My daughter MacKenzie’s birthday is in the Christmas school holidays and we are always away camping with family during this time. This year I wanted to make her a special cake while we were away. I know, madness… I decided to take my raw ingredients and my Vitamix with me and attempt to come up with something delicious and special for a birthday cake. Being January, it was pretty hot in that tent trying to make a cake with limited bench space. I was balancing everything on top of everything else. It must have looked pretty funny! Luckily I had a fridge to use so happy days!
The result? This beautiful marbled cake looks good and tastes amazing! I got plenty of yum sounds and fantastic comments. Most importantly, my daughter loved it! Try it for your next birthday or special event, as I think it’s a special occasion cake. Though if you like, give it a try just because it tastes delicious.
You Will Need:
For Base
1 ½ cups raw almonds
½ cup desiccated coconut
8 medjool dates (soaked for 10 minutes in hot water)
3 tbsp cacao powder
pinch of Himalayan sea salt
and an 18cm (7 inch) spring form pan.
Vanilla Filling
3 cups cashews
¼ cup coconut oil
½ cup coconut cream
2 tbsp cacao butter (melted)
¼ cup maple syrup
Juice of 1 lemon
1 vanilla bean or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ cup water
Cherry and Chocolate Filling
½ of vanilla filling
2 tablespoons cacao powder
16 cherries (you could add more if you like)
What To Do:
The night before:
Soak your 3 cups of cashews in water overnight.
The day of the party:
- Drain your cashews and set aside.
- Soak the dates in hot water for 10 minutes.
- Place the almonds, coconut, cacao powder, and salt in a food processor or high-powered blender and grind.
- Press your nut and date mixture evenly onto the bottom of your spring form pan.
- Pop your base in the fridge while you make the filling.
- Blend or process all the filling ingredients until smooth.
- Put half the filling into a bowl. Add the extra cacao powder and cherries.
- This is the fun bit! I used to make marble cake like this with my mum and loved this bit. (Cake wasn’t as healthy as this one :). Take your base out of the fridge and place one dessertspoon of vanilla filling and then one dessertspoon of chocolate and cherry filling, another dessertspoon of vanilla filling, chocolate and cherry filling, and so on until all the mixture is in the springform pan.
- Let gravity work its magic, you don’t need to shake and tap the pan.
- Place the cake in the freezer for at least 2-3 hours.
- Remove from the freezer, slice some extra cherries and place in the middle of the cake, and add some flowers or other decorations.
- Transfer to the fridge for an hour.
- Remove from the fridge when you are ready to serve, pop your candles on and voila!Happy Birthday! OR decorate any way you like for another celebration or just because…
