Recipe: Raw Raspberry and Chocolate Slice by Panacea's Pantry

As you may already know, we just love anything created by the wonderful Panacea's Pantry! So we were very excited when we saw this delicious Raw Raspberry and Chocolate Slice Recipe that was gluten free, vegan and refined sugar free!

We love this recipe because it is a different take on your typical caramel slice which, whilst we love to eat, we believe it's always nice to change it up a little! It is also very light, sweet and delicious, making it the perfect afternoon pick me up!

We hope you enjoy this delicious recipe by Panacea's Pantry!!

Ingredients

Base

• 1/2 cup activated pecans* (see notes)

• 1 Tbsp coconut flour

• 1/4 cup raw cacao powder* (see notes)

• Pinch good-quality salt

• 6+ Soft Medjool dates, pitted (* see notes)

Creamy raspberry filling

• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked 4 hours

• 1/2 cup raspberries (* see notes)

• 1/2 cup full-fat coconut cream

• 1 Tbsp lemon juice

• 1/3 cup rice malt syrup * (see notes)

• 30g cacao butter, melted

• 2 Tbsp coconut oil

Chocolate topping

• 2 Tbsp raw cacao powder * (see notes)

• 4 tsp rice malt syrup * (see notes)

• 4 tsp full-fat coconut cream

• 4 tsp coconut oil

• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Instructions

Make the Base 1. Set aside a small square/rectangle cake tin- ours was 15cm (6.5 inch) squared, but a slightly smaller/larger tin will work fine. Line with baking paper unless it is a silicone one.  2. Add all the base ingredients except the dates to a food processor. Pulse until very small crumbs have formed then add dates and pulse until the mix starts to clump together (if this doesn’t happen, add more dates). Press base into the base of the tin, not pressing down too hard (as this compacts the filling, and alters the texture of the base).  Make the raspberry layer 3. Gently melt coconut oil and cacao butter in a heatproof bowl over a pot of just simmering water. It is important that the bowl does not touch the water underneath, as cacao butter is very sensitive to heat. Once melted, remove from heat and set aside to cool for 2-3 minutes. Meanwhile, add remaining filling ingredients to a high-speed blender and blend until very smooth. With the blender still running, stream in the cooled oil and cacao butter and blend for a further 1 minute. Pour onto your base and set in the freezer for 1 hour.

Make the chocolate layer 4. Melt coconut oil in a heatproof bowl over a pot of just-simmering water. Once liquified remove from the heat add remaining ingredients and whisk together until smooth. Pour final later onto cake, and set in fridge for 10 minutes. 

To serve Remove the slice from the fridge. Leave it to defrost for 15 minutes before slicing, or preferably overnight in the fridge (as this will prevent water beading).

To slice Fill a large heat proof cup with boiling water. Take a large, sharp knife and sit it in the hot water for 15 seconds, then quickly dry the knife and make your first cut. Wipe the knife clean, and repeat. If you are not fussy on how the slices look you can skip the hot water and simply use a sharp knife.

Notes *We’ve used activated pecans for this recipe but we totally understand they’re very expensive. You can sub out for walnuts if you like. * Raw cacao powder can be substituted for carob powder or cocoa. We prefer Dutch-pressed cocoa. * Medjool dates are our favourite as they are juicy and flavoursome. If you have dried dates you will need to rehydrate them first. To do this, soak in hot water for 5 minutes, then squeeze out extra water before using. It is likely you will need 8-12 dried dates, so we recommend starting with 6, and adding more as needed. * If you are using frozen raspberries please allow them to completely defrost first. * Rice malt syrup is easily exchanged with your preferred sweetener. Our recommendation is pure maple syrup, however you could use coconut nectar or agave, or honey if you are not vegan.