Vanilla and strawberry swirl cheesecake with a chocolate brownie base

It was my sister’s 18th birthday yesterday and I wanted to make something special. She’s recently just gone vegetarian and has become really interested in the ideas surrounding a primarily plant based diet – I saw this this recipe on Pinterest and it looked perfect! It was really easy to make, tastes incredible and looks oh so pretty. Completely vegan, raw, gluten free, dairy free, grain free, egg free and wonderfully plant-based.

This recipe is from Hannah at Health Yeah – the only thing I did was switch the blackberries for strawberries. Go check her site out if you haven’t already, it’s quickly becoming one of my new favourites. Unfortunately it’s not low FODMAP – but I’ve got a FODMAP friendly version that I’m working on in the pipe-line!

Make sure you’ve got the following:

Base

1 1/2 cups raw almonds
Pinch sea salt
1/2 cup pitted medjool dates. If using dried dates, soak them in hot water for ten minutes to soften. Drain.
3 tbsp cocoa or cacao powder
1/4 cup desiccated coconut

Coconut filling
3 cups cashews, soaked
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2/3 cup melted coconut oil
1/2 cup coconut cream
1 tbsp melted cacao butter (optional, helps it set nice and firm)
1/2 cup honey (or maple syrup to be truly vegan)
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out, or 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla paste or extract
Extra water, if necessary, to achieve a thick but pourable consistency (about 1/2 cup)

Strawberry filling
2 cups strawberries
2 cups of the coconut filling

a 7 or 9 inch spring form pan (7 inch gives you a taller cake – i.e looks prettier!)

Method:

Prep: Soak the cashews in water overnight or for three or more hours. Drain them of water and set aside. Soak your dates in hot water for ten minutes if dried.

Base: Place the cacao, desiccated coconut, almonds and sea salt in a food processor and grind roughly. Add the dates and process until the mixture is uniform and sticks together when you squeeze a bit in the palm your hand. Press mixture firmly and evenly onto the bottom of your springform pan (I always line mine with clingfilm first to make your raw desserts waaay easier to get out). Refrigerate base while you make the filling.

Filling: Using a powerful blender or a food processor, blend all filling ingredients except for the strawberries, until silky smooth. Give it a scrape/stir like a pro as needed, to ensure it’s all mixed in. If the mixture is super thick, take care of your blender by adding a some water to make it easier blend and pour. Go easy – I was too impatient waiting for the cashews to blend fully so probably put a bit too much in. 1/2 cup should do it.

Pour half the vanilla/coconut filling into a bowl. Set aside. Blend the strawberries into the remaining mixture until it is well blended, and rich pink colour.

Next: take your base out of the fridge. Now it’s the fun part! Do it like this:

One heaped dessert spoon of coconut. One heaped dessert spoon of strawberry.
One heaped dessert spoon of coconut. One heaped dessert spoon of strawberry.
One heaped dessert spoon of coconut. One heaped dessert spoon of strawberry.
One heaped dessert spoon of coconut. One heaped dessert spoon of strawberry.
One heaped dessert spoon of coconut. One heaped dessert spoon of strawberry.
One heaped dessert spoon of coconut. One heaped dessert spoon of strawberry.
One heaped dessert spoon of coconut. One heaped dessert spoon of strawberry.

(Hannah very cleverly took pictures of this method – look here!)

Do until all of the filling is used up and the swirls come to life. Finally cover and place in the freezer for at least six hours (or overnight). Then decorate and serve! It will keep for around 3-5 days in the fridge or 1 month in the freezer.

Banana Zucchini Bread

A big fan of The Saffron Girl, her Banana Zucchini Bread recipe caught my eye a few weeks ago.

Having just got back from a successful Body Balance class which saw me fall over slightly less than normal, I was feeling like a real yogi and couldn’t face doing any university coursework just yet. I had a peruse in my cupboard for some lunch and faced with a shiny new bag of coconut flour, this recipe sprang to mind. Debra’s readers have had mixed success with the outcome due to it not setting so I fancied giving it a go. No one likes boring baking right…?

With a stash of ripe bananas and a fresh zucchini to hand I got to work. Egg free, gluten free, dairy free, nut free, grain free and paleo, this bread is suitable for so many diets and was so simple to make. Plus its really healthy which is always a bonus. The bananas added the sweetness while the zucchini and coconut flour gave it an amazing texture – almost soft cake like (which was delicious) and it actually turned out well; at least perfect for post yoga treat. Give it a go and see what you think!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup mashed, ripe bananas
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom (optional – I added cinnamon instead)
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 cup grated zucchini
• 1/2 cup coconut flour

To make:

1. Preheat oven to 180C (350F).
2. In a large bowl, mix the bananas, coconut oil, orange zest, vanilla extract, and cardamom. With a hand beater, beat until smooth and fluffy.
3. Add the sea salt and baking soda and incorporate well.
4. Add the coconut flour and mix well.
5. Fold in the zucchini.
6. Pour into a loaf pan and bake for 40-45 minutes.
7. Allow to cool before removing from loaf pan, and to cool completely before slicing.

Next time I think I’ll try adding raisins or walnuts just to add even more flavour like these suggestions from Isa, or chia seeds for an extra kick of superfood goodness. Ps. adding chocolate looks amazing too – get your inspiration from these here and these here mmmm.

Coconut-date Bliss Balls for a rainy Easter Sunday

I have a new blog! Please read this post and more at www.shecanteatwhat.com !

Love, Emma x

Raw Vegan Key Lime Cheesecake

Key lime pie is my favourite flavour of anything ever. I once had a gluten free key lime pie in Seattle when I was lucky enough to travel America’s west coast for a month and I still dream about it it was that good. This raw cheesecake recipe is most definitely a great deal healthier however – no sugar overload, no dairy – instead a simple bunch of clean, whole, raw foods.

Every raw vegan cheesecake recipe I’ve come across looks amazing, but they all seem to use cashew nuts in the filling, which for me are seriously high up on the FODMAP scale. When I came across the recipes from Karielyn and Allison which used macadamia nuts instead of cashews, I knew I had to try my own.

I made this on a Sunday for a BBQ in the garden with a big crowd and it went down a treat – even with non health foodies! Next time I’d like to try little ones in cupcake cases like these Key Lime Bites which look so good and I think would be even easier to serve.

For the crust:
– 1 cup mix of raw almonds and walnuts (you can use all almonds but I find the walnuts help to make the dessert lower in FODMAPS see more notes about this on my Raw Fudge Brownie Tart recipe!)

– 1 cup organic medjool dates

– 2 tablespoons organic coconut oil

– splash of organic vanilla extract

– pinch of salt

– 2 tablespoons raw cacao powder (optional for a chocolately crust)

For the filling:

– 1 1/2 cup organic raw macadamia nuts

– 1/2 cup almond milk

– 1/2 cup lime juice

– 6 tablespoons organic maple syrup (*I know there are big debates surrounding maple syrup not being completely raw, but alongside having to avoid other sweeteners such as honey and agave on the low FODMAP diet, I’m with Marquis from Real Raw Kitchen on why I’d pick maple syrup  every time) 

– 1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract

– 6 tablespoons organic coconut oil

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To make:

Crust:

1) Put all the crust ingredients into a food processor and process until it’s a sticky coarse meal.

2) Scoop out the mix and put in the bottom of the cheesecake pan, pressing down firmly.

3) Set in the freezer to harden while you prepare the filling.

Filling:

1) Put all the filling ingredients into a powerful blender and blend until smooth and creamy.

2) Remove the cheesecake pan from the freezer and pour the filling on top of the crust.

3) Return the cheesecake pan back to the freezer for approximately 2 – 3 hours or until hard and firm.

Assembly:

1) Remove the cheesecake from the freezer after it’s hardened and set at room temperature for 5 – 10 minutes to thaw slightly, but not too long because it will become too soft if left out at room temperature. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great just out of the freezer, especially on a hot day (not that we get many of those in the UK), but if you let it thaw you’ll get a creamy consistency closer to that of regular cheesecake.

2) Garnish the cheesecake with whatever toppings you like – I used crushed walnuts and lime zest, try shredded coconut, lemon zest or lime wedges, there’s even a great recipe for whipped coconut cream topping recipe here.

Enjoy!

 

The best raw – vegan – key lime pie cheesecake

 

Chocolate orange bliss balls

Before I was diagnosed with a thousand and one food intolerances, I was a really big fan of Jaffa Cakes.  The whole full moon, half moon, quarter moon thing – I was all over that. These are the perfect substitute.

Completely:

– raw

– vegan

– gluten free

– dairy free

– egg free

– grain free

And so easy to make and have on the go!

Chocolate orange raw Bliss balls

These are addictive.

Ingredients:

– 1 cup almonds

– ½ cup walnuts

– 3/4 cup dates

– juice of 1 orange

– rind of 2 oranges

– 2 tbsp liquid coconut oil

– ¼ cup cacao powder (or carob powder, or cocoa just note it won’t be completely raw)

– pinch of salt

– dash of cinnamon

To make:

Literally chuck everything in a food processor until you get a thick, sticky dough. Roll into small balls and dust with a layer of cacao powder if desired!

Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.