Salted Caramel & Peanut Fudge Slices

A bold statement shall ensue: every fibre of my body, soul and being craves this wildly decadent, moreish and indulgent treat.

Please be warned, you may eat the entire tray and transcend into a state of utter bliss. Guilt free, wonderfully natural and wholly delicious - would you like to try it?

There's something to be said about the simple combination of nuts and chocolate. With an air of nostalgia I now remember growing up and popping to the store for a bar of Snickers to enjoy with a large cup of (milky) tea.

Thankfully my body no longer craves a quick sugar fix, but for those (like myself) who melt at the very thought of a sumptuous natural combination of nuts and chocolate, you've officially arrived in paradise.

Side note: I hope my words really don't sound boastful, I'm just so elated with how tasty and nutritious this treat is that I genuinely want you to try it for yourself. In fact, if I could whip up a batch right now and send one out to every one of you I would!

Ok. Let's get going. I can practically feel my stomach rumbling in a desperate reply to entice me to bake.

Ahem. Let me compose myself. As you can see the slice is split into four layers. It sounds complicated and time consuming, but trust me, it really isn't at all.

You will need:

Base Layer: 

- 2 cups almonds (I used flaked, but any will do)

- 1/4 cup coconut sugar

- 1/4 (heaped) cup buckwheat flour (substitute with any other gluten free flour if preferred i.e. coconut, millet, rice etc)

- 1/2 cup maple syrup

- 2 tsp coconut oil

1. Blitz the almonds in the food processor until almost smooth with some crunchy chunks.

2. Melt the coconut oil.

3. In a large bowl mix the coconut oil, almonds, coconut sugar, buckwheat flour and maple syrup. Once thoroughly mixed evenly spread it in the bottom of your baking tray. I chose a small baking tray so my slices would be lovely and deep, but a larger one for thin shallow slices is awesome too.

4. Pop into the oven for 15 minutes at 160 celsius. Once baked allow to cool and pop into the fridge to harden. If you prefer you could skip the cooking bit and pop into the freezer for 30mins - 1 hour. I haven't tried this but I imagine it would be ok. 


Fudge Layer:

- 1/2 cup dates (Tip: Soak your dates in a cup/bowl of boiling water for 10 minutes. It softens them up beautifully to blitz in the food processor, also make sure you buy either medjool dates or dates that haven't been rolled in syrup or sugar)

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 2 tsp coconut oil

- 1 and a 1/2 tbsp almond butter

- 1 cup peanut butter (you can use either smooth or crunchy, either are fine)

- 1/3 cup maple syrup

- 1/2 cup cacao powder

1. If you haven't already, soak your dates in boiling water for 10 minutes then drain the water with a sieve when softened.

2. Melt the coconut oil.

3. Add the softened dates, salt, melted coconut oil, almond butter, peanut butter, maple syrup and cacao powder into the food processor. Blitz until smooth. It'll be a pretty thick mixture, so don't fret if it whizzes into a ball.

4. Make sure your base layer is cold, then evenly spread the fudge over it with a hot palette knife, or spoon. Finally, pop it back into the fridge.


Salted Caramel Layer:

- 1/2 cup maple syrup

- 1/2 cup almond butter

- 1/4 cup coconut oil

- 1 tsp salt

1. Melt the coconut oil.

2. Mix together the maple syrup, almond butter, coconut oil and salt.

3. Evenly spread this over your fudge layer, then again, pop it back into the fridge.

4. You can use as much, or as little of the salted caramel mix to create a super thick layer or a thin one, depending on personal preference. I used about 3/4 of the mix and popped the rest in the fridge to enjoy the next day. Tip: It's simply delicious on rice crackers with sliced strawberries for a sweet quick 'hit the spot' treat.

Chia Chocolate Topping:

- 3 tbsp coconut oil

- 1/4 cup agave

- 3 tbsp cacao powder (can add more if you want a super rich dark topping)

- 1 tbsp chia seeds

- 1/4 cup maple syrup

1. Melt the coconut oil in a saucepan over a low heat.

2. Once melted add the agave, cacao powder, chia seeds and maple syrup to the saucepan. Once mixed together and heated through remove from the heat.

3. Let the mix set for 10 minutes in the fridge (or a cool area) just to thicken. This time allows the chia seeds to expand and I found is a perfect opportunity to clean up the mess created in the process of baking!

4. Pour and spread evenly over the salted caramel layer using a hot palette knife (or spoon). By hot palette knife or spoon, I mean have a mug of hot water sitting to dip it into so it's easily and smoothly spread.

5. Optional: Decorate the chocolate layer with salted peanuts, goji berries or anything else as desired. Be creative, and follow your stomach!

6. Finally, pop it into the fridge until set or in the freezer if you're super impatient like me.

FINALLY: 

- Enjoy every morsel making sure to hide your box of precious goodies in a secret spot only you know of.

- The colder they are, the tastier. Fact!

- Who know one of these beauties could compliment a cup of coffee oh so well?

- Eat. Enjoy. Repeat. Re-make.

- If you are in need of proper measuring cups, please pick some up as they're an awesome asset to your kitchen. I bought mine from Amazon (here), but you can pick them up almost anywhere i.e. TK Maxx, Dunelm Mill, Lakeland etc.

- And one last thing, don't feel any guilt at all. Yes they are high in nuts, sweet maple syrup and coconut oil but they are actually nutritious and of benefit to our bodies unlike sugar. If you are super restrained (I salute you), then freeze a batch in an air-tight container and lift one out in the morning so they're defrosted by the time you're ready for an evening treat.

Et voila!

Ps. As always, you can join in and use the Instagram hashtag #TSTGeats so it's super easy to follow along!

I really and truly hope you guys enjoy this recipe as much as I did (and my friends/co-workers who I fobbed this off on). Let me know what you think :)