Carob has a softness that cocoa never quite manages. It’s mellow and a little caramelly, with none of that bitter edge, and it turns this slice a deep toffee brown that looks far richer than it actually is. I developed this one for the people who walk into our kitchen asking for the comfort of a chocolate slice without the sugar crash that usually follows an hour later.
The almond meal does the heavy lifting here. It keeps everything moist and gives the slice a tender, slightly fudgy crumb that holds together but still yields under a fork. The grated apple melts into the batter and quietly does the work of half the sweetener, while the orange juice and zest lift the whole thing so it never sits heavy on the tongue. Blueberries dot through it and burst into little pockets of tartness as it bakes, which is the bit I look forward to most when I cut the first square.
What I love about it is how plain the process is. One bowl of dry, one bowl of wet, then you fold them together and that’s that. No creaming butter, no waiting for anything to come to room temperature, no electric beaters to wash up afterwards. You’ll have it in the oven in roughly the time it takes the kettle to boil, and out again before you’ve finished your cup of tea.
The colour is the giveaway that something good is happening. As the carob and cinnamon warm through, the kitchen fills with a smell that’s somewhere between toasted nuts and gingerbread, and the top sets to a matte, cocoa-dark finish that crackles very slightly when you press it. Don’t be tempted to leave it in longer chasing a firmer middle. It carries on cooking as it rests in the tin, and a slice that’s just set in the centre stays fudgy rather than drying out.
This is the slice I reach for when I want something that earns its place at afternoon tea but doesn’t leave anyone groggy by four o’clock. It’s naturally gluten free, sweetened mostly by fruit and a modest drizzle of honey, and substantial enough that one square genuinely holds you. Children tend to love it, which I take as the highest compliment a carob bake can be paid, since they’re the first to sniff out anything pretending to be chocolate.
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 2 cups almond meal
- ½ cup coconut flour
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- ¼ cup carob
- 1 tsp lucuma powder (optional)
Wet ingredients
- 5 eggs
- 1 apple grated
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- ¼ cup orange juice + zest
- 2 tsp vanilla
- ½ cup blueberries
Cashew Cream
- 1 ½ cups raw cashew nuts (soak for 30 mins)
- 1/3 cup coconut water
- 3 tbls maple syrup or coconut nectar
- 1 tsp vanilla
Method
- Preheat oven 180˚C. Lightly spray a 20cm square cake tin and line with baking paper.
- Combine almond meal, coconut flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, carob and lucuma powder in mixing bowl. In a separate mixing bowl combine eggs, honey coconut oil, orange juice and zest, vanilla and blueberries. Gradually add wet mix to dry mix and combine together.
- Pour mix in baking tray bake for 15 mins approx. Serves 10.
Cashew Cream method
- Blend together until smooth.
Serves 10.
Serving, make-ahead and a few small swaps
The way we plate this at Golden Door is the way I’d always suggest at home: a thick slab with a generous spoon of the cashew cream, a scatter of fresh blueberries and strawberries, and a few torn mint leaves over the top. The cream is what tips it from a snack into something you’d happily serve after dinner. It blends up glossy and pourable while the slice cools, and a little goes a long way, so don’t drown the square in it.
It keeps beautifully, which makes it a sensible thing to bake on a quiet Sunday. Let it cool fully in the tin first, then store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. Here’s my small confession, from someone whose whole job is championing things fresh from the oven: day-two carob slice is genuinely better. The cinnamon settles in, the crumb firms just enough to slice cleanly, and the flavour reads deeper and more caramelly. You can freeze the squares too. Wrap them individually, lay them flat, and you’ve got an afternoon-tea answer for weeks. They thaw on the bench in under an hour, or overnight in the fridge for a packed lunchbox.
The recipe is forgiving once you understand what each part is doing. If you’re out of carob, raw cacao steps in happily, though it bakes up a touch more bitter, so taste your batter and add a little extra honey if you like. No lucuma powder? Leave it out altogether. It’s there for a gentle maple note rather than for structure, so the slice won’t miss it. Frozen blueberries work straight from the freezer, but fold them in last and lightly, or they’ll streak the batter a moody purple. For something even quicker, press the same flavours into our breakfast balls or the raw chia energy bars, both of which sit happily alongside this on a platter. If carob has won you over, the chia and carob cake is the natural next bake, and for a creamy, no-bake finish to a meal the macadamia and strawberry cheesecake is a quiet showstopper. Almonds and other whole foods are a sound everyday choice, and Nutrition Australia has plain, practical guidance on building balanced meals around them, while Better Health Channel is worth a read on getting enough fibre.
– Mei Lin, Golden Door Living kitchen
