Bajadera

From: tortekolaci.com 

Bajadera

Author: Marijana Milic

Translation, with added kitchen notes provided by Rachel Nedic

Helpful Tools:

• digital kitchen scale

• food processor

• whisk(s)

• rubber spatula(s)

• measuring cup with metric measurements

Ingredients:

• 2 dl (200 ml) water

• 300 gr sugar

• 250 gr margarine (I used organic virgin coconut oil instead)

• 100 gr chocolate (I used dark chocolate; semi-sweet, dairy-free chocolate chips)

• 300 gr ground dairy-free biscuits  (I used Lotus brand. Each package is 250 grams, so you need a         whole package plus about 6.5 biscuits)

• 150 gr ground walnuts (very finely ground, to the point of nut-butter yeilds a smooth, melt-in-your-mouth could-eat-half-a-pan taste.)

• 150 gr ground hazelnuts (also very finely ground)

Glaze:

• 200 gr chocolate

• 6 tablespoons oil (I used vegetable oil)

Directions:

Over low/medium heat, disolve sugar in the 2 dl of water. Add margarine (or coconut oil). When the margarine/oil has melted, add the ground biscuits, hazelnuts and walnuts. Remove from heat, mix well.  Remove 2 cups (slightly less than half) of the mixture. Melt the 100 gr. of chocolate and stir into the 2 cups of biscuit/nut mixture.
Line a 13x9 pan with plastic wrap. Spread the chocolate mixture in the pan evenly.

(Note: The original recipe does not say this, but I found it helpful to place the pan in the fridge and let the chocolate layer firm up a bit before adding the light layer. If you decide to use coconut oil like I did, you will need to put it in the refrigerator to keep the two layers from combining) 

Next, spread the light layer evenly, then allow to cool. (Mine went back into the fridge again.)

Prepare the glaze.  Melt the 200 gr. of chocolate with the oil (a whisk is a helpful tool here), and pour over the top. Place in fridge to firm up. Cut into desired shapes and serve. Store any leftovers (there probably won’t be any) in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!