i try making healthy, raw cherry ripe slice

I adapted this recipe from Live, Love, Eat Raw. I made a few changes (mainly with the topping) so I've re-written my version of  the recipe below. This is a really delicious recipe. The tartness of the cherries balances out the subtle sweetness of the base and top well. and, best of all, its healthy, vegan, raw and refined sugar free.

Ingredients

Base
10 mejool dates
1 cup almond meal
1.5 cups shredded coconut
2 tbs raw cacao powder
2 tbs rice malt syrup (a little more if you prefer it sweeter)
2 tbs chia seeds
pinch of sea salt

Filling
2 cups of frozen cherries, thawed and drained of excess liquid (can use fresh cherries if in season)
Juice of small lemon
1.5 tbs coconut oil
3 cups shredded coconut
1 tbs rice malt syrup
1 cup cashews (soaked for 4 hours)
1 tbs chia seeds
pinch of sea salt

Top
55g cacao butter
30g coconut oil
3 tbs agave nectar (more if your prefer it sweeter)
50g cacao powder, sifted
pinch of sea salt

Method

1. To make the base: combine all base ingredients into a high-powered blender/food processor. Process until mixture is well combined and comes together. 
2. Press into lined 24cm baking tin. Refrigerate.
3. To make filling: place all filling ingredients into a high-powered blender/food processor. Process until mixture is well combined and comes together. 
4. Press into tin on top of base mixture. Refrigerate.
5. To make top: Bring a small amount of water to a simmer in a small pot. 
6. Put cacao butter and coconut oil in a glass bowl and place a glass bowl on top of the pot of water (ensure the bottom of the glass bowl does not touch the water). Stir gently with a metal spoon until cacao butter is melted.
7. Whisk in agave nectar.
8. Remove from heat. whisk in cacao powder and salt. 
9. Pour over filling and base. Refrigerate until set. Slice and serve.

Note: I recommend keeping your slice in the freezer.

i try making vegan cheesecake

My sister rang me up and asked if I wanted to come over and help her make a cheesecake for our Ma's birthday dinner. There were two problems with this:
1. Pretty sure our mum doesn't like cheesecake.
2. Your vegan...

But she assured me that neither of these two issues where going to be a problem. She had a plan. And a recipe. She sourced the recipe from one of my favourite blogs: My New Roots. It is definitely worth a visit! My sister also highly recommends the happy crackers.

I must admit, I was sceptical at first. We sampled some of the filling before we scooped it into the pan. It was delicious, smooth and slightly zingy. I had no reason to doubt my sis.

The base is made up of almonds, dates and a wee bit of salt. The filling consists of soaked cashews, lemon juice, vanilla bean, coconut oil and honey. Half of the mixture is also whizzed up with fresh raspberries.

I was worried the mixture wouldn't solidify properly and we would end up with a goopy mess (a delicious goopy mess but still a goopy mess). However, when we took them out of the freezer several hours later they were perfectly formed.

This is a delicious recipe. Even our carnivore brothers went back for more. I love a desert that is delicious but doesn't clog your arteries or give you that I-really-didn't-need-that-chocolate-cake feeling. I highly recommend these cakes for any occasion! We did mini cakes because we were pressed for time but the original recipe is for one big cake. Both ways work equally well!

You can find this recipe at My New Roots.

Follow me on Instagram: @mirandamc

i try making raw granola

Raw Granola Recipe

I must confess I am addicted to the Samudra berry granola. It is very delicious. However, at $13.50 for a 250g bag ($15 at some places) it don't come cheap. So I decided to experiment with making my own raw granola. No offense Samudra but I like mine better :)

Ingredients

3/4 cup almond meal
1/2 cup vanilla protein powder
1/4 cup shredded coconut
2 tbs oats
1 generous tbs each of sunflower seeds, pepitas and chia seeds
2 fresh dates
1/4 cup cranberries
3 tbs goji berries
50ml agave syrup
Squeeze lemon juice

1. Put cranberries in a bowl with 50ml of boiling water and let stand for 10 minutes.
2. Place almond meal, protein powder, coconut, oats, seeds and dates in a food processor and blitz until desired texture is formed (i.e. if you like a more chunky granola just blitz it until it's combined.
3. Add remaining ingredients (including the water that the cranberries were soaking in). Blitz until just combined. Mixture should be slightly sticky, not runny and not dry.
4. Place on baking paper on the racks of a dehydrator and dehydrate at 45 degrees for 10 hours.

Notes: You can easily adjust this recipe to suit your taste. Add dried apricots or sultanas. Try using hazelnut meal instead of almond meal. You can use honey instead of agave syrup if you prefer it. You may need adjust the level of liquids in order to get the right texture.