa butter if using) in a double boiler. Once melted, pour half of it in a 3-bar chocolate mold (I used one similar to this one) and tilt the mold to spread the chocolate in the mold. Flip the mold upside down to remove excess chocolate and only keep a thin coating at the bottom of the mold. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. Once the chocolate has hardened, pour the cashew butter into the molds. Do not fill them to the top, leaving about 2mm. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or until the cashew butter is firmer.
6. Finally, remelt the remaining half of the dark chocolate in a double boiler. Once melted, let it cool a few minutes and then pour it into the molds, on top of the cashew butter. Use a long knife to remove excess chocolate and smooth the top. Refrigerate for another hour before removing the bars from the molds.
7. These chocolate bars will keep for up to 4 weeks at room temperature. If you want a slightly firmer filling, store the bars in the refrigerator.

Notes

If you don’t have a chocolate bars mold, this recipe can also be done in cups like you would make peanut butter cups. You can also use a baking pan covered with parchment paper instead of the chocolate bars mold.

For a chocolate shell that snaps, I recommend tempering the chocolate. You can learn more about the process here.

No nutritional information as it depends on how thick your chocolate and cashew butter layers are. Plus depending on the type of chocolate mold used it can differ a lot.