STRAWBERRY & CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM TART

I am so happy right now. For my countless blessings from the magical universe BUT ALSO - because I have succeeded in creating raw vegan buttercream. Chocolate. Buttercream. I know, I know; but please try to contain the applause.

Honestly, it was accidental. Two nights ago I was making some date syrup to photograph for my cookbook, and then I decided to turn it into a fudgy pudding type thing so I threw in some cacao, coconut oil, maple syrup, cashew butter, and other stuff. It tasted great but I had changed my mind - I wasn't hungry anymore. I put it in the fridge...

The next day my heart was set on creating strawberry chocolate cream tarts using the chocolate mixture I had made the previous night, along with a simple tart crust and fresh strawberries from our garden. Everything was set to go; I finally took out the chocolate mixture and tasted it. Oh. My. God.

It had evolved into chocolate buttercream overnight. Praise the heavens and all that is holy. Obviously it will taste great with anything, especially if that anything is strawberries. Make this ASAP.

strawberry & chocolate buttercream tart

Crust:
1 cup almonds
1 cup dates 

Chocolate buttercream:
1 cup dates
3/4 cup water
Juice from 1 lemon
1/4 cup cacao powder
2 tablespoon cashew butter
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Topping:
Sliced strawberries 
Mint leaves

To make the crust: pulse the almonds into flour in a food processor. Add the dates and process until they stick together. Press into the bottom and up the side of a lined spring form pan or tart molds. 

To make the buttercream: blend all the ingredients until smooth. Refrigerate overnight so it can develop those magical flavours, then spread evenly into your crust. Top off with strawberries and mint. Enjoy the !#$% out of it. 

berry ice cream cake with chocolate eggs, pistachios and cinnamon

Here is my Easter gift to you! I actually had no idea what I was going to make until I began getting out ingredients yesterday morning and even as I was making it, I still didn't have a clear idea what it was going to end up being. But look how it turned out! It's just a sign of how easy raw food recipes are. Yeah, man. Yeah. 

I'll give it to ya straight: this recipe is an ice cream cake made of bananas and cashews with different layers of strawberry and blueberry. On top is a nest of cinnamon sticks surrounding coconut cream eggs. The "eggs" are simply dates filled with coconut oil, covered in raw chocolate. I also sprinkled on some chopped pistachios for colour and edged the cake with more cinnamon sticks. 

I admit - I have been making mostly banana ice cream cakes lately, but I just can't stop. They are so easy and you can do almost anything you want with them, as you can see in my last few recipes. Anyways, Easter colours are usually light shades of pink, green, blue and yellow and so I think I got most of those covered with this recipe. Not the yellow but hey, I can't do everything. Wait a sec - does sunshine count?

Before I made this cake, I was really wanting to make SOMETHING with some kind of raw vegan creme egg because they are such a popular Easter dessert component. But I was at a blank for ideas. Then it hit me when I took out my dates as I was making the ice cream part - I could make eggs from dates! So I filled them with coconut oil, covered them in raw chocolate and sprinkled on some chia, hemp and black sesame seeds. They turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself. *Proud face*

berry ice cream cake with chocolate eggs, pistachios and cinnamon: 

Vanilla ice cream cake layer:

1 banana

2/3 cup cashews

1/3 cup dates

1 tablespoon liquid coconut oil

1/3 cup water

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Strawberry layer: 

1 banana

2/3 cup cashews

1/3 cup dates

1 tablespoon liquid coconut oil

1/3 cup water

1/4 strawberries

Blueberry layer:

1 banana

2/3 cup cashews

1/3 cup dates

1 tablespoon liquid coconut oil

1/3 cup water

1/4 blueberries 

Chocolate cream eggs:

3 dates

1 teaspoon coconut oil (optional) 

Raw chocolate, in liquid form 

Garnishes:

Cinnamon sticks

1/4 cup chopped pistachios 

To make the ice cream cake layers: blend the ingredients from each list separately and until smooth, adding as little water as possible. Then spread each layer into a spring form on top of one another, gently stirring together some parts of the layers with a spoon. This will give it a swirl effect. Put in the freezer for a few hours until it's set. 

To make the "eggs": take the pits out of the dates carefully, not pulling them apart completely. Fill each one with a tiny bit of coconut oil, if using, then cover in liquid chocolate and put in the fridge or freezer until hardened. 

Assembly: take the cake out of the spring form pan. Place a few tiny cinnamon stick in circle like a nest, and put the chocolate eggs in the middle. Sprinkle the chopped pistachios around the egg nest and line the sides of the cake with cinnamon sticks. Enjoy! Store in the freezer if you don't eat it all right away. 

strawberry banana cream cake with mint

You can feel GREAT about eating this cake because it's super healthy and has only simple, wholesome ingredients: fruit and nuts. Plus, it makes a cheerful, stunning dessert for any kind of party. Unless you are hosting a black-themed death metal get-together. Then you may want to consider making something else.

The pink filling is strawberries and bananas and the creamy outside is a blend of cashews, dates and orange. I suppose you could say this was made in anticipation of the eminent summer, because it IS sunny today. But at the same time, there's no reason you can't make this anytime of the year. 

I certainly recommend garnishing this cake with chocolate, berries and mint. When I took it out of the spring form pan I thought it looked rather plain (even though I knew about the surprise on the inside) so I chose to decorate the sides with mint leaves. I had dribbled a few spots of chocolate on parchment paper the day before and they looked very nice alongside the frozen berries. They all add different textures and colours to the presentation. 

This was actually quite easy to make and it didn't take much time, not including freezing. It may appear plain on the outside - unless you decorate with berries, mint and chocolate - but when you cut it open there's that burst of pink! My fave colour. If you have a fear of pink (umm...), just use blueberries instead of strawberries. Problem solved. 

strawberry banana cream cake with mint: 

Pink filling:

3 bananas

2 cups frozen strawberries (or other berries)

1-3 tablespoons coconut oil (optional but it will make it creamier) 

Cream exterior:

2 cups cashews

2 cup dates

1 peeled orange

2 tablespoons melted coconut oil

Water, as needed

To make the pink filling: put the bananas in your blender, followed by the frozen berries and blend until smooth. Spread evenly into a spring form pan, this pan should be slightly smaller than the second one you will use. I have an adjustable one so I simply made it smaller for this layer, then widened it for the second part. If you don't have either of those options, don't worry. The bottom part can be pink and you can just add the cream layer on top. Freeze until solid. 

To make the cream layer: blend all ingredients until smooth, adding as LITTLE water possible, if you need any at all. The less water you use, the creamier it will be. Using a larger-sized spring form pan, place the frozen pink layer inside and then spread the cashew cream layer around the sides and top. Or you can use the same pan and spread it on top. Freeze until solid and then garnish, slice and enjoy! Store in the freezer. 

banana strawberry milkshake

After my workout today I enjoyed a delicious strawberry milkshake with creamy bananas and Vega protein powder. Usually I add greens like fresh kale or spinach but alas - we had none. So a pink smoothie it was! Pretty refreshing, if I do say so myself. You already know how much I worship smoothies so I won't get into a rant about their holiness. I'll just leave you with the recipe and the promise of a really yummy Peanut Butter Coconut Cup recipe that I will share tomorrow. I think I've eaten like 4 today... 

Banana Strawberry Milkshake: serves one

1 banana

1 cup vegan milk or water

1 cup frozen strawberries

1 scoop protein powder or hemp seeds (optional)

Add more or less of everything depending on your preference. Blend it all up in your high speed blender and sip away. Watch for the brain freeze though... I learned my lesson 3 times over while drinking this - it's so tasty I can't stop. 

okay, oh kale

i love smoothies. i love kale. from that you can deduce: i love kale IN smoothies. or maybe not, because i also love garlic and ice cream... hm.

ANYHOO - we are running dangerously low on fruits and vegetables (meaning we have like seven apples) in my house this morning so instead of using a banana i used dates, and instead of fresh kale, i used frozen. it's still from our garden though! it was especially think and cold because everything i put was frozen: blueberries, strawberries and kale. i added ice cold almond milk and it was like a berry milkshake!

not exactly what is going to warm me up on a chilly vancouver morning but i just don't care - it's too freaking yummy to worry about regulating my body temperature. i made extra, so it will be a snack later too...

nevermind. i just drank it. 

berry kale smoothie: makes 5 cups

1 cup kale
1 cup frozen blueberries
3/4 cup frozen strawberries
2 cups almond milk
2 large dates

blend it all up. chug. 
actually don't chug it, you will get a brain freeze.

10 day juice fast: day 1

today has been great so far. last night i had three amazing friends show up at my door unexpectedly, so we had a party. what does a party mean? it means the lost boys, pho noodle soup, animal collective, and lots of laughing.

so much laughing we kept my dad up, actually. then today i slept forever - that means until 2 in the afternoon. you know i'm really a cat. after my deep slumber i took a shower and laid out in the backyard to dry off in the sunshine. (side note: i've been listening to grimes all day - she's so good, perfect background music for today.)

i did some stuff around the house and was finally starting to get hungry so i made my first juice of the fast! it was made of:

3 carrots
4 sticks celery
handful strawberries
1 orange
1 kiwi
1 bell pepper
1 apple

 

it. was. amazing. 

i am actually more of a smoothie-lover myself (addicted to green smoothies for life. what's up, kale.) but all it took was one glass of fresh juice to get me right back into juicing! for a period i made veggie juice every morning but i got tired of it. i love fiber and when you juice - you take out the fiber. however, sans fiber has it's own benefits: you get lightning-fast absorption. i'm talkin' like 15 minutes, people.

BAM - it's in your blood. 

 
in any case, juice fasting has probably saved lives. ann wigmore really popularized juicing and especially wheatgrass juice in the 60's. she showed people juice fasting and raw food could cure disease and rejuvenate the chronically ill. you go, girl.

there's even a documentary about one man who pretty much saved his own life with a juice fast. he went from being "fat, sick and nearly dead" to at the peak of his fitness. here's the link. this doc is so inspiring!!! i loved it. through this juice fast and my 21-day water fast, i also plan to do a lot of reading, writing, painting, yoga and meditation.

time to get back to who i am!

look what i found today! the summer's first strawberry! oh my goodness. i gobbled the little fellow up and promptly ascended into heaven. please, grow your own food if you can - it will be the most luscious, flavourful food you will ever eat.

for dinner, i had a similar juice of carrots, celery, an apple, an orange, strawberries and a bell pepper. but i also added a tomato and a chunk of ginger. it was actually glowing, i think. i feel on top of the world right now! we'll see how tomorrow goes.