It’s not really a stretch to call this gluten-free vegan date slice ‘the best’ – they are so freakin’ delicious, that if they aren’t the best then they’re up there with the best hahaha – for real!

What makes these gluten-free vegan date slices so good?

For a three layered sweet treat, they are actually surprizingly simple to make, when you get the hang of how to create to pastry (I do recommend that you take a quick peek at the video for extra tips and a good visual though). The filling is erm… dates and vanilla extract. I mean, you don’t get much more simple than that.

The crust is gluten-free, created using rice flour and tapioca flour. You basically NEED to combine gluten-free flours to get the desired effect. It is more than worth getting them in stock. These flours are easy to order online if you can’t get them in your local shop. The flours are bound together using a little maple syrup and coconut oil. It’s crazy simple.

Tips for creating the gluten-free vegan date slice pastry…

I’ve watched people make this in my workshops and realise that it works perfectly and easily but ONLY if instructions are followed. If you follow the instructions then the pastry is going to work like some magical alchemically. If, however, you start treating it like it is regular wheat pastry, then it is going to frustrate you. So forget about how you might handle wheat pastry, this gluten-free pasty doesn’t have all that bindy-gluey stuff in it and wants to be handled with eloquence.

Things to bear in mind…

1. The  gluten-free vegan date slice pastry is designed to be PRESSED into the parchment-lined baking tin. You are not going to roll it like you woud if it was wheat.
2. The pastry is going to seem crumbly when pressing and you are going to want to add more oil. RESIST THAT TEMPTATION 😉 It is meant to be delicate during the creation process – this is normal. It WILL solidify to perfection after cooking and cooling. Trust the process. You can look forward to a gorgeous melt-in-the-mouth shortbread texture.

Please watch my short video for a super helpful gluten-free vegan date slice visual guide…

The pastry is super easy to make once you get the hang of it. However, it is super helpful to watch me do it for the first time so that you’ll get it spot on – so I recommend watching my video here first…

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Date Shortbread Slices - gluten-free vegan style

Yield: 8 slices

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

A delicious, easy gluten-free, plant-based shortbread date slice. Made with simple ingredients. Sweetened naturally with dates and maple syrup. A lovely melt-in-the-mouth pastry.

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Ingredients

Date layer ingredients

• 150g (1 cup) chopped organic dates
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pastry ingredients

• 75g (½ cup) rice flour
• 75g (½ cup) tapioca flour or starch
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil (melted)

Instructions

1. Soak the chopped dates in water for 10 to 15 minutes. This is to make them blendable or mashable. You can use whole pitted dates instead, but may need to soak for longer (basically until you can squish them together with your fingers). Put dates to the side as they soak and make the pastry.
2. Measure the rice and tapioca flours and put in a mixing bowl.
3. Melt the coconut oil.
4. Add the coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla extra to the bowl and mix everything together thoroughly. I start this with a spoon and then finish off with my hands until everything is evenly combined. PLEASE NOTE: the consistency of the flour will still be fragile and a little crumbly, even when perfectly combined. This is normal. Please see video for visual on pastry. It will solidify to perfection once baked and cooled.
5. Line a round tin (about 8inches/20cm in diameter) with parchment paper.
6. Save a small handful on the pastry mixture (this will be for the crumble topping later).
7. Take the rest of the pastry mixture and press it firmly into the parchment lined tin. It is important here to 1. press firmly and 2. spread it about evenly (see video for demo).
8. Drain the dates thoroughly, add a teaspoon of vanilla extract and then pulse with a hand blender a few times until it resmbles a puree. Alternative mash with a fork if you don't have a blender.
9. Spead the date puree on top of the pastry.
10. Crumble the handful of pastry mixture (from point 6. above) on top of the date puree layer. Press down a little (this will stop it all falling off when baked).
11. Put into a pre-heated oven 180C (350F or gas mark 4) for about 25 minutes.
12. When baked place the tin on a cooling tray. The pastry will be delicate until cooled, so leave it in the tin for a while. You can speed up the cooling process by leaving in a draughty place or taking out of the tin and putting on a cool tray without tin after 10 minutes.
13. When cooled, slice and enjoy. This keeps for a few days in the fridge and also freezes well.

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More Gluten-free Vegan Sweet Treats?

For more delicious sweet treat recipes visit this section HERE: Gluten-free Vegan Sweet Treats