Gluten-free butterless pecan turtle bars

December 5-6, 2020

   

I've been back adjusting my butter pecan turtle bar recipe again! This time round it was to share with our book club, who were meeting up for an end-of-year celebration - in person for the first time since last February. I wanted to improve on the vegan caramel I attempted a month ago, and try introducing gluten-free flour to the base.

First, the easy bit: Orgran gluten-free flour was a simple substitution. If anything, the base came together more easily than with plain flour. The slice had that tell-tale sandiness that can give away gluten-free baked goods, and didn't quite support the toppings with the same strength. I'll continue to use plain flour when I can, and go ahead with this swap if it'll benefit the group I'm sharing with.

Second, the caramel. To replace the thin liquid of my last batch, I transferred across the thicker formulation from this caramel slice, using a can of Pandaroo coconut condensed milk. It was abundant and oozy! Mildly flavoured, holding together better when refrigerated, an improvement on my last batch but still not developing the chewiness I like best.

I guess a hybrid caramel is in order. If I try half a can of condensed milk and throw in some brown sugar, I'm hoping I'll be on my way to a more deeply coloured and flavoured, chewy-set caramel to match the original non-vegan recipe.