On Saturday morning I had a breakfast meeting with some of the most beautiful and inspiring girls. While I can’t reveal the content of our meeting just yet… WATCH THIS SPACE! It is going to be exciting 🙂
What was possibly equally or MORE exciting, was the amazing spread of food that we consumed. CHECK IT OUT. Did I say inspiring? Amazing? I think I forgot delicious.
My contribution to the day was a Raw Vegan Choc Vanilla Cheesecake. Now I’m not a raw foodist or vegan by any stretch, but I do love to experiment with different cooking (or not cooking!) styles, and am definitely partial to a raw dessert or 2. I must confess that I am a bit of a close enough is good enough kind of cook, and I don’t tend to write my recipes down as I go. So please excuse me if this seems a little vague! But play around, you truly can’t go wrong with these kinds of creations.
Ingredients
Base
- 130g macadamia nuts
- 120g activated buckwheat (I use Loving Earth brand)
- 120g shredded coconut (also Loving Earth)
- 10 medjool dates, pitted
- 1 tsp vanilla powder (Loving Earth)
Filling
- 200g raw cashews
- flesh of 2 young coconuts
- water of 1 young coconut
- 2 tbsp coconut syrup (you could also use maple syrup or honey, but I find these quite strongly flavoured so they might change the taste)
- 4 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla powder
- 50g raw cacao powder
- 60g shredded coconut
Icing
- 50g raw cacao powder
- 4 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 tbsp coconut syrup
Method
- Place all ingredients for the base in a food processor (I use my Thermomix) and process for 1 minute on medium to high speed – If you are using a Thermomix process for 1 minute on speed 5.
- Pour base mixture into a pyrex dish or lined cake tin. Press down firmly and set aside.
- Without washing the bowl, add the cashews and blitz until they are a fine crumb – Thermomix 5 seconds on speed 8.
- Add the coconut flesh, water, syrup, oil and vanilla. Process for 1 minute until smooth – Thermomix 1 minute speed 6
- Scoop HALF of this mixture on top of the base. Set aside.
- To the remaining mixture, add cacao and shredded coconut. Process for a few seconds until combined.
- Pour chocolate mix on top of vanilla mix and carefully smooth out. You don’t want to mix too much or press too firmly as we are trying to maintain the distinct layers of the cake.
- To make the icing, add all ingredients to a bowl and mix vigorously until well combined and soft. Depending on the temperature of the day you may need to melt the mix slightly so that it is easier to spread over the cheesecake. Spread icing over cheesecake and then place in the freezer for 10 minutes to set.
- Once set the cheesecake can be stored in the fridge… if it lasts long enough that is 😉
ENJOY!