Lolly Cake
I don't know about you, but lolly cake was always the slice I gravitated towards as a kid and teen, but when I became more health conscious and realised that malt biscuits, condensed milk and Eskimo lollies were less than nourishing, I tried to make better choices. But the other day I decided I shouldn't have to miss out and decided to healthify it.
Despite looking similar, this version is obviously a lot less sweet, but it a delicious combination of chewy fruit and crunchy nuts. I feel like this could be something I make again at Christmas too, as it looked rather festive as well! Like the majority of my recipes, they are many easy substitutions such as a different nut butter, nut or dried fruit. It's adaptable to your own tastes and I've tried it with chopped dates, dried blueberries and walnuts and it was fabulous!
This slice will keep in the fridge all week wrapped in baking paper or in a glass container, and is perfect cut up in lunch boxes or as a sweet something after dinner.
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups almond meal
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 cup almond butter (can use cashew or peanut butter also)
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted (can use butter)
1/3 cup rice malt syrup (can use maple syrup or honey)
1 Tbsp tapioca flour
4 pieces dried mango
1/4 cup pistachio nuts
1/4 cup dried cranberries (can use raisins)
Directions:
In a small bowl, combine the melted coconut oil, almond butter and rice malt syrup and whisk until silky smooth. You can also use an immersion blender for a faster result.
In a large bowl, add almond meal, vanilla essence and tapioca flour.
Pour wet ingredients into flour mix and use your hands to combine.
Add mango, pistachio and cranberries to the lolly base and mix well to ensure the 'lollies' are evenly distributed (if you get clumps of fruit and nuts the roll will not hold together when sliced).
Pour mixture out onto a sheet of baking paper and use your hands to roll into a long log.
Wrap the log up in the baking paper and place in the fridge for 2 hours to cool.
Remove from the fridge and slice to desired thickness. I suggest nothing smaller than 1cm slices, as it may crumble if too thin.
Lolly cake will keep in the fridge for a week and freezes well for up to 3 months.
