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Chocolate and orange ice-cream cake?! (in winter? Under the snow?)
When you nail two genius recipes in a row…! I’m not one known for self-praising, so this is gonna be quite special and rare. All of this is thanks to a healthy food contest promoted on Instagram (under the hashtag #UNBROCCOLOACOLAZIONE, which literally translates to “broccoli for breakfast”) where food bloggers were asked to create sweet recipes using all or any of the following: broccoli/cauliflower or any other kind of cabbage; legumes/pulses; vegetables in general. I was really inspired to think of original and healthy ways to incorporate even more veggies in my sweet dishes and you already saw that in my previous post, the chickpea flour cookies with chocolate chips and cashews (which I keep re-making btw. So good.)
I also wanted to make a cake and remembered seeing photos of raw (or semi-raw) cauliflower “cheesecakes” one or two years ago. The idea had always fascinated me but as I tend not to make raw desserts often (because I know I will eat them very quickly..!), I’d never given it a try. But what a better excuse than this! So I looked through all of my recipes, found the one I was looking for and adjusted it to my purpose.
By partially using steamed cauliflower florets in place of nuts the calorie intake decreases considerably. Next step is using 100% cauliflower! (plus vanilla, maple, etc 😛 ) Who knows if it’s possible? It will probably just turn into frozen sweet cauli velvet soup ahahaha.
Oh btw – this does not taste like cauliflower at all!!
CHOCOLATE AND ORANGE ICE-CREAM CAKE (W/ SECRET INGREDIENT) {vegan + gluten free}
by Marta Giaccone
Recipe
yields one 8-in or two ~4-in cakes
prep time: 10 mins, cooking time: 10 mins, total time: 20 mins + 3 hrs soaking + freezing time
Base
½ cup / 75 gr nuts of choice
4 medjool dates
2 tbsp / 30 ml coconut oil, melted
¼ cup / 22 gr cacao powder
½ cup /100 gr raw buckwheat groats
Method
- Add all ingredients except buckwheat to a food processor and blend into a paste. Add buckwheat and pulse just to combine (I like to feel some crunch but feel free to blend more).
- Press mixture into either an 8-inch cake pan or two 4-ish-inch pans (or equivalent food ring moulds placed on small plates), better if with removable bottoms for easier removal. Optional: line pans with plastic wrap or parchment paper.
- Transfer to freezer while you make the filling.
Filling
1 cup / 150 gr raw cashews, soaked in hot water for 1 hr
1 cup / 150 gr steamed cauliflower (weighted after steaming)
1/3 cup / 80 ml maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener)
1/3 cup / 80 ml coconut oil, melted
1 heaping tsp orange zest or more, to taste
juice of ½ an orange
1-2 tbsp lemon juice
¼ cup / 22 gr cacao powder
vanilla, to taste
cinnamon, to taste
seeds of 5 cardamom pods (ground with a mortar and pestle)
pinch salt
Method
- Melt coconut oil over a double boiler. Drain and rinse soaked cashews.
- Blend all ingredients to a velvety, clump-free mixture. As I don’t have a powerful blender, first I used a small food processor and then a hand blender. As you can see from the photos it worked perfectly.
- Pour mixture onto crust and transfer back into the freezer, wrapped in plastic, until set, about 2 hours.
- You will need to take the cakes out and let them thaw for about 20 minutes prior to serving. Tip: run a sharp and smooth knife under hot water before slicing. The cakes can be stored in the freezer for a long time.
