The no bake, no worries and no guilt cake!
Ingredients
For the cake mixture:
2 cups nuts of your choice - brazil, almonds, cashews, walnuts
2 cups desiccated coconut
3 medium beetroots (beets), peeled and grated
4 fresh medjool dates, pitted and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup currants
1/2 cup cacao powder
1/4 cup maple syrup
For the icing:
1 cup raw cashew nuts, unsalted
1/2 cup raw cacao powder
100g cacao butter, melted
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Method
For the cake mixture:
Grind the nuts in a food processor, then set them aside in a bowl.
Combine the dates, currants and maple syrup in the bowl of the food processor and pulse until smooth.
Blend the date mixture with the ground nuts and the grated beetroots in a large bowl.
Add the coconut & cacao powder to the bowl and stir them in until blended with the date and nut mixtures.
Scrape the blended mixture back into the bowl of the food processor and pulse until the ingredients are well combined and finely textured.
Line a cake tin with baking paper and spread the batter evenly over the bottom. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes or until firm to the touch.
For the icing:
Gently melt the cacao butter in a small saucepan then allow it to cool.
Whiz up the cashew nuts first, then add and procress the remaining ingredients.
With the motor running, pour in the melted cacao butter and blend until the mixture is smooth.
Spoon the icing over the cake and refrigerate until the icing is set, about 15 minutes.
Enjoy in bite size morsels - I served with a dollop of mascarpone. YUM. This really was a piece of cake. Oh FYI - my kitchen whiz clearly needs an upgrade to a Kitchen Aid - my cake wasn't so much of a 'mud cake' in texture, more like a decadent slice. I am pretty sure with a more powerful device I would've acheived a smoother consistency. Oh and I'm keen on 'less fruit'. Basically, play with the ingredients as you feel - as there is no baking, no butter and sugar creaming and no rising ingredients - it doesn't really matter what goes in it! Sweet fixing sorted! Shani x ++disclaimer, this cake pictured is not mine, I ate mine before I could snap away. But I did put a fresh flower on the top. So pretty++