Oh, have I got a sweet treat for you! The other night in my live online cooking class with Bondi Harvest’s chef Guy Turland, I tried my hand at learning to cook their Raw Gluten-Free Chocolate Caramel Slice — basically a healthy version of the original Chocolate Caramel Slice (that has loads of sugar in it). It’s a no-bake, gluten-free, and refined sugar-free recipe that in my opinion, tastes way better. This healthy recipe is made with an oat and cashew nut base, creamy date caramel center, and a semi-sweet dark chocolate topping. And for those of you who don’t know what a raw dessert is, it’s just a term that’s used to define a dish that is often sweetened naturally with dried fruits and natural sweeteners like Maple Syrup or Golden Syrup and that is also no-bake and usually made with unprocessed plant-based ingredients like nuts and seeds.
My one piece of advice as an amateur wannabe-cook would be to have the right equipment and have all the measured ingredients out ready to go. I used my one and only smoothie blender and it broke struggling to mix the ingredients together. So get the real deal—a food processor or a Vitamix!
Gluten-Free Raw Chocolate Caramel Slice Recipe
INGREDIENTS
Base
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 1⁄2 cup coconut flakes
- 1/2 cup oats
- 2 tbsp peanut butter
- 1⁄4 cup golden syrup (Maple Syrup is fine to replace the Golden Syrup)
Creamy Caramel Centre
- 2 cups pitted fresh Medjool dates (try to use Medjool dates as they are creamier)
- 1⁄3 cup coconut oil
- 1tbsp tahini
Chocolate Topping
- 100g dark chocolate (I added 300grams just cause I wanted to go all out, but now don’t recommend it as I struggled to bite through the layer of thick chocolate)
- 3 tbsp coconut oil
METHOD
- Place baking paper in a tin or baking dish and set aside
- Pour into the food processor the cashews, coconut flakes, oats, peanut butter, and golden syrup and mix until well combined and sticky.
- Spoon the mixture into the pan and spread evenly
- Add the Medjool dates, coconut oil, and tahini into the food processor until smooth and then spoon out and add to the top of the base spreading out with your wet fingers or a wet spatula
- Melt the chocolate and coconut oil in a little pot on low heat until shiny and all melted, then pour the melted chocolate on top caramel date layer making sure the chocolate covers the entire slice edge, to edge.
- Place in the freezer to set for 30 mins.
Once ready, use a hot knife to slice up into squares and store the rest in the freezer
