Our Favourite Caramel Slice

Welcome to our last official blog post for 2018! Recently at our first Live Lively Workshop we presented a food platter of our favourite homemade sweet treats - all gf/df of course. We realised that Nadia Lim’s Healthy Date Cashew Caramel Slice was a real hit, so we saw it fitting to share it on here for you all to enjoy! We truly understand the struggle of trying to find healthy yet delicious sweet treats that align with a gf/df diet, not to mention this recipe is also refined sugar free! Enjoy!

Healthier Date Cashew Caramel Slice by Nadia Lim

Makes: 20-25 pieces
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes + 3-4 hours to set

Note: This recipe requires cooling time!

You’ll need:
For the topping

• 150-200g good quality dark chocolate (Whittaker’s Dark Chocolate 50% is dairy free)
• 1 tsp neutral oil (e.g. walnut, canola, soy)
• 1/3 cup walnuts chopped (optional)
• 1-2 tbsp coconut thread (optional)

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For the filling

• 400g dried pitted dates
• ¾ cup boiling water
• 2 cups softened** cashew nuts 
• ¼ cup pure maple syrup (not the stuff that's artificially flavoured with sugar!)
• ½ cup coconut oil, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

** To make softened cashew nuts, either soak in water overnight, or boil cashew nuts in a pot of water for about 15 minutes or until soft. Drain.
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For the base

• ¾ cup fine rolled oats (you can also use ground almonds as a gluten-free alternative, or gluten-free oats like we did!)
• ¾ cup coconut thread 
• 1 tbsp good quality dark cocoa powder
• 6 medjool dates, pitted
• ½ cup raw almonds
• one pinch salt
• 6-8 tbsp coconut oil, melted

Method: 
Preheat oven to 180degC. Lightly grease and line the bottom and sides of a square baking tin (20cm x 20cm) with baking paper.

1. Place oats/ground almonds, coconut thread, cocoa powder, medjool dates, almonds and salt in a food processor and blitz until a fine, crumbly texture. Drizzle in melted coconut oil/butter and pulse until well combined and the mixture holds together when you pinch it between your fingers.
2. Press mixture into the prepared baking tin, pressing down firmly with the back of a spoon or spatula. Bake for 10-15 minutes until light golden. Set aside in the fridge to cool while you make the caramel.
3. To make the caramel, place dates and water in a medium-size pot and boil, stirring frequently, until the dates are very soft and mushed up, and all the water has evaporated. Place dates in the food processor along with the softened cashew nuts, maple syrup, coconut oil/butter and vanilla. Blitz until nice and smooth – this will take at least a few minutes. scrape down the sides of the food processor a few times to make sure everything has been blended.
4. Spread caramel all over the base in the baking tin. Set aside in the fridge to set for at least 4 hours or the freezer for at least 2 hours, or until the filling is firm.
5. Melt chocolate in the top of a double boiler or in a glass bowl set above a small pot of simmering water. Mix in oil if using. Pour melted chocolate all over the filling and spread it over evenly. Return to the fridge for about 20 minutes, or until set. If it still seems a bit soft, return to the fridge/freezer for a bit longer.
6. Cut into about 25 pieces (a long, sharp serrated knife dipped in hot water will help a lot! I also find it easier to flip the whole caramel slice upside-down and cut through the base down). The slice will keep for up to a week in the fridge.

This recipe is perfect for a sweet treat to grab from the fridge on a summer afternoon. It happily hits the spot and there is certainly no need to feel guilty about it afterwards either. Perfect for the kids as well, this is simply the ultimate caramel slice that you've been waiting for.

Be sure to share your snaps with us on social media by using our hashtag #livelivelynz

Thank you so much for all of your support during 2018, it has been so exciting to finally share this project with you and looking forward to 2019  we cannot wait to produce even more exciting content. Be sure to join in with our 12 Days of Digital Detox beginning today! You can follow us along on this journey by staying in touch with our social media accounts. You can find us on Facebook under @livelivelynz and instagram under the same user. 

Thank you all again. Have a wonderful Christmas season with your friends, family and loved ones. Stay safe and have a very Merry Christmas. See you all in the New Year! Bring on 2019!

From our home to yours,

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