It's time for a change of pace, and today, I have a paleo recipe from Michelle Bridges' new book, Food for Life. I have tried a few recipes, both sweet and savoury, from Michelle's book, and I'd be lying if I said that I loved them. However, if the super healthy diet is your thing, then Michelle's book could be for you.
One of the recipes that I tried is Michelle's Salted Caramel Slice from p308 of the book. Now don't get too excited - while this recipe has the word "caramel" in it and it looks not unlike the real deal, it tastes nothing like it. Unlike other paleo caramel slice recipes that I have seen, this one does not use dates for sweetness, and it ends up being more on the salty side. I made it while I was on secondment at a government agency where a lot of the other lawyers were vegetarian and/or into alternative diets, so this went down a treat with them. However, if you don't have such an audience, be prepared for at least some disappointment when your guests bite into this slice.
Michelle warns that this slice is fairly calorie dense, and that would be correct, as it contains lots of coconut oil, nuts and nut products. The pieces are tiny but pack 250 calories per serve.
If you would like to give this recipe a burl, here goes:
1 cup raw macadamias
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
1/2 cup softened coconut oil
Caramel
1/2 cup softened coconut oil
1/3 cup tahini
1/3 cup maple syrup
3 tablespoons coconut milk
3 tablespoons almond spread
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon sea salt flakes
Topping
1/2 cup coconut oil
3 tablespoons raw cacao powder
1 tablespoon maple syrup
Line a 20cm square tin with baking paper.
Put the macadamias, coconut and coconut oil into a food processor and process until well combined. Press into the base of the prepared tin, and freeze for 20 minutes.
Put all of the caramel ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour over the prepared base in the tin and freeze for 30 minutes.
Put all of the toping ingredients into a bowl and whisk until smooth, then pour over the salted caramel in the tin. Freeze for 20 minutes.
Remove the slice from the tin and leave out for 5 minutes to soften slightly. Cut it into 20 pieces (ie 1cm square). Serve chilled, sprinkled with a little extra sea salt if you like (I skipped it - it's already quite salty).
I've tried tahini caramel and was not won over but as I have been enjoying tahini in baking lately perhaps I could come round to it. Interesting to hear your thoughts on it!
ReplyDeleteMy mum is going to be over the moon now if I make her this. Tahini caramel sounds very interesting and super delicious x
ReplyDeleteYeah I may not try this. I mean if it's calorie dense I may as well have the real thing (which is so sweet I can't finish it anyway).
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting recipe - like you say, a different twist on the usual date variety of made over caramel slices. It looks and sounds good to me though!
ReplyDeleteYou find the most interesting recipes. I'm reading through this recipe and thinking that it might be fun to try this just because I never do anything like this! Cute little birdies on your plate.
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