I have coconut for breakfast: oats cooked in water with a big dollop of coconut cream added after cooking makes deliciously creamy prorridge.
I have coconut for lunch: thai green curries are my favourite.
I have coconut for afternoon tea: with a slosh of almond milk, cocoa and peanut butter to make a fabulous hot chocolate.
I have coconut for dinner: coconut oil makes a great fat substitute when cooking.
And now, ladies and gentleman, I have coconut for dessert.
Yes, you did read the title of this post correctly: Vegan. Caramel. Slice.
I did it!
A recipe for my easy dairy-filled traditional caramel slice can be found here.
It's my boyfriend's favourite and that reciple always makes him demolish my stock (unless I disappear off to Europe and he realises he will be without all my cooking for a couple of months..).
But *I* miss caramel slice! *I* like it too! So I've finally done it. Caramel slice that we vegans can eat too!
p.s. the secret was making the caramel work!
 |
| Oooey, gooey, vegan caramel |
Vegan Caramel Slice
fills a lamington pan - note: this makes equivalent to 1 1/2 times my non-vegan recipe
Base
1 1/2 cups plain flour
3/4 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup brown sugar
175g vegan margarine, melted - this probably works with coconut oil as a substitute!
Preheat oven to 180C.
Whisk the first 4 ingredients together in a medium bowl, then add the melted butter substitute. Mix well and press into a baking paper-lined lamington tin. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes - until the colour changes to bronze shade (trust yourself - but be careful not to forget about it!).
Let your base cool completely before adding the caramel layer.
Caramel
I suggest you complete this step first as it takes the longest.
2 x 300g tins of full-fat coconut cream - just the cream portion: keep your tins of coconut cream in the fridge and the cream will solidify in the can, then run off the liquid and use in other cooking. (If you live in Tasmania just keep it in your cupboard and it will solidify..).
1 1/2 cups of brown sugar
In a medium saucepan (not small!) add the coconut cream and heat until it's completely liquid. Add the brown sugar and whisk until the liquid is brown.
Bring to the boil and keep boiling on medium-high heat for about 45 minutes until it is obviously thicker.
You will need to whisk the pan about every 4 minutes, just a few stirs - apart from this you can let it do its thing while you complete the base/check your emails/update your blog..
Let the caramel cool completely before pouring it evenly over the top of your base. Let it set in the fridge for a while.
Chocolate
300g dark (dairy free!) chocolate
Melt the chocolate and pour over the caramel layer. Immediately use the baking paper to lift the slice out of the pan and slice with a clean knife. Keep some paper towel handy to wipe your knife every couple of slices to stop crumbs sticking to the chocolate.
Enjoy, naughty vegans ;)
fills a lamington pan - note: this makes equivalent to 1 1/2 times my non-vegan recipe
Base
1 1/2 cups plain flour
3/4 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup brown sugar
175g vegan margarine, melted - this probably works with coconut oil as a substitute!
Preheat oven to 180C.
Whisk the first 4 ingredients together in a medium bowl, then add the melted butter substitute. Mix well and press into a baking paper-lined lamington tin. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes - until the colour changes to bronze shade (trust yourself - but be careful not to forget about it!).
Let your base cool completely before adding the caramel layer.
Caramel
I suggest you complete this step first as it takes the longest.
2 x 300g tins of full-fat coconut cream - just the cream portion: keep your tins of coconut cream in the fridge and the cream will solidify in the can, then run off the liquid and use in other cooking. (If you live in Tasmania just keep it in your cupboard and it will solidify..).
1 1/2 cups of brown sugar
In a medium saucepan (not small!) add the coconut cream and heat until it's completely liquid. Add the brown sugar and whisk until the liquid is brown.
 |
| Whisk continuously until uniformly brown |
Bring to the boil and keep boiling on medium-high heat for about 45 minutes until it is obviously thicker.
 |
| Whisk every 4-5 minutes to prevent overflow! |
 |
| Caramel will darken and thicken as it cools |
 |
| Mmmmm, caramel... |
Chocolate
300g dark (dairy free!) chocolate
Melt the chocolate and pour over the caramel layer. Immediately use the baking paper to lift the slice out of the pan and slice with a clean knife. Keep some paper towel handy to wipe your knife every couple of slices to stop crumbs sticking to the chocolate.
Enjoy, naughty vegans ;)
