Who’s ready for an easy vegan holiday dessert? I know I am! I’ve had this one in my holiday recipe holster since first creating it this past summer, and have been dying for the right time to share it.
A quick note about this recipe: The pictures make it look HUGE, but it’s actually a small dessert with fairly dainty portions. I use a small 4×8-inch loaf pan. If you use a standard-size (9×5-inch) loaf pan, the dessert will have less height (but no less delicious flavour!). Hey—I’ve never complained about dessert in any shape or form, but I wanted to mention it so you don’t find yourself puzzled over a smaller-than-expected finished product.
Be sure to read my tips in the headnote and at the bottom of the recipe. You know I love to give you flexibility in your own kitchens, so this recipe is bursting with my testing notes and modifications. I actually had to cut myself off from writing more!! #nerdalert
Vegan Peppermint Patty Slice
Yield
10 small slices
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Chill time
4 to 5 hours
Total time
This peppermint patty is a showstopping dessert that's coloured naturally with spinach—though only you and I will know its nutritious secret! As an added bonus it’ll only set you back 15 minutes of prep. The filling calls for at least 4 hours of freezing time, so I like to whip it up before bed to pop in the freezer overnight. This way, all I have to do the next day is add the ganache on top and freeze it for another 10 minutes. If you’re making this dessert around the holidays, it’s delightful served with a crushed candy cane topping. My standby, year-round topping is raw cacao nibs, which also add a lovely (and nutritious!) crunch. The crunchy topping really completes the dessert, so I don’t recommend skimping on it, and be sure to serve additional cacao nibs or crushed candy cane on top of each slice before serving. Lastly, it’s important to use a very small loaf pan so the dessert has height. I use a 4x8-inch loaf pan by Baker’s Secret. You could also try making individual servings by filling a silicone cupcake mold.
Ingredients
For the filling:
- 3/4 cup (225 g) raw cashew butter*
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) pure maple syrup, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) virgin coconut oil, melted
- 6 tablespoons (90 mL) almond milk, room temperature
- 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons (5 to 7.5 mL) pure peppermint extract, or to taste**
- 1 cup (30 g) packed baby spinach***
- Pinch fine sea salt
For the chocolate ganache:
- 1/2 cup (90 g) non-dairy chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) full-fat coconut cream****
- Dash fine sea salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons raw cacao nibs or crushed candy cane, plus more for serving
- Fresh mint leaves, for garnish (optional)
Directions
- Line a small (approximately 4x8-inch) loaf pan or 6-inch cake pan with plastic wrap so the slab will be easy to lift out after freezing.
- Add all of the filling ingredients (cashew butter, maple syrup, melted oil, almond milk, 1 teaspoon peppermint extract, spinach, and salt) into a high-speed blender. Blend on high until smooth. Make sure no chunks of spinach leaves remain. Taste and add more peppermint extract if desired.
- Pour the filling into the prepared pan. Place the pan on a flat spot in the freezer and freeze for 4 to 5 hours, until the filling is solid. There’s no need to cover it unless you plan on keeping it in the freezer longer than 8 hours.
- When the filling is solid, prepare the ganache topping. In a medium pot, combine the chocolate chips, coconut cream (make sure water is drained before adding), and salt. Melt the chips over the lowest heat setting, stirring frequently, until smooth.
- Remove the filling from the freezer and, gripping the plastic wrap as a handle, lift it out of the pan. Flip the filling onto a large plate and peel off the plastic wrap.
- Pour the ganache over top of the solid filling, starting in the centre, and allow it to cascade down the sides a bit. Immediately scatter the crushed candy cane or cacao nibs all over the ganache. Return it to the freezer, uncovered, and freeze for about 10 minutes, until the ganache is firm.
- Slice and garnish with fresh mint, if you’re fancy! Sprinkle additional cacao nibs or crushed candy cane on top of each slice and enjoy immediately. Return leftovers to the freezer right away as the dessert does soften as it sits.
Tip:
* Instead of cashew butter, you can use 1 1/4 cups (180 g) of soaked raw cashews. Soak them in boiled water for 1 hour, rinse, drain, and add them into a high-speed blender (such as a Vitamix) along with the rest of the ingredients. If your blender has a hard time blending nuts smooth, I suggest that you use the raw cashew butter version instead. You can also use homemade raw cashew butter. To make your own, simply process raw cashews in a heavy-duty food processor until smooth. I don’t recommend using roasted cashew butter as it gives the slice a strong nutty flavour.
** The intensity of peppermint extracts vary by brand, so 1 1/2 teaspoons is intended as a guide—please add it slowly to taste.
*** I only recommend using spinach if your blender is good at blending leafy greens smooth. If your blender tends to leave spinach chunks in smoothies, I would suggest omitting the spinach in this recipe just to make sure you aren’t going to find spinach chunks in the slice. Or see my tip about using a food processor below.
**** Coconut cream is the solid white cream in a can of full-fat coconut milk. Chill the can overnight before using to ensure the coconut cream is solid. I like to open a mini can (160 mL) of full-fat coconut milk for this recipe; this way, there isn’t a lot left over to use up. The remaining amount is just perfect for throwing into your next smoothie!
No blender? No problem! If you have a heavy-duty food processor you can make the filling in the processor, just be warned that the spinach doesn’t break down fully (my version had some very fine green speckling resembling mint sugar), and you’ll want to run the processor for a good while to help the spinach break down as much as possible.
If you don’t have cacao nibs or crushed candy cane on hand, feel free to top the ganache with finely chopped dark chocolate.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Hello! I was wondering about a cashew free alternative?
I made these for Mother’s Day, made them in silicon mini-muffin molds and dipped the tops in chocolate; everyone LOVED them!! I’m vegan so they know there’s going to be something “weird” with my food but they never saw the spinach coming lol…thanks a million for this awesome recipe :) (I’ll try to post a pic on IG)
Hey Stacy, Love this idea! Thanks for letting me know. I’m so glad they were such a hit. I love the spinach trick too. :)
Tried this with the same amount of fresh mint leaves instead of spinach (seemed logical)
and it was really good. However, made the mistake of roasting the cashews because another site said that it releases the oils and gives a better blend….but the colour is too dark I think.
Hey Kim, thanks for sharing your experience with the peppermint patty slice :) So glad you enjoyed it even with the roasted cashews.
This look insanely good! I love, love, love the spinach in there. I know you probably used it for color, but it’s nice to sneak in those greens when no one’s watching. Especially for my kids who “don’t like vegetables”. Thank you for another fabulous recipe. I can’t wait to try it!
I think this could be my new Grasshopper Pie recipe. Just need to figure out a crust…
great idea…I’d love to hear how it goes :)
This looks delicious, but my first thought when I saw it was pistachio, not mint. So now I really want to try this, but make it pistachio flavored! Thanks for sharing! :D
I love that idea Peter :) I’d love to hear how it goes!
This has become a new family favorite, so delicious!
I’ve had this recipe on my list ever since you originally posted it and I made it for the holidays this year, except I forgot about it in the freezer until now! But ohmygosh am I glad I did, just means I don’t have to share it with anyone lol! It’s so delicious, and the ganache is so tasty and quick and easy to make, I was literally licking it out of the pot. Thank you so much for this really creative recipe, I love that you manage to sneak in healthy ingredients like spinach for the nutritional boost and the colouring, really clever. I wonder if there could be a version with orange? Chocolate and orange are my ultimate fav combo!
haha that’s hilarious…I don’t think I have ever forgotten about a dessert in the freezer! What a happy surprise. I’m so glad you love this one so much. And yes a chocolate-orange version would be so good!
I was attracted to the recipe because it said easy and I had so much to prepare for our holiday meal. Boy! this is the best discovery of 2018 for me. Everybody, vegan and not, loved it and asked for the recipe. Thank you so much for this easy, delicious, nutritious raw desert! 5 stars in my book!
Thank you Sylvie! :) I’m so happy you all loved it so much
I love your no fail proof vegan chocolate cupcakes! Can you create a recipe for vanilla cupcakes with chocolate buttercream icing? Also would love a recipe for a classic carrot cake with cream cheese frosting! I love all your recipes :) Are you planning on a third cookbook anytime soon ;)
I have been working on a vegan vanilla cupcake recipe for years (unfortunately I haven’t created one that I absolutely love as they’ve been a bit gummier than I would like!)…thanks so much for your suggestions. And yes I am working on a 3rd cookbook, very very excited about how it’s shaping up!
This recipe is incredible! It wowed everyone at my christmas party last year. Has anyone made this with other flavors, like vanilla or orange extract instead of peppermint, and no spinach? I’m thinking of trying it out
Wow, this is delicious !!!!!!!!!!!! I can ‘t hold my mouth for testing this. Mint and chocolate, superb combination. I can make my brother surprise on his birthday with this recipe. He surely will love that!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much, Angela.
Oh my! I saw the picture and made it right away. I had everything on hand already from the garden, but I didn’t have any cashew butter…I actually substituted that with silken tofu and it was perfect. I had some spinach speckles but it didn’t bother us. My 7 year old and my husband thought they were eating something super decadent and not nutritious at all ?
Hi Angela!
I am a big fan!! Thank you for your books and your fantastic app, I use them all!!
My son has a severe nut allergy, ironically, he can eat peanuts and almonds but no other nut. Many of your recipes call for cashew – can I substitute with almond across the board or will it alter the taste and/or texture?
Sending you my best and stay safe and well,
Danielle
I haven’t tried this yet but I did see another comment about using silken tofu. I’m not sure of he can have soy but if so that would be an option!
Hello Angela, I have made this recipe a number of times. I made it for my Grand daughters baby shower ( just about 3 years ago now!!) and it was a big hit. My older Grand daughter (12 at the time) helped me make this and LOVES anything chocolate and mint. It is her birthday coming up and I have decided because we are not able to be together this year:( I am going to make one just for her. A funny story….. when we made it for the shower she said let’s call it Wasabi Loaf so no one else will eat it!! That’s how much she loved it. So in our family this is not Peppermint Patty Loaf, but Wasabi Loaf. Hope this brings some smiles out there. I’d rate this a 10 if I could!!
How can I choose a Vitamix blender to buy? The link to Angela’s favourite appliances is not working. It’s overwhelming to choose!