Here is my obligatory raw chocolate post, because Easter. Cacao butter works better than just using coconut oil for these recipes because it has a higher melting point and the texture is more like regular chocolate. I usually melt mine by chopping or shaving it into a bowl I place over saucepan of water on very, very low heat and stirring until it’s liquid.
There were plans in my head to make a raw version of Top Deck for this post, but then I found some old IKEA ice cube trays in the shape of bottles that seemed kind of perfect for little white chocolate milk bottles. Cute, yes? So the chocolates remained separate and more of each kind of chocolate was made than originally intended, which is just fine by me.
RAW, VEGAN WHITE CHOCOLATE
1 CUP MELTED CACAO BUTTER 1/2 CUP MACADAMIA NUTS (or CASHEW NUTS) 1 DESSERTSPOON COCONUT OIL 2 TEASPOONS VANILLA EXTRACT 1/2 CUP LIGHT AGAVE NECTAR
PINCH OF SEA SALT FLAKES
Blend everything in a high speed blender or food processor until very smooth. Pour into chocolate molds and store in the freezer to keep their setting.
RAW, VEGAN DARK CHOCOLATE
1/2 CUP MELTED CACAO BUTTER 1/2 CUP COCONUT OIL 2/3 CUP RAW CACAO POWDER (or DUTCH PROCESS COCOA) 4 TABLESPOONS MAPLE SYRUP
PINCH OF SEA SALT FLAKES
Blend everything in a high speed blender or food processor until very smooth. Pour into chocolate molds and store in the freezer to keep their setting.
Mint Choc-Chip is my favourite ice cream flavour, ever, and I’ve been experimenting lately to make a worthy raw version that meets my high expectations (in case you’re wondering: the mint should sing as a clear flavour but not be toothpaste-like; the chocolate should be dark and bitter). The addition of kale or spinach juice to this ice cream makes me feel oh-so-vindicated of my ice cream obsession and as the ice cream is sandwiched between two delicious, raw, vegan brownie slices, this dessert is a super pretty one to serve to skeptics of healthy food.
The trick to getting these to look neat is to freeze everything in rectangular slabs and to make a template to cut them out with before assembling. It’s worth this extra fiddling about; freezing them together in layers won’t come out as good, (trust me).
RAW CHOCOLATE BROWNIE
1 CUP DRIED DATES, SEEDS REMOVED + CHOPPED 1/2 CUP ALMONDS 1/2 CUP PECANS 3/4 CUP RAW CACAO (or DUTCH PROCESSED COCOA, not raw)
1/4 CUP WATER (IF NEEDED)
Whizz all the ingredients in your food processor until combined. You may need to add a little water to make the mixture turn around but make sure it’s not too wet. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up a little. Then divide the mixture into two and roll each out separately with a rolling pin between two pieces of greaseproof paper to about 1cm (1/3 inch) thick. Leave them in between the papers and place on a flat tray in the freezer for a few hours to set.
RAW MINT CHOC-CHIP ICE CREAM
5 RIPE BANANAS, PEELED AND CHOPPED 2 DROPS EDIBLE SPEARMINT (OR MINT) ESSENTIAL OIL 1/3 CUP LIGHT AGAVE NECTAR 1/3 CUP FRESH SPINACH AND/OR KALE JUICE
1/3 CUP RAW CACAO NIBS
Whizz all the ingredients except the cacao nibs in your blender or food processor until really smooth. Place in a container into the freezer for an hour until the ice cream begins to thicken and set. Remove it before it hardens completely and stir through the cacao nibs (this way they won’t sink to the bottom as the ice cream is partially set). Now pour the ice cream mixture into a plastic-wrap lined rectangular tray or dish and freeze for at least 4 hours.
ASSEMBLY
Decide what shape you’d like to make your ice cream sandwiches (I did think about a hexagon, but then I couldn’t be bothered. There was ice cream: I wanted to eat it). Use a piece of paper as a template to cut your brownie slices out with a sharp knife and group into twos. Use the same process for cutting the ice cream, cutting one ice cream slab for every two brownie slices. Sandwich the ice cream between two brownies and you’re done! Store any extras in the freezer wrapped in greaseproof paper inside an airtight container.
You need a dehydrator for this recipe, which is not my usual modus operandi, but I promise it’s worth it. These cookies taste incredible – they remind me of a more chocolate-y Kingston biscuit. Because these are raw, they’re loaded with healthy nuts, coconut oil, dates, flax and cacao instead of not-so-healthy sugar, cream, butter and flour. Good, right?
CHOCOLATE COOKIES
1 CUP ALMONDS, SOAKED FOR A FEW HOURS 1/2 CUP CASHEWS, SOAKED FOR A FEW HOURS 1/4 CUP FLAX SEEDS, GROUND TO A POWDER IN A COFFEE GRINDER 3/4 CUP DATES 1 TABLESPOON AGAVE NECTAR PINCH OF SEA SALT
1/2 CUP CACAO POWDER
Drain the almonds and cashews and whizz them in a food processor with the ground flax seeds until they break down and combine. Add the dates, agave nectar, salt and cacao powder and process until a dough forms – you might need to add a tiny bit of water to make this happen. Roll the dough between two sheets of baking paper until an even 1cm thick. Cut out cookie shapes and place on dehydrator trays. Dehydrate overnight or 8 – 9 hours until dry. They won’t be rock hard, but that’s a good thing.
CHOCOLATE CREME FILLING
1/3 CUP COCONUT OIL 1/2 CUP CACAO POWDER 1/3 CUP AGAVE NECTAR
PINCH OF SEA SALT
Whizz all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to firm up before sandwiching in between two cookies. You can keep the sandwiched cookies in the fridge for about three days.
My best friend told me last week that I absolutely must try this recipe for Raw Caramel Slice, sooner rather than later. A friend of hers from work brought it in to share and my dessert aficionado friend reported it as spectacular. I duly bought the ingredients and had them sitting in the pantry until yesterday when I finally had time to give it a try. As usual, she was right. These are good.
I made a few adjustments by adding extra salt and I made my chocolate topping with cacao butter rather than coconut oil, but otherwise this amazing recipe is originally by Rachel of In Spaces Between – Raw Choc Caramel Bites.
1 CUP MACADAMIA NUTS 1 CUP ALMONDS
1 CUP MEDJOOL DATES
CARAMEL FILLING
1 CUP MEDJOOL DATES 2 TABLESPOONS COCONUT OIL 1 TEASPOON VANILLA EXTRACT 1/3 CUP WATER
2 PINCHES FLAKED SEA SALT
CHOCOLATE TOPPING
1/2 CUP CACAO OR DUTCH PROCESS COCOA 2 TABLESPOONS DARK AGAVE NECTAR 3/4 CUP GENTLY MELTED CACAO BUTTER
SMALL PINCH OF FLAKED SEA SALT
Base Whizz all the base ingredients in a food processor until combined. You want to keep a little bit of the nutty texture in there. Press into a square or rectangular tin and set aside.
Caramel Blend all ingredients in the food processor until smooth, adding water slowly as you go. The coconut oil when refrigerated will thicken the mixture. Spread this on top of the base and place it in the freezer for 15 minutes.
Chocolate Topping Melt the Cacao Butter in a double saucepan on a very, very low heat and stir until liquid. Blend with the cocoa, agave and salt until very smooth. Pour and spread it over the caramel layer, freeze or refrigerate for an hour and you’re done!
Tastes best cut into small, bite-sized pieces.
Salt flakes + chocolate = :¦:-•:*’””*:•.- SPECTACULAR -.•:*’””*:•.-:¦:
And that is all I have to say about that.
You don’t need a lot salt to accomplish the goal, which is to make the chocolate more chocolate-y. The rosemary is to give a deeper complexity to the flavour. I’m not going to lie, the taste of the avocado isn’t completely obliterated – you do get a very slight aftertaste, but it’s barely noticeable.
CHOCOLATE MOUSSE WITH ROSEMARY & SEA SALT
1 HASS AVOCADO, PEELED & DICED 3/4 CUP MAPLE SYRUP OR DARK AGAVE NECTAR 3/4 CUP DUTCH PROCESS COCOA OR UNSWEETENED COCOA POWDER 1 TEASPOON FRESH ROSEMARY, FINELY CHOPPED
1/2 VANILLA BEAN, SEEDS SCRAPED OUT
FOR THE TOP
1/2 TEASPOON FLAKED SEA SALT ROSEMARY SPRIGS
ROSEMARY FLOWERS
Put all the mousse ingredients into a food processor and blend until very smooth. Spoon into small containers (I made four) and top with a sprinkle of salt flakes, fresh rosemary sprigs and flowers.
It’s starting to get colder where I live, but the days are still sunny and besides, I like ice cream year round. And this one doesn’t contain cream, milk, sugar or eggs – it derives its base from hazelnuts which gives it a Baci chocolate meets nutella kind of flavour.
Although not at all raw, the agar-agar (find it in Asian supermarkets – it’s a flavourless gelling agent made from seaweed extracts, common in Asian desserts) helps stop the gelato freezing rock solid when stored in the freezer, if you can resist not eating it all immediately.
STABILIZER (OPTIONAL)
1 TABLESPOON POWDERED AGAR-AGAR (I use Telephone Brand with the cute, gold telephone)
1/2 CUP WATER
Place agar-agar and water in a saucepan. Stir over a very low heat until simmering and thickened into a gooey, gelatinous mixture.
ICE CREAM
1 CUP RAW HAZELNUT BUTTER 1 1/4 CUPS DUTCH PROCESS COCOA POWDER (OR RAW CACAO POWDER) 1/2 CUP DARK AGAVE NECTAR 1.5 CUPS WATER PINCH OF SALT
1/2 TEASPOON MACA (OPTIONAL, I like the caramel-y taste)
Whirl all ingredients in the food processor or blender with the stabilizer, if you’re using it. Chill in the fridge for 20 minutes before churning in an ice cream maker.
If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you could freeze the mixture in ice cube trays and blend these in a food processor, or freeze it into individual portions and just take them out 15 minutes or so before you want to eat them to soften a little.
Whenever I think of truffles, I always think of this scene or this music. Incidentally, I’ve just started doing some work for someone that owns a trufflerie in Pemberton, but this recipe does not involve those kinds of truffles.
No, these truffles do not involve any shuffling, glitches or sniffing dogs, nor do they contain cream, butter or sugar… Only almonds, dates and cocoa. This is probably the raw recipe I make the most. The truffles are best made the day before so they have time to set in the fridge or freezer.
RAW CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES
1 CUP ALMONDS 1 CUP DRIED DATES, ROUGHLY CHOPPED 2/3 CUP DUTCH PROCESS COCOA OR RAW CACAO POWDER 1/3 CUP DESSICATED DRIED COCONUT 1 TABLESPOON ORANGE ZEST
PINCH OF SEA SALT
FOR FINISHING, IN TWO BOWLS
1/3 CUP DUTCH PROCESS COCOA OR RAW CACAO POWDER
1/3 CUP DESSICATED DRIED COCONUT
Put all the truffle ingredients into your food processor and pulse until combined. As per some of the cake recipe bases, your food processor won’t like this much but once you get it past a certain point and the mixture starts to come together, it won’t seem so violent. You might need to scrape down the sides every so often and add a splash of water to help it along. One the mixture has come together, pulse a few more times to further blitz up the almonds (you can leave a bit of texture in there to your liking) and transfer to a bowl.
Wet your hands with water and roll walnut sized balls from the mixture. Finish by dipping the ball into either the cocoa or the dried coconut and then set aside. When they’re all rolled and dipped, store in the fridge or freezer.
I’ve always liked orange matched with chocolate. This tart is best eaten in small doses, however. It’s fudge-y, heavy, make-you-feel-ill chocolate-y. Hmm, I’m not selling this well but it really is delicious when you’re in the mood for such decadence, especially with some tart fruit like strawberries, raspberries or fresh orange wedges, and is a fantastic introduction to raw desserts for the skeptical. Plus, unlike a normal chocolate tart there’s no animal fats, cream or processed sugar, (just a hell of a lot of coconut oil and agave nectar).
BASE
2 CUPS ALMONDS – FOOD PROCESSED INTO CRUMBS 3/4 CUP DUTCH PROCESS COCOA OR CACAO POWDER 1 CUP CHOPPED DRIED DATES 1/2 CUP DESSICATED COCONUT
2 TEASPOONS DESSICATED COCONUT FOR DUSTING THE TIN
FILLING
4 CUPS SOAKED RAW CASHEWS 1 CUP DUTCH PROCESS COCOA OR CACAO POWDER 3/4 CUP COCONUT OIL 3/4 CUP AGAVE NECTAR 1 TABLESPOON ORANGE ZEST 1/3 CUP ORANGE JUICE 1.5 TEASPOONS OF CINNAMON
1/2 TEASPOON OF SALT
Line the bottom of a springform cake tin with cling film. Dust the bottom of the tin with 2 teaspoons dessicated coconut.
For the base, place all base ingredients in the food processor and process until almost smooth – you want to keep a bit of the almond texture in there. Pat this into the base. You may need to wet your hands slightly to smooth it out. Place it in the freezer until the filling is ready.
For the filling, place all ingredients in the food processor and blend until smooth as possible. Spoon on top of base and smooth the top with the back of the spoon. Refrigerate overnight or freeze for at least three hours. Dust with sifted cocoa/cacao before serving.