Sweet Nachos (Vegan)

There is a sports bar at my old university that serves sweet nachos, and holy moly they are to die for. Unsure about them when I first spotted it on their menu, I managed to blag the waiter for a free sample before I bought them, and after just one mouthful, I knew they were going to be a regular feature in my life. Thus, every single time I was there I ordered a big plate full of the bad boys and did not share a single one.

I recently finished my degree, and after four years of regular sweet nacho contact, I knew I had to try and re-create the dish myself. Not only have I done that, I made them vegan so everyone can enjoy a big fat plate of sweet-nacho goodness.

Cinnamon-sugared coated tortilla chips, vanilla ice-cream, lashings of warm hot fudge chocolate sauce and the optional add-on of mixed nuts make this delicious dish, that is a great crowd-pleasing sharing plate.

Completely customizable, it can easily be scaled up or down and topped with any sauce, ice-cream or sprinkles. Perfect for the summer, parties, sports days or when your riding solo and in need of some good ole TLC.

Try these and thank me later.

This recipe is incredibly simple to put together, despite it appearing lengthy; all it needs is a little bit of organisation for the three different elements. Begin by making the hot fudge sauce, adapted from this recipe by Smitten Kitchen, a sauce that can be kept in the fridge for up to a month and heated up whenever the mood strikes! Next, it is time to make the sweet nachos, a very simple process that involves frying tortillas and coating them in a cinnamon sugar. Finally, once those two elements have been made its time for the assembly! Top the nachos with lashings of ice-cream, fudge sauce and mixed nuts. I imagine salted caramel would work amazingly well too. Oh, and a note on portion sizes. Four tortillas are more than enough for two people sharing, so scale up or down dependent on portion size. 

For the hot fudge sauce

• 15g dairy-free butter
• 75ml soy cream
• 85g golden syrup
• 25g dark brown sugar
• 10g cocoa powder
• Salt
• 85g chopped chocolate

For the Nachos

• 2-4 soft white tortilla wraps
• 100g caster sugar
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• Sunflower oil for frying

To serve

• Vegan Ice-Cream (such as Alpro or Swedish Glaze)
• Chopped Nuts (optional)

Method:

1. Begin by making the hot fudge sauce. Combine the butter, cream, syrup, sugar, cocoa and salt in a pan and on a gentle heat, slowly stir the ingredients until melted and smooth
2. Take off of the heat and add the dark chocolate. Leave until the chocolate has melted and then stir until smooth. Sieve to get rid of any lumps. Put to one side while you prepare the sweet nachos
3. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a large shallow bowl, or on a plate, and set aside
4. Cut the tortilla wraps in half, then half again and then half again until you are left with 8 triangles per wrap e.g. 4 wraps = 32 triangles
5. In a frying pan, add the oil so it is approx 1 cm deep and heat for around 4-5 minutes or until a piece of bread sizzles and browns when added to the oil
6. When the oil is ready, fry each tortilla triangle until it is golden brown all over (you can add 4-5 to a pan at any one time to speed things up)
7. Once each triangle is browned, quickly add to the cinnamon sugar and toss to coat, set aside while you do the rest
8. When ready to assemble, arrange the sweet nachos in a large bowl, or plate, then scoop the ice-cream into the middle. In the microwave, gently warm up the fudge sauce and then spoon all over the nachos. Top with mixed nuts and enjoy!