Raw, Vegan, Gluten-Free Ganache Cake

Whoops! I know this was supposed to be up yesterday, but life had other plans. I'm sure every reader can relate to that moment where you realise that blogging today? Well, that isn't happening..

I'm really excited about sharing this recipe. The idea for it came from a River Cottage program. It was the episode where the newly vegged Hugh takes on a raw, vegan feast. The raw chocolate torte on that program was this one, from Laura Coxeter.

Of course, when it came to me reconstructing it, I didn't have half the ingredients and things went in a whole new direction. Plus, pecans are not that common around here, so I decided on an apricot base instead.

Then started 'adding stuff' (chia, cacao nibs, almond butter..).  Haha. Why do I bother to consult recipes?

Raw, Vegan, Avocado Ganache Cake

(Gluten-Free)

Click here for a printable version

Ingredients

For the base:

·         350g dried apricots or other dried fruit. I think cranberries, strawberries, dates or cherries would also be great.

·         2 tbsp almond butter

·         2 tbsp chia seeds

·         1.5 tbsp coconut oil

·         1 tbsp raw cacao nibs

·         ½ tsp salt

For the filling

·         4 avocados

·         140g coconut oil

·         150g raw cocoa (or just use regular cocoa if you are not concerned about the ‘raw’ factor ;))

·         100g maple syrup (again, if you have raw, that’s great; if not, just use what you have. You can also use agave or rice syrup)

·         2 tbsp raw sugar (or preferred substitute)

·         1 tbsp vanilla essence

·         1 tsp salt

·         1 tsp instant coffee (optional)

Method

Put all ingredients for the base except the coconut oil into your food processor and blend at high speed until it is a globby mess.

Melt the coconut oil on low heat and add while the processor is running.

Press into a silicone baking dish.. like this:

Rinse and dry your processor: you’ll need it again for the next step.

Cut the avocados in half, remove the stone and scoop the flesh into the processor.

Add all other ingredients for the filling (melt the coconut oil first), and blend until it forms a delicious ganache.

Pour the ganache on top of the base, clear a space in your freezer and chill the cake until it is firm enough to be removed from the pan. This cake can be stored in the freezer and, when you want to eat some, simply cut an approprioately sized piece (i.e. enormous) off and let it thaw in the fridge for a few hours.

So delicious, and a very sneaky way to get unsuspecting guests to consume some healthy avocado fats. ;D

The pic below is a version that I made in a loaf pan: both the base and topping are thicker. You can also just make the topping and serve it as a mousse.

Enjoy!

This version has maple-soaked dates on the top. mmmm, mmmmm.