These Dark Chocolate Miso Caramel Cups are the ultimate salty sweet treat. With a chewy tahini base layer and gooey miso caramel all sandwiched between two layers of dark chocolate. And of course, finished off with a pinch of flaky sea salt. Made with real, simple ingredients, they’re completely vegan and naturally gluten free!

If you couldn’t tell, I love a good salty sweet snack. Especially one with miso and chocolate—the ultimate combo in my opinion. It sounds a little funky, but believe me, paired with that nutty tahini nougat and rich dark chocolate coating, the miso takes your classic salted caramel to a whole other level.

How to make Miso Caramel Cups

Don’t be daunted by the long ingredient list or the various steps, these miso caramel cups do take a good chunk of time to make, but none of the steps are particularly difficult. Probably the hardest part is waiting for the chocolate to set so you can eat them! Trust me, its worth the wait.

The first thing you want to do is make the miso caramel. Just four ingredients, it comes together real quick in a small saucepan. All the ingredients are heated and kept at a low simmer for a few minutes until smooth and golden brown. If you have time, make the caramel in advance so it has time to cool completely before you fill the cups.

Now the tahini nougat! For this, you’ll need a food processor or high speed blender, tahini, rolled oats and few dates. Since dried dates are usually pretty tough, I like to soak them in boiling water for a few minutes so they’re easier to blend.

The last (and most fun) step is assembling the miso caramel cups. I like to melt my dark chocolate over a double boiler to avoid burning. This is super easy, imstructions can be found here. This way is also convenient for quickly reheating the chocolate for the final step. To fill your caramel cups, spoon a couple teaspoons of chocolate into a prepared muffin tin with cupcake wrappers. Let those harden, then fill with your tahini nougat and miso caramel. Return to the fridge for a few minutes to set them top with another layer of chocolate. One final chill and they’re ready to eat!

Tips for success

• These miso caramel cups can also be made in a mini muffin tin. I’ve tried it both ways, equally delicious, but I found that the minis are a little more time consuming and labor intensive.
• When filling the cupcake wrappers with that initial chocolate layer, It’s very important that you use a spoon or even your fingers to make sure it’s coating the sides as well as the bottom. Take your time with each one, you don’t want the caramel to ooze out and make a mess.
• Make sure you refrigerate the caramel cups until the caramel is firm before adding the last layer of chocolate. If the caramel is still a little gooey, it will blend with the chocolate as you spread it over top. Still delicious, but you won’t get those clean cut layers.

Want more vegan treats? Try these!

• Miso oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies
• Oatmeal banana snack cake
• Chocolate raspberry whoopie pies
• Japanese sweet potato blondies

Made this recipe? Tag @wandering_chickpea on Instagram!

Yield: 12 large cups

Vegan Dark Chocolate Miso Caramel Cups

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Vegan miso caramel cups with an easy salty sweet vegan caramel sauce, tahini nougat and coated in a layer of dark chocolate. No bake, all you need is a muffin tin to enjoy this gluten free treat!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Additional Time 15 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

For the miso caramel

• 1/2 cup vegan butter
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 3 tbsp coconut cream
• 2 tbsp miso

For the nougat

• 1 cup oat flour
• 4 dates, pitted
• 1/4 cup tahini or other seed/nut butter

To assemble

• 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate

Instructions

1. For the miso caramel:
   In a small sauce pan, melt vegan butter then stir in brown sugar, coconut cream and miso. You may need to whisk the miso for a couple minutes to get rid of the clumps.
2. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and hold at a simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Transfer to a jar and let cool completely before using.
   
4. For the nougat:
   In a small bowl, pour boiling water over the dates, cover with a plate and let stand for about 5 minutes or until they've softened.
   
5. In the bowl of a food processor or high speed blender, blend oat flour, dates and tahini until the mixture forms a loose dough. Set aside until ready to use.
   
6. To assemble:
   Melt the chocolate over a double boiler and line a muffin tin with cupcake wrappers.**
   
7. Place a spoonful of melted chocolate in the center of each cup and rotate the tin so it coats the bottom and sides. Its important that the sides are coated or the caramel will leak out. Refrigerate for 10 minutes or freeze until the chocolate has hardened completely.
   
8. Tear off about 2 tsp of nougat dough and roll it into a ball. Press it down evenly into each cup, making sure to leave room for the caramel.
   
9. Spoon the miso caramel on top of the nougat and return to the refrigerator or freezer for another 15 minutes or until the caramel has hardened slightly.
   
10. Reheat the remaining chocolate if necessary and fully cover over each cup. Return to the refrigerator for a final five minutes or so and they're ready to eat!

Notes

**You can also make these in a mini muffin tin, its just slightly more work.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 397Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 197mgCarbohydrates: 45gFiber: 3gSugar: 33gProtein: 5g

All nutritional information is an estimation