A german classic made vegan
We also remember some tastes from our childhood. Mama’s rice pudding or grandma’s soup, for example.
One of these recipes for me are the classic nut bars. As a teenager I loved eating them and at some point later I was glad to be able to make them myself. Now we’ve veganized them and what can I say: We don’t miss anything!
What we like best is the mixture of ground and chopped nuts on top and the contrast to the slightly tart chocolate. The different textures of the nut bars make it an even bigger pleasure to enjoy.
How to prepare the vegan nut bars:
First, the light base of our nut bars is prepared. This consists of a shortcrust pastry that we knead together from flour, cold, vegan butter, some salt and a little water. If you divide the butter into small cubes or flakes beforehand, you will have a little easier kneading.
When the dough is well kneaded, it goes into the fridge and can rest until it is used.
In the meantime, the top layer of the nut bars is prepared. For this you need a pot in which you melt vegan butter over medium heat and add the chopped and ground nuts. But also sugar, maple syrup, some vanilla and water. The nut mixture is heated until everything is evenly combined. Then you can take them off the stove and preheat the oven to 180° top/bottom heat.
Now the shortcrust pastry from the fridge is used and pressed onto the baking tray or mold. It is helpful to set up a baking frame. You should also make sure that the batter is distributed evenly and thickly on the baking sheet. Then the apricot jam is spread on the shortcrust pastry. Apply a layer that is as even as possible. On top of that comes our nut mixture, which is also distributed evenly on the base and the apricot jam.
Then the whole thing goes in the oven until the top layer is golden brown. This is the case after about 30 minutes. Then remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes.
Then separate the edge of the pastry along the baking frame and carefully remove the baking frame. It helps to run a wet knife along the edge.
You can now cut the characteristic triangles without a baking frame. First cut even rectangles and divide them diagonally into triangles. Finally, the chocolate is melted in a water bath and the tops of the nut corners are dipped in the chocolate. After the chocolate has set, you can enjoy your homemade nut corners straight away! However, if stored in a tin, they will keep for quite a while.
If the preparation of nut bars is too time-consuming for you, how about a simple marble cake or a vegan cheesecake?
A little hint:
Even if you’re not a big fan of apricot jam, you shouldn’t miss it here! It provides a slight acidity that rounds off the taste, but also ensures that the nut bars remain juicy and soft.
An additional tip is that the chocolate is easier to work with and spreads thinner if you add a teaspoon of coconut oil while melting and stir. If you now also use the deodorized variant of coconut fat, you will certainly not taste any coconut flavor later.
Vegan german nut bars
Ingredients
shortcrust
- 230 g spelled flour
- 80 g sugar
- 130 g vegetable butter
- 1 pinch of salt
- 3 tbsp water as needed
topping
- 90 g apricot jam
- 200 g vegan butter
- 5 tbsp water
- 170 g sugar
- 1 dash of vanilla extract (alternatively use vanilla sugar & less sugar)
- 30 g maple syrup
- 400 g nuts (200g chopped hazelnuts, 200g ground almonds)
chocolate glaze
- 150 g vegan chocolate or glaze
Instructions
- For the dough, cut the cold vegetable butter into small cubes so that it is easier to knead with your hands.
- Then put the flour, sugar, butter and a pinch of salt in a large bowl and knead with your hands to form a homogeneous shortcrust pastry. Rub the butter between your fingers. If necessary, you can add a little more cold water a tablespoon at a time.
- Leave the finished dough to rest in the fridge. In the meantime you can prepare the topping.
- For the topping, heat the plant-based butter, water, sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract and nuts in a saucepan until the sugar has dissolved. Then set aside.
- Set up a baking frame and press the shortcrust pastry evenly onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
- Now spread the apricot jam on the light dough.
- Spread the nut mixture over the layer of apricot jam, making sure it is evenly distributed.
- Bake everything in the oven at 180° top/bottom heat. After approx. 30 minutes the surface should have taken on the characteristic colour. Then remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes.
- While the it is still warm, cut the rectangular into many even squares and then cut them in half again diagonally to form the desired triangles.
- Then melt the chocolate in a water bath. Just before it has completely dissolved, remove from the heat.
- Now take the individual corners and, depending on your preference, dip the corners into the chocolate or sprinkle them with a spoon. It is best to place it on a drip tray.
- When the chocolate is set, you can eat it or put it in an airtight container and wait for use.
