It's very wintery here today, which I guess is expected for February. I'm tired of it though. I'm ready to walk outside bare foot in the soft green grass with the sun charging me up with lots of Vitamin D. I think I'll still be waiting a while for that to happen. Currently, I am sitting on the couch under about 3 blankets and eating some Orange Creme Sorbet as I write this. Freezing temperatures can't stop me from eating or creating delicious frozen treats. But they can stop me from moving from under these blankets for the next little while. When I made these the other day I intended for them to be something completely different than they are. But halfway through making them I realized that I ran out of a few key ingredients. I actually ran out of oats earlier this week and haven't had oatmeal for the past few days either. Man, it's a rough life. Thankfully tomorrow's grocery shopping day. Anyways! I was frustrated with myself for "ruining and wasting" what I already had made. So I threw a few other things together and came up with these Double Caramel Cream Cups.
Can you believe that there are only 7 ingredients used in these. That's right! Seven ingredients combined as one to create a beautiful raw vegan symphony in your mouth. The base layer is just a simple chocolate ice cream. The middle layer is a smooth, rich caramel that will send your taste buds to the moon. And the top layer is the creme layer which is exactly that. Made from two ingredients; maple syrup and almonds. Hello Vitamin E; hello beautiful skin! Everything in these will smile and glisten brighter than the snow coating my yard as I type this. You'll dream of eating these little guys all day long.
Double Caramel Creme Cups
makes 24 cups
Chocolate Layer:
2 cups cashews, soaked
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 tablespoons cacao
In a blender or food processor, blend together ingredients. Fill a mini cupcake pan lined with papers with just enough chocolate to fill paper 1/3 of the way. Place in freezer to set up; about a half hour.
Middle Caramel Layer:
1 and 1/2 cup dates
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Blend together ingredients in blender or food processor. When chocolate layer is set up, cover with caramel and place in the freezer to set up again; about a half hour.
Top Creme Layer:
1 cup almonds
1/2 cup maple syrup
Blend together ingredients and fill cups to the top with creme. Place in freezer once more to set up completely; about 2 hours.
Remove from freezer. Serve, enjoy!
Store these in the freezer for best results. Remove from freezer about 10-20 minutes before serving.
You will most likely have some chocolate ice cream and caramel left over. I mixed them together and froze it just to have for a bowl of ice cream here and there. If you're feeling lazy though (which is totally okay!) and don't want to take the time to make the individual ice cream cups, then you can freeze it all in a large bowl and make eat it by the scoopful. Mountains of ice cream!
