Raw Desserts

Over the weekend I went a bit crazy at the health food section in Dee Why Discount Vitamins store, buying nuts, dates and cacao. I've been following a clean eating blog called Wholefood Simply, where Bianca has a lot of easy clean raw recipes for desserts and treats. So I thought I'd try some of them out.

Gaffa and I went to a cafe in Bondi called Earth to Table where all the food and drink are clean, raw, vegan, gluten free and dairy free. They have delicious cakes there that are just divine. So I was hoping to recreate something similar.

I went to Coles supermarket to buy some Medjool dates, as the pitted dates I bought in Dee Why were not as sweet or juicy as the Medjool dates. They are four times the price but you can really notice the difference.

I decided to try the coconut rough recipe first as I love these round chocolate treats and the recipe was quite simple. I used our Kenwood mini food processor and had to mix it in 2 batches, but otherwise it was easy to make. The dates make the batter sticky so you do need to scrape down the sides every so often so it combines well. I'm not sure if I added the correct amount of cacao nibs, as mine didn't look as chocolatey as Bianca's photo, and they tasted really nice but I would've preferred a more chocolate taste.

Next I decided to try her raspberry cheesecake. Again, another easy recipe but I think I forgot to add the cacao nibs because the base was not chocolatey at all. (I must've been really distracted on the weekend!!) I mixed the "cheese" filling in two batches because of our small processor. But it turned out very well - minus the bland base. I also decided to use the pitted dates in the bases instead of the Medjool dates. I initially soaked them (advice from the lady at the store) and used a few more than suggested in the recipe.

Finally I made the chocolate fudge. I went a bit crazy with blending the macadamia nuts, because they produced a lot of oil. I later found out from one of Gaffa's Navy friends who is a chef, that yes if you blend macadamia nuts or add too much heat, they do get a bit oily. I noticed our Kenwood food processor getting a bit hot as well, maybe because it was such a small unit and doing a lot of work. But again despite the little hiccup,  they tasted very yummy.

All the treats I put in the freezer to set. But then afterwards I put the cheesecake and coconut rough in the fridge and kept the fudge in the freezer.

So, guilt free treats galore! Easy to make and tastes so yummy. Highly recommend Wholefood Simply for great recipes.