Raw Cashew Blackberry Vanilla Dreamcake

This Dreamcake is so delicious. Very easy to make and you will pretty much always make it to perfection. I often use double the recipe, this way it makes a nice thick cake. On the picture above the recipe was made as described below.

This recipe is made with cashews. I love making recipes with them because they can make a really creamy mixture and you can add any flavors to it and it will taste great. Initially, I did not soak my cashews when I was making recipes, whether I was making “cream cheese” like mixtures or cake and I thought they were hard to digest. Since then, I make sure that I soak them overnight for at least 12 hours and it changed everything. My recipes are now so much creamier and I don’t have any problems with the digestion anymore.

Do you know where cashews come from?  Read this post to find out.

Ingredients:
Crust:
1/2 cup raw almonds (pecan or walnuts will also work)
1/2 cup soft Medjool dates
¼ tsp. sea salt

Filling:
1 ½ cups raw cashews, soaked for at least 5 hours, overnight is preferred
juice of 2 lemons
the seeds of 1 whole vanilla bean (or 1 tsp. alcohol-free vanilla extract)
1/3 cup raw coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup raw honey (solid or liquid.)(Vegans use agave nectar.)
1 cup blackberries or any berries (thaw completely if using frozen)

Directions:

  1. Place nuts and dates in a food processor with sea salt and pulse to chop until they are to your desired fineness (process longer for a finer crust than vs. chunky crust). Test the crust by spooning out a small amount of mixture and rolling it in your hands. If the ingredients hold together, your crust is perfect. Scoop out crust mixture into a 7” spring-form pan (if you don’t have a spring-form pan, use a pie plate lined with saran wrap), and press firmly, making sure that the edges are well packed and that the base is relatively even throughout. Rinse food processor well.
  2. Warm coconut oil and honey in a double boiler on low heat until liquid. Whisk to combine.
  3. In the most powerful food processor/blender you own (you decide which one has the most torque) place all filling ingredients (except raspberries) and blend on high until very smooth (this make take a couple minutes so be patient). If you have a Vita-Mix, absolutely use it.
  4. Pour about 2/3 (just eyeball it, you can’t make a mistake!) of the mixture out onto the crust and smooth with a spatula. Add the raspberries to the remaining filling and blend on high until smooth. Pour onto the first layer of filling. Place in freezer until solid.
  5. To serve, remove from freezer 30 minutes prior to eating. Run a smooth, sharp knife under hot water and cut into slices. Serve on its own or with fresh fruit. Store leftovers in the freezer (what leftovers?).

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Raw Salted Caramel Chocolate Pecan Torte

This Dessert is always a winner. I have not met anyone so far who did not enjoy this dessert. It is amazing. You make it in about 20 minutes and put it in the freezer and serve it when ready. It could keep in the freezer for a long time, but that does not happen in my home. I have a hard time to resist sneaking into the freezer and grabbing a bite, then another…

All you will need for this amazing dessert is a food processor and a blender. It contains only 6 ingredients in total (and that is including salt).

Ingredient: 
The crust:
6 oz (about 1 1/2 cups) pecans
6 oz (about 1 1/2 cups) dates

The caramel:
6 tablespoons of maple syrup or liquid sweetener of your choice
3 oz (about 3/4 cup) dates
1/2 teaspoon of coarse salt (useless if you are watching your salt intake)

The filling:
1/2 cup cacao powder
1/4 cup of melted coconut oil
1/2 cup of maple syrup or liquid sweetener of your choice

Direction:
1. To make the crust, pulse the dates and pecans in a food processor until it forms a dough ball. If after a while the dough hasn’t come together, add a little bit of water slowly until it does. It might require only a few drops.
2. Grease a 9-inch pan lightly with coconut oil. Press the dough into the pan and spread it out evenly into a pie crust shape, raising it at the side. Make sure there are no holes in the bottom.
3. Make the caramel by blending together the maple syrup and dates in a food processor until smooth and golden in color. Once it’s blended into a sauce, add in the sea salt and mix gently.
4. Pour the caramel in a thin layer on top of the bottom of the crust, spreading it out evenly.
5. To make the filling, mix together the maple syrup and melted coconut oil in the blender at slow speed. Then slowly add the cacao with the use a stiffer to make the mixture really smooth, as the liquid is turning at low speed until it’s uniformly mixed. Once all the chocolate is in, you can stop the blender and wiped the side and blend it a little more.
6. Carefully cover the caramel layer with the chocolate layer with a soft spatula.
7. Garnish the top with pecans and sea salt if desired.
8. Refrigerate your torte until the filling sets. Remove it from the refrigerator about 10-15 minutes before cutting and serving. Personally, I liked this when it was still slightly chilled but you can also eat it at room temperature.

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I guarantee you that you will make a lot of friends with this dessert.

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Hemp Heart, Chia and flax Pudding

Hemp Heart, Chia and flax Pudding

This morning I felt like experimenting and I have to say I was quite hungry. I have been wanting to make a chia pudding for quite some time now and never got around to do it. So, this morning I decided to try something new. I did a few Google searches and did not really find what I was looking for. But what I saw gave me an idea about what I could make!

I hope you like it too. I ate this for breakfast but I think it could make a great dessert as well. It is very filling and SO DELICIOUS. !! Definitely to LIVE for.

Ingredient:
1 cup of hemp hearts
2 cups of water
6 medjools dates
4 tablespoons of chia seeds
4 tablespoons of flax seeds
2 tablespoons of maple syrup
1 large banana
1 cup of frozen blueberries (or fresh if in season)
1/4 cup of raisins
1/4 cup of cacao nibs
maple syrup for garnish

Direction:
Mix in a blender the hemp hearts, flax, chia, dates and maple syrup.
Blend until you get a smooth and creamy texture
Pour into 2 serving bowls
Decorate with the banana, blueberries, raisins and cacao nibs.
Drizzle a little maple syrup on top

Serve 2

You could use any other fruits on top of the mixture. Use fresh fruits when in season.

I am so glad I tried this and I had to share this with you all. YUMMY !!

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Raw Turtle Candy Bars

Raw Turtle Candy Bars: makes at least 10 bars

I made this recipe during the Holidays a few years ago. I had a girlfriend visiting from out of town and we decided to try something yummy and delicious. I have to warn you ahead of time, this recipe can make some mess in your kitchen… But so worth it!

Ingredients:
Base layer:
1/2 cup raw nut flour (pecan, almond, walnut, etc.)
1/2 cup raw honey or agave or maple syrup or combination
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 cup sliced or crushed almonds

Caramel layer:
1 cup dates and enough water to cover them
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil

Raw chocolate coating:
2/3 cup of melted coconut oil
3/4 raw cacao powder
1/2 cup of agave

Directions:
Base layer:
If you don’t have nut flour, use a coffee grinder and make your own by placing the nuts in small quantities and grinding them until you have 1/2 cup.
Mix the nut flour, sweetener and pine nuts in the food processor until smooth.
Transfer to a bowl and mix the sliced or crushed almonds.
Shape into little logs on parchment papers.
Place into the freezer.

Caramel Layer:
Place all ingredient into the food processor and blend until smooth.

Assembly:
Pull the base layer out of the freezer and spread the caramel on top of the logs.
Put back in the freezer and let it harden for at least 30 minutes.

Raw chocolate coating:
Place all ingredient into the food processor and blend until smooth.

Assembly:
When the base layer and caramel are hard enough to handle without it falling apart, take one piece at the time and dip it in the chocolate sauce and place it back on the parchment paper.
Put back in the freezer until ready to eat.

Note:
If you have extra chocolate sauce, you could:
Do the dipping twice for more chocolate coating.
Use candy shape mold and make little chocolate candy.
Drip chocolate on a parchment paper and sprinkle dry coconut flakes to make macaroons.
Your imagination is the limit.

Oops !! It is all gone !!

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