This Loved Up Raw Chocolate Cake is a revelation. Gluten-free, processed sugar-free, dairy-free, nut-free and vegan, this gorgeous dessert is gooey, rich and the perfect treat to make for the ones you love.
We, unaccustomed to courage
exiles from delight
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves its high holy temple
and comes into our sight
to liberate us into life.
Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies
old memories of pleasure
ancient histories of pain.
Yet if we are bold,
love strikes away the chains of fear
from our souls.
We are weaned from our timidity
In the flush of love’s light
we dare be brave
And suddenly we see
that love costs all we are
and will ever be.
Yet it is only love
which sets us free.
Touched By An Angel, Maya Angelou
While we don’t celebrate St Valentine’s Day in this house I am a strong advocate of showing your tribe how much you love them whenever you can. I am blessed to have three beautiful souls living under this roof with me and while it isn’t always simple or comfortable (insert awkward reminder of my last post here), it is a privilege. I have a Husband who gives of himself tirelessly and holds the kite strings while the Elf and I fly above. He and I are blessed to love an Elf who allows us entry in to her wonderful world of imaginings and mischief. And finally, we are all adored and adore in return our beautiful hound who effortlessly soothes the broken hearts left by those beautiful souls who came before her.
My Loved Up Raw Chocolate Cake isn’t strictly for the lovers; it is for anyone that loves and loves to show love.
I am not kidding when I said this cake is a complete revelation to me. I have seen many beautiful raw cake recipes around but more often than not they include many, many nuts. I love nuts, nuts are great but they can be expensive and in some schools, a no-no. I wanted to create a cake the Elf could take to school to share or one I could make on a semi-regular basis without taking out a mortgage.
Enter the sunflower seed. Sunflower seeds soaked and blended combined with dried fruits, raw cocoa and a few choice ingredients and this Loved Up Raw Chocolate Cake is ready to share the love. Utterly decadent, rich and gooey I defy anyone to suspect the healthiness lying within. To make it extra gooey-good, I recommend making this recipe the night before and leaving it and the ganache to marry perfectly overnight.
A word on the ganache. I made one from coconut milk, raw cocoa and maple syrup that worked it’s magic over a stove, so not strictly raw but ridiculously good. However, an avocado chocolate frosting or raw chocolate ganache like this one from Nouveau Raw will do the trick nicely too. Or you could simply leave the cake, which is raw, in all its naked glory.
Another quick recipe note, I used mesquite, a “superfood” in this recipe for its gorgeous caramel flavour but you could add more raw cocoa or perhaps maca root powder. Having said that, mesquite is not expensive, is gluten-free and is a good source of fibre, calcium and iron as well as protein. Did I mention the caramel flavour?
If you are a lover of all things chocolate or simply a lover of love, try this Loved Up Raw Chocolate Cake. Full of wholesome goodness and chocolate decadence it is the ultimate kitchen sonnet. Enjoy, xx.
Loved Up Raw Chocolate Cake
My Loved Up Raw Chocolate Cake is a revelation. Gluten-free, sugar free, dairy-free, nut-free and vegan, this dessert is perfectly rich and gooey.
- 2 cups raw sunflower seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 150 grams dried figs (around 10 figs, roughly chopped)
- 150 grams medjool dates (around 9 dates, pip removed and flesh roughly chopped)
- 1/2 cup water
- 2/3 cup raw cocoa or cacao
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 cup mesquite powder (or maca powder)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
Ganache
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk
- 2.5 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Put the sunflower seeds in a bowl and cover with warm water. Add the apple cider vinegar and leave for 2 hours.
- When soft, drain and rinse the seeds and put them in the food processor.
- Add 1/2 cup cold water and process until well combined and smooth.
- While continuing to process, add the figs and dates through the feed tube.
- Add raw cocoa or cacao and the mesquite and continue processing until it begins to come together. You may have to stop to break up the dried fruit.
- Finally, add the salt and the maple syrup and blend until the batter will stick when pinched between two fingers.
- Line a small springform round cake pan with baking paper.
- Spoon and press the cake “batter” in to the pan until compact and flat. Place in the fridge.
- To make the ganache, heat the coconut milk and maple syrup in a small saucepan, stirring occasionally, until thickened. This may take up to 40 minutes. When thick, add the cocoa or cacao and stir well until the lumps disappear and the ganache is thick and glossy. Add the vanilla and stir in. Place in the fridge for 25 minutes.
- Remove both the ganache and the cake from the fridge. Remove the cake from the pan and using a spoon or a small icing spatula cover the cake in the ganache. Put back in the fridge overnight.
- Serve with either dusted cocoa, blueberries or caramel buckinis.
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