I have a confession to make… I have a bit of a sweet tooth….

Don’t we all? Even those who don’t admit it?

Well I’ve always always had sweet tooth and I’m guessing I always will. Back in my ‘junk food addict days’ I used to eat lollies and lots of them, but these days when the sweet tooth rears its head I satisfy it with some sweet juicy fruit or occasionally something homemade, usually raw and delicious.

One of the lollies that I used to really like was Jaffas. Do you know them?

They’re the little round balls, red in colour, orange in flavour, hard and crunchy on the outside with creamy chocolate inside….

Mmmmmm…..

Sadly I’ve not had any Jaffas (or other factory produced sweets) for a few years now but I’m still rather partial to that orange and chocolate combination and so this raw chocolate and orange slice satisfies the cravings while providing healthy fats, great nutrition and flavours that even the biggest junk food addict is likely to enjoy.

This slice is also:

• grain free
• dairy free
• gluten free
• egg free
• vegan friendly
• and paleo friendly!

Base:

1 cup of ground nuts or nut butter (I used macadamias and cashews)

30 dates (small Iranian or probably half that if using medjools)

3/4 cup of coconut flour

1/2 cup of coconut oil (melted)

Rind of one orange

Chocolate topping:

1 cup organic chocolate wafers

Pinch of salt

4 tablespoons of coconut sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4-6 drops of organic orange essential oil

I used my Samson juicer to mince the nuts and dates. It really does an awesome job of it producing a paste from each that’s easy to combine, but if you don’t have a Samson then use a blender or food processor to chop and blend the nuts and dates as finely as possible.

Combine the minced nuts and dates with the coconut flour, coconut oil and orange rind.

Press down firmly into a dish or tin. I find a silicon tray works well for this type of thing because they’re flexible, there’s no baking required and the slice comes out easily.

Refrigerate or freeze until firm.

Now place the chocolate wafers* into a double boiler or if you don’t have one, do as I did and place a bowl over a pot of boiling water to melt the chocolate.

*Changing Habits cacao wafers are pure, organic chocolate. Nothing added, nothing taken away. Instead of the chocolate being seperated as it normally is into cacao powder and cacao butter, this product keeps them combined - perfectly.

Once the chocolate is melting add the coconut sugar and vanilla. Stir to combine and continue until melted.

You could use replace the coconut sugar with another sweetener if preferred.

Once melted add the organic sweet orange oil and spread over the base.

Return to the fridge and leave for a few hours to set.

Cut it up, share it out and enjoy. :)