Salted Caramel Turtle Vegan Cheesecake Bars
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These Salted Caramel Turtle Vegan Cheesecake Bars mark the 1st Fall Flavored recipe of 2020! And they are UNREAL! On my journey to make the perfect vegan and refined sugar-free caramel, these babies were born and I swear to God, I’ve truly outdone myself! **Shamelessly pats myself on the back** But all joking aside these are equal parts gooey, creamy, and crunchy. They are completely Vegan, Refined Sugar-free, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, & Paleo. They weigh in at ONLY 356 CALS a slice!! Which beats the 1320 CALORIE Salted Caramel Pecan Turtle from Cheesecake Factory (a thats for 1 slice)!! Plus there’s no guilt with any added extra sugar or junk added in, all real, whole foods from the earth! ENJOY! I’m off to have a slice for breakfast with no guilt :)
There’s something about an up-close picture of runny, gooey caramel LOL. The STAR of this recipe is definitely the homemade vegan caramel! I was always intimidated by making homemade caramel but it turns out it’s extremely easy and fast! This caramel would be good on just about anything! And I already have a long list of recipes brewing in my head to use it on… vegan caramel apple cake anyone?!! But this recipe is definitely going to probably go down as one of my favorites using this caramel. I’m a sucker for salted caramel anything, and it always reminds me of fall time. I did a poll on my Instagram (@evitaeats) asking which one did everyone prefer, Pumpkin or Salted Caramel??… and salted caramel won by a landslide which was a shocker to me!! (Don’t worry there’s going to be TONS of pumpkin recipes coming for all my die hard pumpkin lovers out there) I was pleasantly surprised, but for me salted caramel is always the winner between the 2. The classic sweet and salty combo is too die for, then I added in some vegan chocolate and pecans to give it a turtle vibe. You’ll just have to try yourself, but I can’t rant and rave enough about these.
The base of this vegan cheesecake starts with a no-bake crust made of dates, pecans, and sea salt. All you need is those 3 ingredients and a food processor (preferred option) or high speed blender. Then followed by the cheesecake filling. I use my go-to “plain” cheesecake filling recipe that I use in most of my vegan cheesecake variations. It is tangy, creamy and you will be shocked that it’s dairy free! And finally topped with a hefty topping of vegan caramel, pecans, chocolate, and a sprinkle of flakey sea salt! I always use Maldon Brand Sea Salt Flakes because the quality is amazing and it’s soft enough that you can crush it up for smaller flakes. Also one small box with last you a year, at least, because a little goes a lonnnng way. You can get a box HERE. This recipe makes 9 pretty large slices. You can easily split them in half for 18 mini servings (That would cut the calories in half too :))
ingredients:
BASE:
-1 cup pecans
-About 14 Dates; soaked in boiling water for 1 hour
-1/4 tsp Maldon Sea Salt
FILLING:
-3/4 cup cashews; soaked in water over night
-1/2 can coconut cream (solid part only; discard liquid)
-2 tbsp grade-a pure maple syrup
-2 tbsp lemon juice (squeezed from a fresh lemon)
-2 tbsp coconut oil; melted and cooled to room temp.
-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
-Pinch of sea salt
CARAMEL:
-1/3 cup coconut cream
-2 tbsp grade-a pure maple syrup
-2 tbsp coconut sugar
-Pinch of sea salt
-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
CHOCOLATE SAUCE:
-2 tbsp Lily’s Dark Chocolate Baking Chips
-1/2 tsp coconut oil
TOPPINGS:
-1/4 cup pecans; roughly chopped
-1 hefty sprinkle of Maldon Sea Salt
instructions:
1. Line a 8 x 8 baking tin with parchment paper.
2. First prepare the crust. Add base ingredients to a food processor or high speed blender. Blend/process until it forms a crumbly consistency. Press mixture down firmly into prepared baking tin. Place in freezer to firm up while preparing filling.
3. Next add all of the filling ingredients to a blender and blend until completely smooth, about 5 minutes total (I set an alarm and just let it blend until the timer runs out)
4. Pour filling mixture over prepared crust, place into freezer as you make the caramel.
5. In a medium saucepan, over medium-low heat all the caramel ingredients except for the vanilla extract, stirring often.
6. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring often, until it is a thick consistency. If it’s runny, it’s not ready.
7. Remove saucepan for heat and add in vanilla extract and stir. Let cool completely (about 20 min) on the counter and then pour over top of cheesecake.
8. Next, in a small bowl add in chocolate chips and coconut oil and microwave and stir in 20 second intervals until completely melted and liquid. Drizzle over the caramel layer.
9. Lastly, top the cheesecake with chopped pecans and a few pinches of Maldon Large Flake Sea Salt.
10. Place in freezer to set for at least 6-8 hours. Before serving and slicing, place on counter to defrost slightly for about 20 minutes. Slice into 9 pieces. ENJOY!
MAKES 9 SLICES/ APPROX. 356 CALS PER SLICE WITH TOPPING
VEGAN/ PALEO/ DAIRY-FREE/ GLUTEN-FREE/ GRAIN-FREE/ REFINED SUGAR-FREE
