By Alethea Mauro

I have been embarking on a bit of a cleanse for months now and the thought of blowing it totally for one day seemed like a waste of all my hard work.

So after eating out recently on a rare ‘girls night out’ where I had tried a delicious paleo chocolate almond ‘cheesecake’ from a local cafe it got my creative juices flowing and I thought I might recreate a similar dessert that was not only grain/dairy free, gluten, refined sugar-free etc but totally and utterly deliciously decadent!

Obviously this version is not paleo with the use of peanuts, but as I don’t follow a paleo diet I just wanted to try and create somehting that reminded me of my all-time favourite: the Snickers Bar. It’s a perfect mix of sweet & salty chocolate caramel goodness!

 

Ingredients:

Base:

6 pitted medjool dates, soaked in 1/2 cup warm water for 10 minutes & drained

1/3 cup Raw Cacao

1 1/2 cups walnuts

3/4 cup shredded coconut

1 Tbsp melted coconut oil

4 tbspn dry roasted peanuts, roughly chopped

3 tbsp coconut sugar

Pie filling:

6 pitted medjool dates, soaked & drained as per previous instructions

250g cashews, (soaked for apporx 1 hour & drained)

3/4 cup coconut oil, melted

4 tbspn maple syrup

250ml coconut cream

1/4 cup coconut sugar

Caramel layer:

8 pitted medjool dates, soaked & drained as per previous instructions

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

1 tspn vanilla bean extract

1 tsp sea salt

Chocolate Topping:

1 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup raw cacao

1/4 – 1/3 cup  cup maple syrup (depending on how sweet your tastebuds are)

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

1 tsp vanilla bean extract

1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts roughly chopped (leave a few whole for decoration)

 

Method:

1. Line the base of 20cm springform cake tin with baking paper.

2. To make the base – using a food processor place the walnuts, coconut and cacao in and whizz until the nuts are  finely chopped and then add the dates, coconut oil and vanilla and process all the ingredients really well until the mixture starts to ‘ball’ in the bowl.  Press the mixture out evenly into the base of the cake tin and then sprinkle with the coconut sugar and peanuts and place it in the freezer.

3. Meanwhile start on the pie filling, clean the food processor and then add the drained cashew and process them until they become like a cashew butter. Add the medjool dates, maple syrup, coconut cream, coconut oil and coconut sugar and whizz the mixture until it becomes smooth (you do not want it to be grainy so keep whizzing until you get it to be a really smooth, creamy consistency).  Remove the cake tin from the freezer and pour the filling on top of the base – wobble the tin gently from side to side to even out the mixture.  Place the cake tin back into the freezer.

4. For the caramel layer get your cleaned food processor again,  place the medjool dates, coconut oil and vanilla and whizz on high speed until the dates break down and it forms into a nice soft, gooey caramel like sauce.  Remove tin from freezer and gently spread the caramel sauce over the top of the pie filling (you want to make sure it doesnt mix into the pie filling, so make sure the pie filing has had a chance to set slightly before topping with caramel layer).  Sprinkle with sea salt and the chopped peanuts  and put the tin back into the freezer for a minimum of 1 hour or until the pie has set completely.

5. Using a slightly warmed butter knife run around the edge of the cake tin to loosen the pie before releasing the pie from the tin. Prepare your chocolate topping as follows – in a small saucepan melt the coconut oil over a low heat and thenstir in the maple syrup.  Remove from heat and whisk in the cacao and vanilla.  Pour the chocolate over the pie, allowing it to drizzle over the edges and sprinkle with a few whole peanuts for decoration  and place in the freezer to allow the chocolate to set.

When its time to serve allow it to sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes to allow it to thaw a little and then slice and enjoy…….it’s so good you will not be able to stop at one slice!

It can be kept in the freezer for up to two weeks.

 

 

This recipe was adapated from the Merry Maker sisters ‘Paleo Snicker Cake’.