Honestly you wont believe it's Vegan!
So I am going to start by saying I am HORRIBLE at measuring stuff! When I first started my baking and cooking journey back when I was 22 I used to follow recipes or tried to. I would always get so disheartened when things didn't turn out right, especially because when you are trying to cook gluten, sugar, dairy free or low carb generally the ingredients are very expensive. So having to throw a whole cake away is a hit to the ego and the bank account.
Over the many MANY failed baking mishaps I have just kind of learnt what works. You want a cake? The batter has to be runny, you want cookies? It needs to be doughy and I just keep adding liquids or dry ingredients until I get the consistency I am after. Same with cooking I just know what herbs and spices work well together (hint: its garlic and chilli, they make every meal a success)
However all that being said I am going to endeavour to make an effort to start to write measurements and ingredients down, so that I can share all my delicious, healthy, EASY recipes with you! Because I cant cook dinner for everyone!
Top of the list and I might be making a mistake here by starting with one of my most delicious recipes of all, but it will give me a good challenge to try and beat it next time.
Vegan Caramel Slice! A recipe that is gluten free and refined sugar free too! A lot of people would hear sugar free, gluten free and vegan and immediately think "Yuck" but bare with me because this slice is anything but!
YOU WILL NEED:
BASE LAYER:
3/4 cup quick oats
3/4 cup linseed (flax) meal
3/4 cup desiccated coconut
3 tablespoons of vegan butter
1/4 cup of sugarfree maple syrup
1/4 cup of coconut oil (melted)
CARAMEL LAYER:
15 dates
1/2 cup of cashews
1/2 cup coconut oil (melted)
1/2 cup sugarfree maple
1/2 cup peanut butter
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
TOP LAYER:
1/2 block of lindt 95% dark chocolate (or 99%)
1 cup of coconut oil (melted)
1 tablespoon of raw cacao powder
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup of stevia
1/2 block of Lindt 95% dark chocolate (or 99%)
METHOD:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Line a slice tin with baking paper.
Put the 15 dates and 1/2 cup of cashews in a microwave safe bowl and JUST cover with bowling water. You are going to leave that to soak whilst we make the top layer.
Mix base layer dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
Melt the vegan butter and the coconut oil together.
Once melted pour over the dry ingredients and add the maple syrup. Combine together with a spatula, mixture should be crumbly and moist but not wet or runny, if it is all runny add slightly more of any of the dry ingredients.
Pour the mixture into the slice tin and use the spatula or your hands to press the mixture firmly and evenly into the tin. Remember you want to have room for a caramel and chocolate layer on top so if your tin already looks really full, you may need a deeper slice tin or just remove some of the mixture. (I accidentally made too much and I put the excess in patty pans and made some individual serve caramel slice cups.
Once the mixture is very firmly packed down you can place it in the over for 17- 22 minutes or until golden brown. Whilst the base layer bakes we move on to the caramel layer.
Put the soaked dates and cashews in the blender (I use a ninja, any blender should do the trick) WITH the boiling water and the 1/2 cup of melted coconut oil . Blitz until well combined and none date chunks remain (unless you want a chunky caramel layer) then add the sugar free maple, peanut butter, vanilla and salt and blitz again until well combined. By the time you have done all that blitzing your base layer should be ready. You don't need to wait for it to cool, just pour the caramel layer straight on top and spread it out evenly. then place the whole tray in the freezer whilst we clean up and make the top layer.
The caramel and base layer need time to cool and set before we can pour the chocolate on top so use this time to clean up the mess you have made so far. If you are like me... there is caramel and crumbs everywhere. This slice is definitely worth the mess don't worry.
For the chocolate layer there is actually 2 ways you can do it. You could just melt a whole block of any chocolate you like and pour it over the top and that's it. If you want an easier option then definitely go for it!
I like to use half chocolate and half cacao/coconut oil because it means I can add stevia as the sweetener rather than sugar that comes in most normal chocolate blocks and I also prefer the texture of the combination, its a little bit softer and easier to bite through straight out of the freezer when you have the blend.
So if you want the messier softer option... melt half a block of Lindt dark chocolate with 1 cup of coconut oil, once melted add the tablespoon of cacao and mix well to combine. Then add the vanilla, stevia and salt and continue to mix, finally add the maple syrup. Give it a taste test and if you think you would like it sweeter feel free to add some extra stevia but remember the middle layer is already SUPER sweet so I find it nice to have the contrast with a slightly more bitter top layer. But everyone's taste buds are different so each to their own. Once you are happy with it, pour it over the chilled caramel layer, tilt the tray side to side until the whole slice is covered. this is why the caramel needs to be firm, because otherwise the caramel and chocolate just combine rather than having separate layers.
You'll need to wait 2 hours or more for it to completely set before you can take it out of the freezer, remove it from the tray and cut it into serving sized bites to devour now or at a later time. After its cut up you can put the slices in a container and keep it in the freezer for up to 2 months. Good luck making it last that long though!
NOTES:
I like using the combination of the sugar free maple syrup and stevia because I find if I use just one the flavour becomes overpowering, but if you use both you get a nice even blend. You could use sugar or normal maple syrup if you aren't apposed to sugar. I try to avoid sugars as they spike your insulin and cause inflammation in the body (which does not happen when consuming stevia) This caramel slice whilst being a healthier alternative is still a treat. I don't mind having some stevia/artificial sweeteners as I don't have them all the time, I wouldn't recommend having them every day just as I would recommend having sugar every day. I know that some people prefer to use normal sugar over sweeteners even natural ones likes stevia, and that is totally up to you. You could even use more dates in the caramel layer and you may find you don't need any more sweetener in there at all. Every one responds differently to different foods and if sugar (or dairy) is okay with you then feel free to use different products to the ones I have suggested.
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