Two layers, a food processor, one night in the fridge: this raw chocolate cake hardly asks for more. The base combines walnuts ground to a powder with dates, which turn into a sticky dough once blended and are pressed into the bottom of the pan. The top layer is a cashew cream blended with raw cacao, dates, a little coconut oil, honey and lemon juice. You will not taste the lemon, it simply wakes up the chocolate. The point to watch is the consistency of the cream: it should resemble thick yogurt before going into the refrigerator. The coconut oil will set gently overnight and give the cake a perfect hold when slicing. Decorate it as you like, with red berries, walnut pieces or a dusting of cacao.
Raw Chocolate Cake with Cashews and Dates
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Organic raw cacao powder (Nacional variety)
€9.90 Out-of-Stock
Ingredients
For the base
- 110 g walnuts
- 225 g pitted dates
For the chocolate cream
- 260 g cashews, soaked for 2 hours then drained
- 10 g raw cacao powder (about 2 tbsp)
- 240 ml filtered and hydrogenated water
- The juice of 1 lemon
- 150 g pitted dates
- 60 ml melted coconut oil
- 30 ml honey (about 2 tbsp)
- 2 g vanilla powder (about 1 tsp)
Preparation
- For the base, grind the walnuts to a powder in the food processor, then add the dates and blend until the mixture comes together in a ball.
- Press this dough into the bottom of a springform pan or a ring set to about 18 cm, packing it down well. Set aside in the refrigerator.
- For the cream, blend all the ingredients until perfectly smooth, thick and creamy, close to a yogurt. If it is too runny, add a few dates, a little coconut oil or some cashews; if it is too thick, a splash of water or honey.
- Pour the cream over the base, smooth the surface and let it set in the refrigerator overnight, or at least 12 hours.
- Unmold, slice with a knife dipped in hot water and enjoy well chilled.
Tip
For a more intensely chocolatey cake, go up to 20 or 25 g of raw cacao and add one or two dates to offset the bitterness. For a more economical version, the walnuts in the base can be replaced with tiger nut flakes, and part of the cashews with soaked almonds: the cream will be a little less silky, but just as indulgent. The cake keeps four to five days in the refrigerator, and freezes very well in individual slices, to take out half an hour before serving.
The full range Cacao
Biovie raw cacao comes from Ecuador, Nacional variety, bought directly from a cooperative under the SPP label (Symbol of Peasant Producers), with partner Rrraw Cacao Factory. Unlike conventional cacao, it is never roasted: the beans ferment, then dry in the sun at under 42 °C, which preserves its nutrients better than high-temperature roasting. It comes as whole beans, cacao nibs, powder or melting paste. To get started, try the nibs, which are easy to add to a yogurt or smoothie without any preparation., 11 products
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FAQ: your questions about raw chocolate cake
What is a raw vegan tart base?
A raw tart base almost always combines two families of ingredients: nuts or flakes for structure, such as walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts or shredded coconut, and sticky dried fruit to bind, such as medjool dates, figs or raisins. They are blended in the food processor until the dough holds together when pinched, then pressed into the bottom of the pan and left to firm up in the cool. Here, walnuts and dates are all you need.
What is the best eggless chocolate cake?
It all depends on the texture you are after. In a baked version, an eggless chocolate cake works very well with applesauce, mashed banana or plant-based yogurt to replace the eggs. In a raw version, like this one, the question does not even arise: it is the cashew cream and the coconut oil, set by the cold, that give the cake its hold, for a dense and melting result, close to a chocolate cheesecake.
Which vegan dessert is easy to make?
Raw desserts are among the simplest: an avocado chocolate mousse, date and cacao truffles, a raw apple crumble or a cake like this one are all made in the food processor, with no cooking and few ingredients. As for baked desserts, applesauce cakes, seasonal fruit crumbles and nut butter cookies are within everyone's reach too. The only real secret of a raw cake is to give it a night in the cool.
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