I had fun tonight teaching a friend how to ‘cook’ a raw vegan cake. I sucked him in by giving him a dessert I made a few days ago that tastes like a snickers bar but doesn’t have any dairy in it and all the ingredients are healthy. No refined sugar! And no heat damage to oil content. AND full of delectably nutritious nuts and fruit. I’ve been using dates as my sweetener for a while now and have just started experimenting with raisins.
Tonight we made a coffee flavoured cake, using little pie tins.
The bottom layer contains a cup of pecans and hazelnuts…. My husband and I have been a little bit obsessed with hazel nuts for the past week. Then we added three dates, and small handful of raisins, three tablespoons of cacao, and 5ml of herbal cinnamon tincture from my dispensary. We whizzed them up with a little water to create a sticky blend that could be pushed into the pie bases.
For the coffee-caramel layer, we used 1 and a half cups of cashews and half a cup of walnuts. I LOVE walnuts. The sweetness came from 3 tablespoons of maple syrup, and some herbal extracts Spirit told me to add, of white peony and echinacea preserved in pear juice. I wouldn’t normally use maple syrup but I knew my friend would be most impressed with a very creamy layer so the maple syrup seemed better suited. We added some salt, 3 tablespoons of coconut oil, 1/3 of a cup of coffee (he loves stimulants), and one vanilla pod. Cutting the top off a vanilla pod, splitting it and then using a knife to scrap out the seed paste…that is most definitely one of life’s great pleasures. *happy sigh*
Then we got really creative and attempted to make a kind of drizzle-sauce for the top. I think my friend needed more sugar in the middle layer…. he is a mainstream-refined-sugar-a-holic…. which is tricky because I’ve been working on making my own recipes more subtle, with less sweetness. So we made up for the ‘quieter’ middle layer by creating a rich sauce for the top, made out of dates, liquid vanilla essence, water, cocao, and more coffee.
I’m not very good at drizzling, as you can see… my drizzle vaguely resembles poop!
White Paeony is anti-inflammatory, anti-spasmodic and cognition enhancing. In herbal medicine we use the root of Paeony for infertility, period pain, rheumatoid arthritis, memory loss and muscle tension.
Cinnamon is a digestive herb and a warming circulatory tonic. It’s used to treat indigestion, abdominal spasms, nausea, diarrhoea, cold hands and feet, uterine haemorrhage, heavy periods, colds and flu’s.
Echinacea is immune modulating, cleansing, anti-inflammatory and lymphatic. It’s used for infections (esp upper respiratory infections) and mucous congestion, sinusitis, tonsillitis, indigestion, diarrhoea, fever, impotence, and skin conditions like eczema and boils.
When i talk to this cake, this is what it tells me: “I have spirit medicine for both you and your friend. For your friend… it is best her shares it with his wife. It will bless their union with great abundance. There is more we could say here but we will respect the privacy of these two, in this public space.
For you, we have magic in this cake for your sacral chakra. This is a sacral chakra remedy and it will help you unlock pain from your hip, as well as toning your female power centres. For your husband, it will tone his Hu.”
What is Hu? I ask
“Hu is a special energy that runs through the second auric layer, in the front body. It energises us and helps us focus our intent with great precision. It can also help us find what is missing.”
Great. Maybe he’ll find his passport after all.
Blessed Be