Soooo, to cut a long and wordy story short, here are some pictures of some of the more memorable moments in the kitchen these past months....
Cake Crafting with Jolita
We had a great time experimenting with making different creams and layers....it's all about cream and layers for me at the moment! (and Jolita has a particular fondness for smooth, creamy cakes, so that is what she wanted to learn about)
The main ingredients we used for the creams were almonds (soaked/peeled & dehydrated), sesame seeds (white & brown), pine nuts, cacao butter, coconut butter, orange juice, lemon juice, agave, vanilla. What, no cashews, i hear you say......hmm, whilst it is true that cashews make a particularly smooth and creamy cream, they just don't feel quite right.....it's a tricky one. Some people have no adverse effects from them, others find them hard on the digestion. Gabriel Cousens lists them as a food to avoid, and most cashews you can buy are not really raw at all (and i'm not even sure about the ones that say they are raw). So whilst i do occasionally use raw cashews, on this occasion we decided to stretch our creative muscles and look for alternatives. We did use a few soaked cashews in the chocolate cream topping but that was it!
The base layer was made using macadamia nuts, buckwheaties, almonds (soaked/dehydrated), orange zest, mulberries, coconut butter. It's really biscuity!
After pressing in the biscuit base layers, we poured the different cream layers into plastic tubs lined with clingfilm and left them to firm up for a while in the freezer (or fridge, depending how long you want to wait!). This was a really good method of making mini cakes, or (HUGE) individual portions.
The creams we made:
Strawberry/Almond
Vanilla
Blueberry/coconut
Rich Chocolate
In between the layers chunks of fresh strawberries cut the richness of the creams and add delicious, juicy lightness. They look so pretty too!
Whilst we played, we wrote down all the recipes in The Book, which happens to have disappeared mysteriously during the big move...hopefully it will turn up soon. However, even without recipes it's fun to play. We didn't work from recipes, and ended up making totally sensational cakes. The more fun you have creating, the more love goes into the food, the more fun you get to have eating your creations....mmmmmmmmm it's a win-win situation methinks :)
more yummy layers of cream/ berries/ cakey-biscuit-ness
Cream, Butter, Flour, Sugar......
When i tell people that i make Raw Cakes, i am often met with curiosity and surprise. 'How do you make a Raw Cake?' What makes a Raw Cake different from a Cooked one? So the biggest difference is that a cooked cake is cooked (and usually laden with refined sugar, gluten, and dairy products), and a raw one is not (cooked or laden with the aformentioned nasties)! Anyone can figure that out! So then people wonder how do you make a cake without cooking it.......since traditionally, cakes are made with butter, flour, eggs and sugar. Well......there are substitutes for these ingredients, and when i analyse the way i make cakes, i realise that my use and choice of ingredients closely mirrors the 'cooked' approach. There are many Raw Recipes out there based on dried fruit and nuts, and whilst they are undeniably delicious, this is a difficult combination to digest, and the consistency of the cake is nowhere near the lightness of a cooked cake.
So i've been playing around with raw ingredients for a few years now, and i've finally come up with a recipe and method for making cake that very closely resembles cooked cake in both taste and texture!
It's been a labour of love, and i'm not quite ready to share the recipe with the world, but if you love creating and playing with different ingredients, then i encourage you to play.....
what would you substitute for the traditional cake ingredients?
Making Chocolate Truffles
Recipe: Creamy Parsley & Parsnip Mash
Blend the following in a high powered blender until creamy and smooth:
2C Chopped Parsnip
1/2C Carrot
2 sticks celery
1/8C Olive Oil
1 clove Garlic
squeeze of orange and lemon juice
Finely chop a handful of parsley and stir in at the end.
Enjoy! This mash is light, yet creamy and comforting. Great food for kids too.
Bye for now, hopefully i won't leave it 4 months to post again!!
