When I was little, my mom baked us a cake almost every single Saturday.
It was a highlight of our weekend. I loved that sweet smell of vanilla or chocolate that always filled the house. I’m not much of a baker myself, as I tell you time and time again, and it’s probably because most of my favorite childhood dessert recipes contain a lot of ingredients that I don’t reach for anymore- like eggs or cream. This is why lately I started experimenting a little with raw desserts- maybe I can even start my own tradition of making a cake, every weekend?
Raw desserts are a perfect addition to my plant-based diet, as they are easy to make, contain only unprocessed ingredients and… they don’t require an oven (and as you know, the only snack/dessert foods I like to bake are my banana breakfast bars and banana bread).
You saw me make this cake on Snapchat (@Paula13t) and I promised to share the recipe, if it happens to work out and as you can see- it did (yay!). It actually came out much better than I thought it would; it’s smooth, creamy with a sweet and nutty crust and topped off with a rich layer of chocolate.
- 2 cups walnuts
- 2 cups coconut flakes (unsweetened)
- 1.5 cups dates (soaked in warm water for 10 mins)
- .5 cup cacao powder
- 1.5 cups cashews (soaked overnight)
- 2 TBS lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- .25 cup coconut water
- .25 cup unrefined coconut oil
- .25 cup pure maple syrup
- dash sea salt
- 3 ripe bananas
- .5 cup cacao powder
- .5 cup unrefined coconut oil
- .25 cup maple syrup
- Place all crust ingredients in a blender or a food processor and blend until combined. The mixture should be a little sticky- if it's too dry, add a few more dates.
- Taking a rectangle dish (I used a glass 8''x11'' Pyrex dish) line it with plastic wrap and press the crust mixture into your dish. Put it in the freezer for about 30 minutes.
- Put two of your bananas aside. Now, taking all of your remaining filling ingredients place them in a food processor and blend until completely smooth.
- Slice remaining two bananas and layer them on top of your chilled crust and pour your filling on top. Place in a freezer for about an hour, to allow to set.
- In the meantime, prepare your chocolate topping by mixing coconut oil, cacao powder and maple syrup until completely smooth.
- Once your cake has set, pour the chocolate mix on top of your filling and once again place in the freezer to allow to set.
- Keep your cake frozen and let it thaw for about 15 minutes before serving, Serve topped with bananas and some dark chocolate shavings.
Let me know if you’re going to give this raw cake a go!
31 Comments
Ambar Syed
April 21, 2016 at 12:11 pmOh wow – Paula, this looks absolutely divine! I’m going to have to try making this soon. My mouth is watering just looking at your photos :)
– Ambar x
http://www.herlittleloves.blogspot.com
Paula @ lifestylegleam.com
April 26, 2016 at 8:15 amHahah :) Thanks Ambar! :)
Chelsea Jacobs
April 21, 2016 at 12:32 pmThis looks SO delicious!
Paula @ lifestylegleam.com
April 26, 2016 at 8:15 amThank you!
Aleksandra
April 21, 2016 at 1:36 pmMy first thought: this could be turned into a tiramisu! (right right? exciting times!)
Paula @ lifestylegleam.com
April 26, 2016 at 8:16 amI’m sure that with a different base and a topping it could!
Miki
April 21, 2016 at 3:12 pmThese look amazing! Yummy! Oven is not in working order and I tend to devour everything I make in that week, so maybe I’ll try it in a few months. lol
Thanks for sharing.
Xo,
Miki
http://mikialamode.com
Paula @ lifestylegleam.com
April 26, 2016 at 8:16 amThanks Miki!
Stefanie Meier
April 21, 2016 at 3:29 pmI love love love your photography
Stefanie | Casualllyawkward | Bloglovin’
Paula @ lifestylegleam.com
April 26, 2016 at 8:17 amThanks Stefanie!
Mantenso
April 21, 2016 at 3:30 pmMinus the banana this looks and sounds delicious!
Tenz
http://www.shesabouthatlife.com
xxx
Paula @ lifestylegleam.com
April 26, 2016 at 8:28 amHehe, you can’t really make this without bananas, since that’s what was used to make the cream.
Aelin
April 21, 2016 at 3:46 pmwell I need food procesor it looks so amazing and now I am hungry
galantosfun
Paula @ lifestylegleam.com
April 26, 2016 at 8:28 am:)
Guest
April 21, 2016 at 4:09 pmYummy, this looks decadent!
Paula @ lifestylegleam.com
April 26, 2016 at 8:28 amThanks Pat!
Joyousreads
April 21, 2016 at 6:23 pmThis looks so good! And easy to make. Thanks for this recipe!
Paula @ lifestylegleam.com
April 26, 2016 at 8:30 amThank you!
The Sunday Mode
April 21, 2016 at 8:55 pmNo one in my family is really a baker, I so would’ve loved if there was a cake or something baked every Saturday.
This recipe looks really good, I definitely want to give it a go.
http://www.thesundaymode.blogspot.com.au
Paula @ lifestylegleam.com
April 26, 2016 at 8:30 amThat was always a highlight of the weekend for both my sister and me ;)
Miss Nev
April 21, 2016 at 8:56 pmYummm, looks so good! Need to try this soon x
Nev | Miss Nev
Paula @ lifestylegleam.com
April 26, 2016 at 8:31 amThanks Nev!
Kathy
April 22, 2016 at 12:23 amlooks deliish!
Kathy x
http://www.alongcamekathy.blogspot.co.nz
Paula @ lifestylegleam.com
April 26, 2016 at 8:31 amThanks!
Sara
April 22, 2016 at 2:23 pmOmg, this looks & sounds absolutely delicious!! You’re making me hungry haha :) x
Sara / AboutLittleThiings
Paula @ lifestylegleam.com
April 26, 2016 at 8:32 amThanks Sara.
Mikéla Davelyn
April 24, 2016 at 3:47 pmYUMMM! This looks so good! I haven’t had banana cream cake before, but I love banana bread, so I’m sure I would love this!
xo, mikéla / simplydavelyn.com
Paula @ lifestylegleam.com
April 26, 2016 at 8:32 amI’m sure you’d like it! :)
Lisa @ Midwest Glam
April 25, 2016 at 4:06 pmI actually did way more baking when I went vegan. I loved the challenge of finding substitutes and reworking old favorite recipes. It’s probably why I gained weight too, but hey lol. The raw banana cream cake looks amazing as always! You always outdo yourself, Paula! I’ll have to pin this.
Paula @ lifestylegleam.com
April 26, 2016 at 8:35 amIt can definitely be a little challenging, that’s for sure haha ;) Aww thanks so much Lisa! :)
ISA Professional
April 27, 2016 at 2:21 amThis recipe looks so delicious, you’re making out mouths water just looking at your pictures! Will definitely try making this soon, thanks for sharing!
ISA Professional