“Often, the less there is to justify a traditional custom, the harder it is to get rid of it.” Mark Twain
Amen, Brother. And a darn good example of this, is the one tradition my family seems to be fairly consistent with – which is, buying my dad a turtle pie for father’s day and his birthday. Come rain or shine, there is a turtle pie. No rhyme, no reason, we just do it.
So, in lieu of it being my dad’s birthday this past week, I decided to mix things up a bit and create a raw version of his very beloved Baskin and Robbins turltle pie.
Brownie Base
1 C walnuts (mill in food processor)
1 C almonds (mill in food processor)
.75 C cacao
.5 C maple syrup *
4-5 dates
1 tsp of vanilla
.5 tsp of Sea salt
* As I was processing I added (in addition to the .5 cup) a few more tablespoons to keep things moving. If you are dehydrating, a slightly wet batter won’t be a problem.
Process all ingredients in a food processor until smooth, making sure not to over process (which will create excess oil). Press mixture in a small baking pan. Note; to make life a bit easier, line with saran wrap (clearly, I forgot).
Pecan Layer
1 C pecans
Using a food processor, pulse pecans until roughly chopped. Press chopped pecans into brownie mixture and place in dehydrator at 105 degrees for about 8 hours. This will dry up the brownie base a bit and give the pecans a slightly toasted flavor. However, if you are without a dehydrator, don’t worry, just throw it in the fridge and move on to the next step!
Caramel Sauce
1 C of dates (soaked)
.25 C of maple syrup
1 T of coconut oil
1 t vanilla extract
dash of lemon juice
dash of salt
In a food processor (or blender if you double the batch) process ingredients until smooth. After dehydrating the pecan and brownie base, spread caramel evenly on top. Place in fridge for a few hours (to firm up).
Chocolate Topping
.5 C melted cacao butter
.5 C cacao powder
1 T coconut oil
.25 C maple syrup
Melt Cacao butter using dehydrator. Whisk in remaining ingredients. Cover caramel layer with chocolate sauce and evenly spread out. To smooth out ridges, place pan in dehydrator for about 30 minutes or so (optional).
Using a hot knife (No, I don’t mean stolen. Instead, run blade under hot water) trim edges. After edges are trim, cut into 12 brownie sized pieces.
And viola, that’s it! Aren’t the layers beautifully tempting?!
Screw Baskin and Robbins, they ain’t got nothing on this 
