Hazelnut and Chocolate Goji Slice
Perhaps the perfect slice to treat mum this Sunday? Or yourself! If you like chocolate and hazelnut then this slice is a must try and super quick to throw together. This is a remake of a slice I put together a couple of weeks ago for a baby shower. However, I removed the raspberries from it so you could always throw in half a cup of raspberries if you wanted to jazz it up a little more! Needless to say this is a new favourite raw dessert of mine as it’s so easy and quick to throw together and a total crowd pleaser! The perfect combination of sweetness yet nicely mellowed out by the nuts. I not only had the tick of approval from my partner but I actually whipped this up specifically for my work mates and it’s safe to say everyone enjoyed it and I’m positive you will too! This slice is gluten, dairy, soy and refined sugar free so reasonably allergy friendly unless you can’t consume hazelnuts – I’m hoping you can! Knowing that you are eating something that doesn’t have a whole heap of nasty additives like, thickeners, stabilizers, vegetable oils, artificial sweeteners and colouring is a good feeling! Having this as a treat leaves you feeling satisfied and knowing you have only put complete nourishment into your body! Go you!
As always, I encourage the use of organic ingredients.
WHAT YOU NEED 2 x Cups of Hazelnuts – preferably activated* first 1 and ¼ Cup of Medjool dates – soaked for 15 minutes before blending ¼ Cup of full fat coconut milk ½ Cup of Cacao Powder 2 TBSP’s of Coconut Oil 1 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract Pinch of Himalayan Salt Shredded coconut (this is to sprinkle over the top at the end) Place your Hazelnuts and Medjools in a food processor on high until blended nicely together. Add in the rest of your ingredients and blend until the mixture turns nice and sticky and is well blended together. Line a baking tray with baking paper and spread evenly. You will need to use your hands for this as the mixture should be quite sticky. Once it’s evenly spread take the back of a knife to make the top of your raw slice nice and smooth. Pop in the freezer while you make the sauce. FOR THE CHOCOLATE SAUCE ¼ Cup of Coconut Oil 2 TBSP of Cacao 2 TBSP of Pure Maple Melt the coconut oil in a saucepan on a low heat. Once it’s melted remove from the heat and allow this to cool down. Stir in the Cacao and Maple. Remove your raw slice from the freezer and pour your delicious chocolate sauce on top. It will immediately begin to set – once it’s slightly set sprinkle over your shredded coconut and pop back in the freezer for 5-10 minutes and not any longer! Once you remove the slice you will need to cut it into squares. The reason I suggest removing it from the freezer is that when the topping gets too cold it doesn’t cut very nicely and you are left with cracked icing. Lastly top each individual slice with a few goji berries as shown in the below picture and place in the freezer for two hours so the mixture is nicely set before removing and storing in the fridge. If you store in the fridge the slice will last around two weeks. However, if you prefer to store in your freezer and grab out a piece ten minutes prior to guzzling this moorish treat down then the slice will store up to two months. *Note – Hazelnuts need around 4-6 hours of activating (soaking in water) prior to making this recipe. The reason for activating nuts and seeds is that it’s very beneficial as it helps remove the natural enzyme inhibitors that make the nuts difficult for our bodies to breakdown and digest.
