This September has been so interesting, very busy! I had originally planned to post a recipe every other day this month, but that hasn’t gone to plan! I have been super busy applying for jobs and looking for opportunities. While i’m still searching for longer-term, full time work, I have just gained employment at a start up doing contract work on a project for around a month. Also, I have just joined the Yyoga team as a substitute spin instructor, which I am super excited about! Spin has been a huge part of my life for the past three years, and I am more than excited to teach my first class! This month has been filled with friends and fun, but it has also been an unsure transition time for me. Sitting with ambiguity is tough, but i’m always trying to get into the “flow state” and just go with it. I’m also participating in Yyoga’s 30 day challenge, so far i’m at 22 classes, and hoping to get to 30 by September 30th!
Now onto the recipe. I love these raw cakes. Not only are they made of great, healthy ingredients, but they taste so good. I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to make a chocolate cake, or a vanilla cake, so I did both. Typically i’m a fan of vanilla. Vanilla cake, vanilla ice cream always wins over chocolate. But throw some salt on chocolate? It’s right on up there with vanilla in my books. So we have a raw, gluten free, naturally sweetened cake, that tastes amazing!
There are a lot of ingredients, but these are the main ones you’ll need to have onhand: raw walnuts and cashews, coconut, coconut oil, maple syrup, and can of full fat coconut milk.
Ingredients:
Base:
1.5 cup dates
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1.5 cup walnuts
1 cup coconut
Vanilla Layer:
2 cups raw cashews (soaked in hot water unless you have a vitamix)
2/3 cup melted coconut oil
1 can canned full fat coconut milk
2/3 cup maple syrup
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt (or more to taste, for anyone that knows me, you know I added more)
3 tbsp cocoa powder
Directions:
1.) Take out a round 8 inch cake pan, preferably with removable sides. You can also try making these in any 8 inch pan, or in muffin cups with liners!
2.) Start with your food processor. Add dates and vanilla and whiz. Next, add your walnuts, coconut, and salt. You can use any nuts you like, but I think the combination of walnuts and coconut is the most buttery! Your mixture should be ground into a rather fine meal, and should hold together when pressed. Dump your mixture into the bottom of your cake pan, and press until flat.
3.) Now onto your base layer. Take out your blender and add 2 cups soaked cashews, 2/3 cup melted coconut oil, vanilla, 1 can coconut milk, 3 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tsp vanilla, salt, and 2/3 cup maple syrup.
4.) Whiz in your blender until the mixture is creamy. Take a taste and see if you want to add more salt or lemon juice. I’m a fan of punchy flavours, so I always taste and modify as I go.
5.) Pour half of this vanilla layer over your crust layer and place in the freezer to firm up.
6.) Now onto your chocolate layer! Simply add 3 tbsp of cocoa powder to the remaining vanilla base in your blender and blend it up!
7.) Pour the chocolate layer over your vanilla base, and place in the freezer to harden! I put mine in the freezer overnight, as it takes a while to harden.
8.) This cake likes to be kept cold. So store it in the freezer. I like to cut a couple of pieces and keep them in the fridge, then they’re softer and creamier when you want to eat them!
Kendall Creates 