Give Her Chocolate

“My problem is desserts. I am obsessed with desserts.” – Sofia Vergara

Girl, I HEAR ya. But, it sure looks like those desserts do no damage to that flawless chica.

A few years back, my friend Natalie gave me the cutest (and truest) little book when she came down to visit in Charleston.

 There’s even chocolate stains on here. *sigh*

Here’s a couple so you get the idea…

But, seriously.

The good ole days.

Lately, I’ve been trying out all sorts of new ways to have chocolate.  Hey, if it’s going to become an every day thing, it’s better if I don’t head to Dairy Queen every day, right?

Destiny allowed me to stumble upon The Vedge‘s recipe for Raw Caramel Brownie Slice.

Here’s her perfect picture of the finished product:

Few things to note:

1. I didn’t have a square pan that was the correct size so I opted for a circular pan. Which made me immediately feel like this was a vegan cheesecake / pie instead of a brownie.
2. I didn’t have mesquite powder.  The recipe only called for 1 tbsp and after doing my research I figured it shouldn’t alter the recipe too much. The recipe also suggested adding 1 tbsp of lucuma powder and I left that out as well.

I had taste tested all three layers as I made the this triple decker just to ensure everything was coming out ok.  Wouldn’t want to add ’em on if something was off. All three had the seal of approval and I was excited to try the final product.  I put it in the freezer, as suggested, and then headed to bed shortly after.

The next morning, I didn’t want to neglect my “beautiful creation” that was waiting for me, so I figured I would try a bite and take a picture. Somehow, I couldn’t get the perfect looking slice for a photo and had to keep slicing off another little piece and another little piece to try and get the perfect pic. Since I couldn’t let those bites go to waste I made sure to eat those too.  Needless to say, I never got a photo that I was obsessed with, so this is what we’re working with.

Sometimes, you just gotta eat straight outta the pan.

I can’t decide if I like it best straight from the freezer or after it softens up a bit. When it’s straight from the freezer it makes me think of ice cream cake. If it’s left out for a bit or from the fridge it reminds me of the vegan cheesecake I used to get at Puree in Charleston. Either way, I love it. I wouldn’t say that the caramel flavor overall is SUPER caramely (I’m making that a word), but the three layers each compliment each other so well and give you the most delightful treat.

We won’t talk about how much of this I’ve eaten over the past two days.  Luckily, my Mom came over yesterday to bring me some stuff (and we went to Luna’s – she had never been) so I sent her home with some of it too 🙂