No-Bake Salted Caramel Freezer Slice

I'm just going to start off by saying that if you haven't tried adding salt to your sweet foods- stop the madness and do it.

Add it to slice apples. Add it to your smoothies. Eat ONLY sea salt dark chocolate. I'm telling you. It's a thing that may change your perspective of sweet food forever.

And with that very dramatic start to this post I present to you possibly the easiest, most addictive, most fabulous made-up freezer treat slice thing you have ever come across. I, as someone who often ends up angry and/or crying after trying to make something that isn't savoury and isn't just peanut butter on a corn cake, have done it. I've done it and I'm proud to say- so can you. (This is starting to sound like an informercial in my head as I type, sorry).

The star of the show:

No Bake, Paleo Friendly, Vegan, Salted Caramel and Dark Chocolate Freezer Slices.

And all you need is a blender and a means to melt the chocolate.

I've been having a craving for something sweet lately and I haven't been able to figure out what it's been. I've tried chocolate smoothies, I've eaten fruit, I've had bananas and PB, nothing, I've even spent a ridiculous amount of money for a simple 'healthy' brownie from Wellness Warehouse (which was good- just not what I wanted). And then on Sunday night I came home from work and I just knew. I just knew exactly what it was that I was craving and pretty much how I was going to make it.

Now I claim it's recipe-less. Which as a whole, yes it was. But I will admit that for certain bits I did reach into the depths of Pinterest and get a few ideas. (I just didn't know that blending peanut butter and dates would make a caramel sauce okay, research is good sometimes). And let me clear this up before anyone assumes I'm claiming these are low calorie or healthy in any way. They are definitely high calorie and definitely an every-now-and-then treat. They are, in my opinion, just a slightly better option to buying a chocolate bar at the store just because all the ingredients are whole-foods and there isn't anything weird or with an E-code in them. But that's just my taste.

But on to the recipe.

Base: Rawnola

10 medjool dates

1 cup oats

1 scoop vanilla vegan protein powder (optional, I just didn't have vanilla in any other form)

Caramel: Heaven on Earth

12-15 medjool dates

2 large tablespoons of melted natural peanut butter (or approx. 1/4 cup)

1/4 cup almond milk

Plenty of salt (to taste)

Choc-Top:

85% Dark chocolate (seems dark but I promise you will want it to balance out the caramel)

1 Tbsp coconut oil

Coarse salt

That's less than 10 ingredients. And the method is even simpler. But I will say, you need a pretty strong blender- especially for the base.

Base: Add the dates (pitted), oats, and protein to a blender and just blend until a crumbly mixture forms (Tip: this is a really good snack just by itself. I got it from Loni Jane and it's super yummy).

Press the mixture into a lined baking tray/tupperware to form an even base.

Caramel: Add the pitted dates, melted PB, almond milk and salt to a blender and blend until a smooth(ish) creamy caramel forms. Try not to eat it all out of the blender.

Pour over the base and spread evenly. There's a lot more caramel than base, to warn you, so I recommend a deep-ish tupperware.

Choc-top:

Place a bowl with the broken chocolate and coconut oil over a pot of water, on the stove. Slowly stir the chocolate over the boiling water as it melts, and don't let any water boil over into the chocolate mixture (this is v NB as it messes up the melting process).

Pour the melted chocolate over the caramel layer and spread evenly (it will still be pretty hot so be careful).

Sprinkle the coarse salt over the chocolate.

Leave the tupperware/baking tray out to cool slowly before putting it straight into the freezer. After about 30-45 minutes, place it in the freezer for about an hour. I prefer to cut it when the chocolate hasn't totally solidified, so an hour is a good time for it to cool and harden but not become totally impenetrable.

I cut mine into about 10 rectangles, but I will say they are very sweet and very rich so maybe go for smaller squares and come out with about 15 instead (obviously depending on the size of the container).

Once cut you can just pop them back in the freezer and store them like that to make sure the chocolate doesn't melt all over the place!

I swear to you- unless you hate sweet treats or peanut butter- these will be a new favourite. I just finished my batch today (they only lasted 4ish days), and it's taking a lot of self control not to make more for the rest of the week!

They're definitely a cheeky treat, but they're a really good alternative to running to the store and buying a colourfully wrapped chemical shit-storm.

I hope you love them as much as I did if you make them!

(Also btw the pictures aren't grainy because they're taken with my phone camera- it's the grain effect I added to them for my insta-story. All about the recycling- even content.)