Chocolate Pecan Slice – Vegan

A small slither goes a long way and lovely start to the Easter Season... This recipes is a take on Nora Cooks and The Vegan Larder.

Ingredients
For the base:

• 180g chopped pecans

• 70g unsweetened shredded coconut

• 160g pitted dates

• 3 tsp dutch cacao

For the filling:

• 210g pitted dates

• 300g oat milk

• 3 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot

• 1 tsp vanilla extract or powder ( I prefer using powder)

• ¼ tsp sea salt

• 150g pecan halves

• 100 g bar 80Noir Ultra

Caramel Sauce:

• 64g vegan butter (if you dont want it vegan just choose ordinary butter)

• 128g light brown sugar, packed

• 60g cup maple syrup

• 76g full-fat coconut milk

• 1/4 tsp sea salt

• 1 tsp vanilla extract or powder ( I prefer using powder)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 175⁰C and line a brownie tin with baking parchment.

• Start by making the base. Place all the ingredients in a blender or food processor until it is sticky. It won’t be fully blended together, and you still want a crunch from small pieces of pecans.

• Press the base firmly into the baking tin and set aside.

• Now onto the filling. Blend the dates, milk, cornstarch, vanilla and salt until smooth.

• Add just one cup of the pecans (the rest is for decorating) and pulse them in so they are in small chunks.

• Chop the beads up the chocolate so it is in chunks.

• Mix ¾ of the chocolate chunks into the filling mix, then spread the filling mix on top of the base.

• Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chunks and pecan halves across the top of the filling.

• Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the pecans are golden brown.

• Cool in the tin, then place in the fridge overnight.

• Slice and cut into slithers. They will keep for up to a week in the fridge. You can also put a few in the freezer if you don’t want to eat them all at once!

To make the caramel sauce if you want an extra wow factor to the dish..

1. Make sure you have a sealable container to put it in at the end. Put to one side.

2. In a medium pot, add the vegan butter and melt it over medium-high heat. Once melted, add the light brown sugar and whisk until incorporated and melted through.

3. Use a candy thermometer and add in the pot, just be sure that the thermometer does not touch the bottom of the pan.

4. Whisk in the syrup and full-fat coconut milk. Bring the mixture to a boil and continue to cook, constantly stirring, until the candy thermometer reaches 112°C, about 10-15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sea salt and optional vanilla extract until uniform.

5. Pour the caramel into the container and allow to cool.

Don't forget to tag us on any of your creations, I would love to see how you get along

Photography Credit Priscilla du Preez