Easy Christmas Gluten Free Desserts With Dairy Free Caramel

This time of year, having a family member with food allergies means quite a bit of extra cooking. So today, I've used a few ingredients from Happy Tummies to make some quick and easy gluten free and dairy free desserts that my kids gave the thumbs up to. 

You don't need to spend a lot of time in the kitchen to make something your kids like, and your other guests will be impressed with. There's not even a recipe to print out this week, I'd just call it 'food prep' so even those of you who are total non bakers could have a go at these!

Today I've used the fabulous Nature's Charm Coconut Caramel Sauce in every idea below. This yummy product is gluten, dairy and soy free and is also vegan! I also used the new Sweet William Dark Choc Baking Buttons. I'm really impressed with this chocolate. It's soy free unlike the other Sweet William chocolate, with not a hint of bitterness - my kids LOVE it! It's really good value for a gluten, dairy, nut and soy free chocolate too :-)

Everything here is free of gluten, wheat, dairy, soy, nuts and egg, apart from the little pre-made pastry shells - they do have dairy and egg.

So here's what I came up with:
 

1. Chocolate and caramel sauce fondue. Make sure your Nature's Charm Coconut Caramel Sauce is at room temperature for this one so it's not too thick. Melt your Sweet William Dark Choc Baking Buttons in a double boiler or in short bursts on medium in the microwave. You could make the dairy free caramel sauce thinner if you wanted by blending with a little coconut cream or milk but we liked it as is.
   
   
2. Medjool dates filled with Nature's Charm Coconut Caramel Sauce and dipped in melted Sweet William Dark Choc Baking Buttons. Simply remove the pips from the dates and fill with caramel sauce. Pop in the freezer to set on baking paper. Remove from the freezer and dip in melted chocolate. Place back on the baking paper to set. You can either pop these in the fridge or freezer, depending on how chewy you'd like them. These would look pretty sprinkled with Hopper 100s & 1000s or sprinkles.
   
   
3. These cute little gluten free tart shells by Lincoln Bakery can be used for desserts or savoury tarts - they're available in two sizes and I used the 60mm ones. Simply spoon in some Nature's Charm Coconut Caramel Sauce and pop in the fridge to set. I left mine in the plastic tray they came in which made it easy. Once the caramel sauce is chilled and firm melt some Sweet William Dark Choc Baking Buttons and pour on the top. Place in the fridge to set. I put a Biona Pomegranate Heart on the top of each tart just before the chocolate set. These little pre-made tarts do have dairy and egg.
   
   
4. WARNING: these are yummy! These delicious dairy free caramel chocolates were so easy to make and the kids LOVED them! I melted some Sweet William Dark Choc Baking Buttons and swirled it around in a silicone cupcake pan. In all honestly I did have a bit of trouble getting it to stay up the sides so next time I'd just pour some chocolate in, set the chocolate, pop on a dollop of Nature's Charm Coconut Caramel Sauce and then pour on some more melted chocolate. Set these in the fridge. I used some white Hopper Sprinkles to decorate which I sprinkled on just before they finished setting. They'd be delicious with some chopped nuts on top or inside if safe for your family, or decorated any other way that's festive :-)

So what if you were smart and ordered extra Nature's Charm Coconut Caramel Sauce? What else can you use it for?

• Warm it up and serve with your Christmas pudding
• Serve on ice cream sundaes
• Pour on the top of cheesecakes
• Swirl through cheesecakes or raw desserts
• Sandwich together biscuits with it
• Pop in in between cake layers
• Serve with pancakes

You can order what you need to make today's festive 'food prep' ideas here.

Enjoy! Lisa x