peanut caramel slice
Sweet Nourish
This delicious wheat-free slice is infinitely more nutritious than any caramel slice in a cafe. It’s almost a raw slice, except that I like to use roasted peanuts in the filling for a more toasty, caramel flavour. If your budget permits, activated peanuts work well too. I also lightly colour the oats and pecans for a tastier, more aromatic base.
If you prefer, you can use raw dark chocolate for the topping, in which case melt the chocolate as gently as possible to retain more of its nutritional content.
Ingredients
Base
150g (1 2/3 cups) rolled oats
70g (1/2 cup) pecans (see Tips)
100g pitted fresh (medjool) dates
20g (1/4 cup) desiccated coconut
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp pure maple syrup
60g (1/4 cup) extra virgin coconut oil, melted
Filling
265g (1 3/4 cups) roasted peanuts (see Tips)
100g pitted fresh (medjool) dates
60g (1/4 cup) coconut cream
30g (1 1/2 tbsp) extra virgin coconut oil
1 tsp natural vanilla extract
100g peeled banana
Topping
150g dark chocolate, broken into pieces (ensure dairy-free if needed)
3 tsp macadamia oil (or other mild-flavoured oil)
Method
Place peanuts into a bowl and cover with water. Soak for 2-3 hours until softened (note: warm water will soften the peanuts faster than cold water). Meanwhile, prepare base.
Base
Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Line a large baking tray with baking paper and set aside. Grease and line a 16cm × 26cm slice tin (or 20cm square cake tin) with baking paper, allowing paper to hang over the sides, then set aside.
Scatter oats and pecans onto prepared baking tray and bake for 15 minutes, until lightly toasted. Set aside to cool slightly.
Place cooled oats and pecans into a food processor or high-powered blender and process until finely ground.
Add dates, coconut, cinnamon, syrup and coconut oil, and process until finely chopped and well combined. Transfer mixture into prepared tin and press evenly and firmly into base, smoothing surface with the back of a spoon. Place into refrigerator. (There is no need to clean food processor/blender bowl.)
Filling
Drain peanuts well. Place drained peanuts into the food processer/blender and process until finely chopped. Scrape down the sides with a spatula and repeat if needed.
Add all remaining filling ingredients and process until well combined and almost smooth. Scrape down sides with a spatula and process again, if needed.
Transfer mixture onto reserved base and spread evenly with a spatula. Place into refrigerator while preparing topping.
Topping
Gently melt chocolate (either in a saucepan over stovetop or in a microwaveproof bowl in the microwave), stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and smooth. Add macadamia oil and stir through until combined and smooth.
Spread melted chocolate over slice and smooth with a spatula. Cover with plastic wrap (ensuring wrap does not touch chocolate). Return to refrigerator until firm (approx. 2 hours) or overnight. Cut into rectangles to serve.
Tips
- You can use raw peanuts, however, they will provide a less ‘caramel’ flavour.
- You can use raw, activated or roasted pecans in this recipe. If using activated or roasted, there is no need to bake the pecans in step 3.
- Keep this slice stored in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Cut only as much as needed.
