22 Oct Chocolate Biscuit Cake with Sweet Kelp (vegan)

This recipe came from Margaret at Connemara Organic Seaweed www.connemaraseaweedcompany.ie and with a couple of tiny tweaks I have her permission to share it. Sweet Kelp is a dried seaweed with a mild taste which can be used as a seasoning or in this case in a sweet recipe. Kelp is a great source of vitamins A, B1, B2,D and E and minerals  Zinc, iodine, magnesium and potassium, calcium and copper. It is very high in Calcium in a natural concentration 10 times higher than milk. Sprinkle on your soups, stews and salads in small amounts or add small amounts to cakes and biscuits.

Base
150g ground almonds
2 tbsp coconut oil melted
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp maple syrup
1 tbsp sweet kelp, finely chopped

Chocolate layer
150g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
100g peanut butter
2 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp maple syrup

Mix the almonds and coconut oil in your food processor and add the salt and seaweed at the end and pulse so it all comes together.
Line a small baking tin (7 inch approx) with greaseproof paper – overlap the paper so you can lift the biscuit out once it is cooked.
Press the mixture evenly into the tin. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the tin when the paper is cool enough to handle, peel away the paper by placing another cooling rack or small chopping board over and invert then cool on a wire rack. Replace the paper back into the tin.
Melt the chocolate and the peanut butter in a bowl suspended over a saucepan of boiling water. Don’t et the bowl touch the water. Stir in the oil and syrup. Using oven gloves remove the bowl from the saucepan when completely melted and allow to cool for a few minutes.
When the biscuit layer is completely cold roughly break up and stir gently into the chocolate mixture.
Spoon or pour back into the tin and press down firmly to level. Place in the fridge for an hour or longer if necessary.
When completely cold and set, lift out with the paper and cut into squares.
Store in an airtight container for a week or two in the fridge.