Gooey Chewy Coconut Caramelts
Serves 12
You don’t need more than a few mouthfuls of these sweet and delicious caramel squares to leave you feeling satisfied. Great news! In addition, they are also vegan – even more great news!
I keep my Gooey Chewy, Coconut Caramelts in the freezer as I prefer the texture of the caramel when it is hard, but by all means, if you like your caramel gooey, keep your squares in the fridge where they will keep in an airtight container for up to three days.
You will need a 20 x 20cm tin, greased with coconut oil and lined with parchment paper. It’s not vital, but a tin with a removable base makes life so much easier.
What you need
For the base
150g Brazil nuts
100g almonds
200g pitted Medjool dates
50g dried apricots
30ml water
Caramel filling
350g pitted Medjool dates
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp coconut oil
Pinch salt
100ml warm water
Chocolate topping
25g desiccated coconut (plus 1-2 tbsp extra to sprinkle over the top)
125g pitted Medjool dates
2 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp Green & Black’s organic cocoa powder
100-130ml water
What you do
Start by making the base. Place all the base ingredients into a food processor and blitz until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Press the crumbs firmly into your prepared tin and place in the freezer for at least half an hour (and up to 24 hours) to set.
Meanwhile, make the caramel filling by placing all the ingredients apart from the warm water in a food processor.
Start to blitz the mixture and slowly add the warm water, a little at a time, until the contents resemble the consistency of caramel.
Remove the base from the freezer.
Pour the caramel filling over the base ensuring that the filling is evenly spread. Freeze for at least one further hour, or up to 24 hours.
Once the caramel has frozen you can make the chocolate topping. Heat a small frying pan, and as soon as it is hot, dry fry the desiccated coconut for approximately 30 seconds until toasted and golden.
Remove from the toasted coconut from the heat and pop it into your food processor.
Add the dates, coconut oil and cocoa powder, along with 100ml of the water.
Whizz until smooth, adding the leftover water if a smoother consistency is required.
Remove the caramel base from the freezer.
Spread the chocolate topping evenly over the caramel base using Kate’s top tip, above, to help you.
Sprinkle desiccated coconut over the top.
Place the tin back in the freezer for a minimum of two hours. Remove from the freezer and cut into squares.
Oh and another thing...
I have found that spreading the caramel filling over the base can be a fiddly job as the caramel gets stuck to the back of the spoon. To prevent this from happening, have a little dish of warm water next to you and dip the spoon into it when the caramel stops spreading easily.
You can save on time by using melted organic dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) instead of making the ‘raw’ chocolate topping.
