Every once in a while I want to try to recreate some of the very difficult Romanian desserts that I grew up with. My mum actually does not enjoy being in the kitchen but you would never know because her desserts are next-level good! She makes all the super complicated stuff that you would find in a French patisserie. Romanian desserts are quite similar to French ones in my opinion and are just as difficult to make! I have never been able to successfully make a traditional dessert and I don’t really want to either because as yummy as they are, they aren’t very healthy and the sugar doesn’t make me feel good.
This dessert was my initial attempt to recreate a healthy version of a dessert my mum used to make calked cremjnit. It was a thin layer of pastry with a thick slab of vanilla custard topped with more think pastry and coated in dark chocolate sauce. I’m the end my dessert turned out nothing like it because there is zero pastry involved. It genuinely turned out nothing as I had hoped, I even considered not blogging it, but I shared some with friends and they all loved it and convinced me to share it anyway.
The one thing I like about this recipe is that I did manage to make the custard part stand up firm, like a traditional thick custard (tastes nothing like it though) and I think it may be a technique I’ll be using again for different desserts. The custard is tofu-based and the base is nut-based. It’s quite easy to make, with fewer steps than lots of other vegan deserts but does not freeze well. Goes very icy when frozen and doesn’t thaw. It’s a dessert that should be set in the fridge and eaten fairly quickly, within 3 days or so because over time the tofu lets off water.
I feel like I haven’t done a great job selling this dessert, that’s because it’s not one of my favourites but we are all different so I’m hoping someone out there will love this and make it on repeat.
The recipe is dairy-free, gluten-free and refined sugar-free.
| Vegan Chocolate Vanilla Custard Slice | Print |
- BASE:
- 1 cup almonds
- ½ cup raw buckwheat grouts
- ½ cup pitted dates
- 2 TBSP cacao powder
- CUSTARD:
- 2 x 300g packets organic silken tofu
- 4 TBSP maple syrup
- ½ cup melted cacao butter
- drop vanilla extract
- TOPPING:
- dark chocolate shavings
- For the base: add the almonds and buckwheat grouts to a food processor and break down until the form a course crumb. Add the dates and cacao powder and blitx again until the mixture sticks together.
- Press down evenly on to the base of a lined square baking tin, Set aside.
- For the custard, melt down the cacao butter on low heat until liquid, place in blender along with all other filling ingredients and blend until smooth.
- Pour over base and place in the fridge to set (not freezer) for about 4 hours or overnight.
- Add chocolate shavings and slice into squares. Stores in the fridge but should be eaten within 3 days as the tofu gives off water.
