Looking for an easy to prepare, secretly healthy cake for your celebration table this year? Look no further my friend, this Gingerbread Cheesecake is here to get the party started!
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cashews
Cookie dough milkshake
There’s a couple of milkshake shops in my city and for years I’ve walked by them, glancing longingly at the extensive menu and wishing they’d have a change of heart and decide to go dairy free. You can get pretty much any sweet or chocolate you can think of blended up with ice cream or ice cold milk. As tempting as they look, I can’t stomach dairy or huge amounts of sugar any more, so I decided to create these super easy, delicious and secretly nutritous cookie dough milkshakes! …
Mini Mocha Cheesecakes
It definitely is too late to say it now but happy New Year!! I hope it’s all been positive so far! Mine has been the best yet. I can’t wait to share more creations with you in 2017. The last year has been full of change from start to end, but I am so grateful for the journey and most of all for your support. Thank you for stopping by and supporting me on Facebook, Instagram, this blog or in person by eating my food! I really do love doing this and feel incredibly blessed to be able to inspire others to try eating more plants, or begin to think about food differently. It makes me all fuzzy inside when people try my recipes or try something new because of me. I love sharing the benefits of this lifestyle with as many people as possible. I’m full of ideas for 2017, pretty excited to see where this year takes me!
Aside from hibernating with the kittens, I’ve been scurrying about the kitchen recipe testing and my latest food crush are these raw mocha cheesecakes. It has been a recipe I’ve been dreaming of for a while because I love coffee… all types, black, milky, sweet, chilled, in cake form… I’ll take it all! Mocha seems like a safe option for people who may not like coffee because I’ve added a little chocolate and who doesn’t like chocolate? Actually I do know a couple of people, but still, more for you if they don’t like it!
These are indulgent, creamy, not too sweet treats but still dairy, gluten and refined sugar free. They really don’t take much effort to make, just remember to soak your cashews before hand, no matter how hard I try, I always forget. I definitely recommend enjoying a couple of these with a cup of the black stuff for the ultimate coffee shop experience!
Hope the year continues to keep you and your loved ones safe, healthy and well fed.
Peace and coffee,
Bo x
Base
- 2 cups almonds
- 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
- 1/2 tsp pink himalayan salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 2-3 tbsp maple/rice syrup or coconut nectar
Filling
- 2 cups cashews, soaked overnight and drained
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup maple/rice syrup or coconut nectar
- 1 tsp pink himalayan salt
- 4 tbsp coconut oil
- 1/2 cup very strong black coffee, chilled
- 2 tbsp cacao powder
Chocolate drizzle (optional)
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 tbsp cacao powder
Toppings (optional)
- 1/2 cup chocolate coated coffee beans (grind 1/4 cup of beans for the mocha dust)
Line a square baking tray with greaseproof paper, leaving a little extra hanging over the sides for easy removal.Prepare your base by adding almonds, coconut, salt and cinnamon until a fine flour is formed. Add syrup a tablespoon at a time, until mixture sticks together between your fingers. Add a tablespoon of water if it’s too dry, or a little extra coconut if it’s too wet.
Press base mixture into a pan evenly. Set aside in the fridge while you make the filling.
Blend soaked cashews, coconut milk, vanilla, lemon juice, syrup and salt until very smooth and creamy, around 4-5 minutes. Pour roughly half the mix on to your base. Set aside in the freezer to set, at least 2 hours.
To the remaining filling, add coconut oil, cooled coffee and cacao. Pour over to make the third and final layer. Set for 2-3 hours in the freezer, then slowly lift out the pan and slice into little squares with a sharp knife.
To make the drizzle, add coconut oil, maple syrup and cacao to a small mixing bowl and mix with a fork until smooth. Drizzle over cheesecakes and top with coffee beans and mocha dust. Keep in the freezer for up to a month. Best eating after thawing for 10 minutes.
Chocolate marzipan truffles
Chocolate and marzipan has to be one of my favourite flavour combinations, what a treat. I always used to have marzipan from the fridge when my Mum made wedding cakes (and icing too, oops). There was often a nice big chunk in there for decorating but I couldn’t help taking a little piece now and then (basically whenever I had the opportunity). I adore those marzipan bars you can buy in some health stores too, just a generous bar of marzipan, smothered in dark chocolate. Mmmmmm. I love the smell of it, almonds are so sweet and delicious. These babies are gluten free, refined sugar free and packed with healthy protein. You can omit the amaretto if you like, it just won’t taste as marzipan-y, is that a word?!
I got the basis for this recipe from the Lazy Cat Kitchen blog and in it Ania suggests tempering your chocolate, to get the ultimate snap and sheen to your little truffles. I’d never done it before, but now definitely recommend tempering for the best results. It wasn’t tricky, but you do need a thermometer- it’s all about using it at just the right temperature.
Chocolate marzipan truffles (makes 24 truffles)
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups almonds
- 1 cup cashews
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup almond mylk
- 10 tsp amaretto
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- Pinch of sea salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 250g vegan dark chocolate, broken into medium size pieces (use a sugar free dark chocolate bar to keep totally sugar free)
- Small handful of almonds, toasted and roughly chopped
- Blend almonds and cashews together in your food processor until finely ground, to a flour.
- Add lemon zest, maple syrup, almond mylk, amaretto, lemon zest, sea salt and vanilla to a small bowl and whisk together.
- Slowly add the mix, little by little, to the blender and pulse until combined. The mixture should be sticking together with your fingers. Bring dough together with your fingers and shape into a ball. Wrap in clingfilm and pop in the fridge.
- Slowly melt 150g of your chocolate in a bain-marie (a bowl gently heated over boiling water), being careful to keep the water away from your bowl of chocolate (water is the worst thing that could happen to your melted chocolate, be careful).
- When the chocolate has melted, take off the heat and gently stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to get things cooling. Chocolate fully melts at 46°C, but you want to cool it down to between 31 to 33°C. Add the remaining 100g of chocolate, this will increase the rate of the cooling process. Keep checking the temperature with your thermometer every five minutes or so.
- While the chocolate is cooling, take your marzipan dough out the fridge and make into balls. I made a tablespoon of dough per truffle. When the chocolate has reached the magical temperature of between 31 and 33°C, you’re ready to dip! Dunk your balls into the chocolate and leave to dry on a cooling rack.
- Put any remaining chocolate into a piping bag, or just drizzle on top of the truffles. Garnish with toasted chopped almonds. Try not to eat them all to yourself.
Raw kiwi cheesecakes
I have to admit, I’ve never been a cheesecake fan. Too rich and creamy for me. But raw cheesecakes? Yes please. They are filling, nutritious, delicious and require minimal effort to make! The best thing is they stay fresh for up to a month in your freezer, so anytime you get a sweet craving, you can satisfy all your sugary needs with a healthy alternative. These slices are raw, refined sugar free and vegan of course! If you don’t have any almonds, feel free to sub in more buckwheat groats. I used Zespri Golden Kiwis for this recipe, which you can find in all major UK retailers until October. If you haven’t tried them before, definitely keep an eye out for some, they taste like a cross between a regular kiwi and bananas! I’m sure you already know by now how I feel about bananas. So these sunny little fellas were right up my street.
Raw kiwi cheesecakes
Base
- 1/2 cup buckwheat groats
- 1 1/2 cups pitted dried dates
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
Filling
- 3 cups raw cashew nuts, soaked overnight in water and drained
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
- Juice of one lemon or lime
- 1/2 cup agave or maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp matcha powder
- 1/3 cup coconut milk
- 2 green kiwi fruit (1 peeled, 1 unpeeled)
- 1 golden kiwi fruit (unpeeled)
- Prepare your slice tin (I used an 8 inch square tin), line with baking paper, ensuring the paper goes up over the sides.
- Blend buckwheat groats briefly on their own in your blender or food processor, until crumbly, but not quite flour. Now add in the dates, almonds and coconut oil and blend until mixture starts to stick together. Press into your lined tin. I put another layer of baking paper on my base at this stage, followed by a book on top, to make sure it’s evenly flattened. Set aside in the fridge. Rinse out your blender.
- Now the filling. Pop drained cashews, coconut oil, lemon/lime juice and agave syrup into blender and blend on high until really smooth. Keep going until there are no lumps remaining.
- Add half of the filling mix to your chilled base and pop in the freezer briefly. To the remaining mix, add matcha powder, coconut milk and one green peeled kiwi fruit. Blend again until smooth. Add a little more matcha if you’d like it greener.
- Now add your final layer- pour on the green coloured filling on to your cheesecake. Slice up your remaining two kiwi fruit and arrange on top, alternating between green and yellow kiwi slices. Pop in the freezer to set overnight.
- Let sit out of the freezer for 30 minutes before slicing. Stores in the freezer for up to a month.