Vegan Cacao Caramel Pods

So a few weeks ago we got a comment on the blog challenging us to go vegetarian for a week and share what we ate to give meal ideas to people, we accepted that challenge. This week we aren't eating any meat and yesterday I was doing all the meal prep for that. While I was prepping I decided I wanted to make a little 'treat' snack for the week as well and these happened...

Makes: 12 Calories: ~159

Base Ingredients

• 2 cups organic buckwheat flour
• 2 cups pitted dates
• 1 tbsp molasses
• Water (you'll just eyeball this)
• Coconut oil (for lining the pan/tray/mould)

Filling Ingredients

• 2 cups coconut cream
• 4 tbsp organic cacao powder (note: this will turn out to be a very bitter chocolate, if you don't like bitter, swap to unsweetened cocoa powder)
• 2 tbsp coconut nectar

Caramel Topping Ingredients

• Fresh medjool dates (about 6)
• Water
• 1 pinch himalayan salt

Method

1. Chop the pitted dates up
2. In a food processor (or blender if you're game) combine the chopped dates, molasses and buckwheat flour and begin to process them
3. Add in a few drops of water at a time until the mix begins to stick together and becomes like a dough.
4. For this step I used a square 'cupcake tray' lightly sprayed with coconut oil, but you can use any kind of shallow mould, you don't want it to be more than 1 inch deep. Press the base dough into the mould and form a 'shell'. The mix created enough for 12 very large pods for me.
5. Pop the tray in the oven on about 200 degrees celsius and let them cook for 15-20 minutes until they are golden brown.
6. While the base is cooking whisk together the coconut cream, cacao and coconut nectar in a bowl and then pop it into the fridge.
7. Remove the base from the oven and let them cool.
8. Once they are cool pour in the filling ingredients and then place them in the fridge to set for about 4 hours.
9. To create the caramel sauce topping grab about 6 fresh medjool dates and pop them into the microwave for 45 seconds (this will make it easier to remove the pits)
10. Squeeze the pits from the dates and put them into the food processor.
11. Start to process the dates and add a little bit of water and the pinch of salt as you go. Add the water slowly because it won't take much for these to become a creamy consistency.
12. Add on top of the 'pods' to serve.