Saturday, July 22, 2017

Vegan-friendly mint chocolate refrigerator slice

I struggled with the naming of this slice. I could have called it a tiffin, the English term for a no-bake chocolate slice with biscuits and dried fruit. However, I wasn't sure it was quite chocolatey enough. I could have called it a hedgehog, the Australian term for a no-bake chocolate slice with biscuits and coconut. However, I wasn't sure it was quite cake-y enough and it is definitely not coconutty enough (not coconutty at all, in fact). I could have called this a chocolate fridge cake, because that's what it was called in the recipe I adapted. However, my version is definitely a slice and not a cake. And so - refrigerator slice it is.


The good news is, it doesn't matter what you call this. The slice is delicious. It takes a simple concept (chocolate + biscuits in slice form) and adds mint to beautiful effect. I am not sure I'll go back to non-minty equivalents now.


I adapted this from a Guardian Food recipe for mint and pistachio chocolate fridge cake. I made quite a few adaptations, the most obvious being to omit the pistachios (Mr Bite isn't a fan of nuts) and greatly reduce the golden syrup and butter (no doubt why my version is a slice and not a cake). Of course, I also use non-dairy spread instead of dairy butter. However, I credit the concept to the original recipe and am grateful for the inspiration.

I used the mint-flavoured dark chocolate by Green and Black in this. Any mint chocolate would work, although one that doesn't have a cream mint filling is recommended.


Mint chocolate refrigerator slice
Makes about 12 slices
Vegan

Author: Bite-sized thoughts, adapted from a Guardian Food recipe for mint and pistachio chocolate fridge cake (8th July 2017)


Ingredients
100g mint-flavoured dark chocolate, broken into squares (I used Green and Black, which is only moderately dark but is dairy free)
2 tbsp golden syrup
2 tbsp non-dairy spread
1 tbsp cocoa powder
8 pitted dates, chopped
150g / approximately 10 vegan-friendly digestive biscuits (I recently discovered that Morrison's own brand is vegan-friendly) - or sub in plain biscuits of choice, or Graham Crackers if you're American

Method
Line a small square baking tin or loaf tin with non-stick paper.

Combine the chocolate, golden syrup and non-dairy spread in a heat proof bowl and heat on low power in the microwave or over a saucepan of simmering water, until the chocolate is melted. Stir in the cocoa powder and dates.

Break up your biscuits using a rolling pin or cup, or by hand. You want some crumbs and some pieces up to the size of your fingernails. 

Add the crushed biscuits to the chocolate mix and stir through.

Transfer the mix to your prepared tin and set in the refrigerator for 4 or so hours before cutting into slices. Store in the refrigerator.

Do you have a favourite tiffin / hedgehog / refrigerator slice recipe? If you're interested in a more classic tiffin, I have shared a dark chocolate tiffin recipe previously.

7 comments:

  1. Ah you amuse me :) yes finding names of recipes is sometimes hard so we veer towards what is close, even though perhaps it is not that close. They indeed look good, shame Mr Bite does not like pistachio nuts as I am making a Courgette Pistachio cake right now and its in the oven being baked as I type. I must confess I don't think i have ever done a tiffin, maybe at Uni when I was a student but I don't recall so don't have a fave tiffin style recipe to share.

    ReplyDelete
  2. we had hedgehog yesterday at a party and it was really good and coconutty but I never think of it as cakey - more chocolatey - but then I find it hard to understand the difference between tiffin and hedgehog and fridge cake and use the terms interchangably which perhaps is also indiscriminately - though I think I know what you means about tiffin being more chocolate. Anyway yours sounds lovely esp with a bit of mint.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've actually never heard of "slice" or "tiffin" or "hedgehog" before! It sounds amazing whatever you call it. It's like what you said to me about my cheese fries, it's amazing how different English speaking countries can be in their foods! I totally want a slice now. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I would still call it a tiffin - it definitely looks tiffiny to me. I don't know why, but I think as biscuits is what makes a tiffin a tiffin! Whatever you call it, it looks delicious to me.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I literally started having hunger pangs halfway through the post. It looks amazing and I bet it also tastes delicious too. It is the perfect dish to cook up in this season. I can’t wait to try it . Looking forward to reading more delectable recipes in the upcoming posts.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Vegan-friendly mint chocolate refrigerator slices yummy and best for dessert too. I will make this real soon and will share my experience with you

    ReplyDelete

I genuinely appreciate all comments and the time taken to post them. Occasionally, I may need to restrict commenting to registered users in order to halt large volumes of spam. If that happens, I will lift the restriction within a week.

Want other ways to interact? Bite-sized thoughts is on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/bitesizedthoughts) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/bitesizethought).