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| The cake still inside the spring form |
One of my favorite aspects of the raw food movement has been the discovery of absolutely delicious desserts that are also quite easy to make. And for me, as I prefer not to eat dairy or regular sugar, they provide a great alternative that I can bring when I am invited for a dinner, picnic or any kind of celebration.
I have tried many recipes by now, and there is one cake in particular, which everyone seems to love. It is the “Cheese” Cake from the Rawtarian, a young lady from Canada who also has many other wonderful recipes. If you can, give it a try. It so tasty! I make it with just a few variations on the crust, which I may post about another time.
But today I want to share a cake that I have come up with, based on that recipe and another one, but which uses coffee as one of its main ingredients. I stopped drinking coffee maybe five or six years ago, and although I do not mind not drinking it, I do miss the flavor of coffee in desserts like ice cream or custards. I found a raw coffee cake, and made it, and although it was great, I felt I could come up with something we could like better. So I combined both recipes in a way, and this is what I came up with. So far, everyone who has tried it has absolutely loved it, and most of all, myself. I didn't know I had missed the flavor of coffee so much! I honestly cannot seem to get enough of this cake. So, here is the recipe, so you guys can try it too. One note, I make it with a Vitamix and a food processor. I am not sure how it would work with a regular blender, but you can try soaking the cashews overnight, so they become very soft.
There are three steps to the cake:
CRUST (from this recipe)
1 cup pecans
1 cup dates
2 tablespoons cacao powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
Put the pecans in a food processor and process until it becomes like rough flour. Then add the rest of ingredients. Pat it down into a spring-form pan.
FILLING:
3 cups of cashews. soaked in water for at least 3 hours, then rinsed
3/4 cup brewed coffee
3/4 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup maple syrup
1 Tablespoon vanilla
Put everything in blender and mix well. Add it to the crust and freeze. The next day do the other two steps.
SALTY SAUCE:
4 dates
about 1/2 cup of coffee (whatever is left over from the filling) or more
1/4 cup cashews
1/4 teaspoon salt
Soak the dates and cashew in the coffee for at least two hours. Then put it in blender with salt and blend well. You may need a bit more liquid. Add water. Pour over frozen cake.
WALNUT TOPPING:
1/2 cup raw walnuts
2 dates
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
For the topping, put everything in food processor and grind. Use it to decorate the pie.
Let me know if you try it, or ask me to make one for you. I love making them! And we can have it together. Even better.
Lots of love.
