The Chocolate Caramel Slice is such a favourite Australian sweet treat, so it was with great pleasure that I developed a SIBO-friendly version for Donna.  She made contact with me and asked if I would develop a version that was suitable for the SIBO Bi-Phasic Diet.  After a few emails back and forth to ascertain what she could tolerate, this beauty was developed.

The SIBO Chocolate Caramel Slice uses an almond and coconut biscuit base, which is baked until crispy.  If you can't tolerate almonds, use another mild tasting nut flour that you can tolerate. The traditional slice uses sweetened condensed milk for the caramel filling, but this is off limits on a SIBO diet.  I condensed full fat coconut milk until it was nice and thick, sweetening it with a bit of honey.  Make sure you use full fat coconut milk rather than a low fat/lite version.  You want the fat content to be high, as this will help the caramel become nice and thick.  If you can't tolerate honey, use a sweetener you can tolerate. The chocolate topping was made from a mixture of coconut oil, raw cacao powder and stevia.  If you can find a 100% cacao chocolate that hasn't been sweetened with sugar and doesn't contain soy, you may like to melt this and use it instead of a coconut oil topping.

While not as sickly sweet as a traditional Chocolate Caramel Slice, this treat is sure to please your taste buds while not providing too much sugar for your SIBO.  This is special occasion food and should be portioned up so you are not tempted to overeat it.  Better yet, share it with friends, family or even work colleagues.  It makes a gorgeous food gift, perfect at this time of year.

SIBO Friendly Chocolate Caramel Slice

Makes 35-45 small squares

Classification: Phase 2 Bi-Phasic Diet, Gluten Free, Grain Free, Paleo

INGREDIENTS

Base

2 cups almond meal (or another mild tasting nut flour)

¾ cup desiccated coconut (check it doesn't contain preservatives or sugar)

80g/2.8oz butter

1 ½ tbs honey (or another sweetener you can tolerate)

1 tsp vanilla

Caramel Filling

800ml/27 fluid oz full fat coconut milk

¼ cup honey (or another sweetener you can tolerate)

80g/2.8oz butter

Chocolate Topping

½ cup coconut oil, melted

½ cup raw cacao powder, sifted

⅛ - ¼ tsp natural stevia

METHOD

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a lamington/brownie tin with non-stick paper. Place the almond meal and desiccated coconut in a medium bowl.  Melt the butter and honey, add the vanilla then pour into the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly then press into the base of the tin.  Bake for 10 minutes or until cooked through and golden.  Cool completely in the tin.

Meanwhile, make the caramel. Pour the coconut milk into a heavy-bottomed saucepan.  Slowly bring to a boil.  You may need to stir it constantly as it may spit and splutter.  Reduce the heat to a low simmer, add the honey (or another sweetener), and cook for 30-45 minutes, stirring regularly, until thickened and reduced by one third to one half. Be careful not to burn the bottom as it will ruin the caramel.  Once thickened, add the butter to the mixture and stir until completely melted.  Pour into the tin and bake for 15 minutes until golden and bubbling (check out this video of what it should look like).  Remove the tin from the oven and cool completely, before transferring to the fridge to chill.

To make the chocolate topping, mix all of the ingredients together until well combined and all lumps have disappeared. Pour over the caramel and return to the fridge to set completely.

To serve, gently pry the paper away from the sides of the tin and lift the slice out.  Put on a board and cut into small squares with a sharp knife.  You can dip your knife into hot water and wipe between each slice to keep the edges nice and clean.  Keep refrigerated when not eating, as the topping can melt in warm weather.  Will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 5 days (if it lasts that long!).

Do you have a recipe you'd like me to make SIBO friendly for you?  Simply drop me an email and let me know what you need help with.