I'm a little miffed right now because none of the peppermint slice photo's are pleasing me. The one above is the best of the bunch, most were out of focus. Also, I committed the cardinal sin of food blogging: ate the product before checking the pics. :-/
Looks like I'll just have to make another batch :) Always a silver lining.
This slice has raw cacao in it, and packs a punch, that's for sure. After one substantial slice I could feel my nerves buzzing and snapping and dancing.. which might account for the blurry pics? I'm sure cacao is a gateway drug...
Ingredients:
Base:
- 1 cup medjool dates
- 1 cup of nuts (I used brazil and walnuts)
- 1 cup ground almonds (almond flour)
- 1/2 cup raw cacao powder
- 1/4 cup cacao nibs (optional)
- 75g vegan chocolate, chopped (I used Lindt sea salt chocolate)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp peppermint essence (taste test and adjust to your preference)
Topping:
- 4 tablespoons of coconut oil
- 2.5 tablespoons raw cacao powder
- 1 tbsp honey, maple syrup or other preferred sweetener
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- pinch of salt
Method:
Remove pits from the dates and blend to a paste in the food processor. I have found that, depending on the juiciness of your dates it may be necessary to add a little water. Try and buy plump dates, not ones that have been sitting on the shelf getting shrivelled.
Add everything else (except the topping ingredients!) and blend until fully mixed.
Press into a square tin - again I love my silicon pan for this; it's so easy to get the slice out later.
Melt the coconut oil over a low heat, and stir in the cacao powder, sweetener, vanilla and salt.
Pour the topping over the base and place in the freezer for at least an hour.
Slice into smallish pieces (or larger, if you don't mind electrifying your brain).
Enjoy!
Here's the stats if you cut it into 16 pieces.
Per piece.
