About Me

My photo
Northamptonshire, United Kingdom
My name is Peace Ravenwood and I am a Living Foods educator and experimenter, founder of the School of Living Foods and Alchemy Elixir Cafe ~ based in Northamptonshire UK. I love sharing the gifts and benefits of a life rich in raw foods, and also love spending as much time as possible outside in the garden, growing lots of fresh organic produce to use in the recipes. Wild foraging is also a passion of mine, one which I am constantly learning more about. My life is dedicated to learning and sharing every aspect of life in the raw, from seed ~ stomach ~ spirituality and sensuality. My other loves are of spending time with loved ones Anthony and our tribe of furry companions, reading, researching, writing and a little radical rebellion...my aim here to you is to walk with you while we change our world, one meal at a time Inlakesh Peace xxx

Friday 7 October 2011

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheezecake

I made this dessert the other day and have been begged to share the recipe with you, so here it is!
The recipe is from the book Sweet Gratitude ~ I highly recommend you invest in it if you love desserts as much as we do!
This was my first time at swirling two different coloured fillings, and I do need more practice, but the taste of this is worth all the effort of making it...hope you enjoy xxx
 

makes one 10" cheezecake

CHOCOLATE ALMOND CRUST
3/4 cup almonds
3/4 cup coconut flakes (not toasted)
11/2 oz cacao powder
5 oz date paste*
1/3 cup cacao nibs
2 tsp liquid vanilla*
1/8 tsp Himalayan salt


process all the ingredients until a fine crumb and press lightly into the bottom of the springform tin. Set aside whilst you make the filling.


WHITE CHOCOLATE FILLING
3 cups soaked cashews (soak for at least 3 hours)
2 cups almond milk*
3/4 cup agave syrup
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 liquid vanilla
1/4 tsp Himalayan salt
3 tbsp lecithin
2/3 cup melted cacao butter


method:
  1. add to the blender all the ingredients except the cacao butter and lecithin.
  2. blend well until smooth and creamy (3-5 minutes)
  3. stop blending and add the lecithin and melted cacao butter
  4. resume blending until the butter and lecithin are fully incorporated
  5. reserve 2 cups of this filling for the swirling
  6. make the swirl layer: to the reserved 2 cups of filling add 6 oz of fresh raspberries & 2 tbsp lemon juice.  blend this until smooth and pink.
  7. add the white chocolate filling to the springform tin, shake gently to distribute.
  8. with the pink filling you want to add this now ~ confidently pour the pink filling into the white chocolate filling (only use about 2/3 of the mixture), aim to pour it so it breaks the surface of the first filling and goes into it well, pour at random in blobs as this will create a marble effect that can be seen in each slice of cake. Once you have poured 2/3 of the mixture start pouring lightly so the filling sits on top, make sure you do not cover the entire edges of the cake.  Then, take a chopstick or some similar item, and insert it just below the surface of the mixture.  Begin swirling the fillings into each other to make a balanced pretty pattern.  Don't over swirl though or you will just blend it all together!
Once you are happy, put the cake in the freezer for a couple of hours to set, then, with a spatula, gently ease the sides of the cake away from the tin and then remove the tin.
The cake will keep for up to 4 days in the fridge (as if!!!)


MAKING DATE PASTE
take 2 cups of either pitted or Medjool dates and chop them finely.  You can add them to a pestle and bash them into a paste or, if you have a high power blender, add them to the blender and pulse them until they make a thick paste.
This will keep in a container in the fridge for a good few weeks.


MAKING LIQUID VANILLA
use 3 or 4 vanilla pods chopped up into small bits, add them to the blender with a cup of water and blend on high power for a minute or two so that the warmth of the blades warms the liquid.
Store this in a glass jar in the fridge and it will keep for several weeks or more.
(I had some vanilla powder so used that instead and infused it in the sun for half an hour)


MAKING ALMOND MILK
soak 2 cups of almonds for 8 hours or more
rinse and drain the almonds and add to your blender
cover with 3 cups of water
blend on high power until the nuts are broken down
strain the liquid nut milk through a nut milk bag ~ squeezing all the liquid out into a glass bowl.


Use the nut pulp to make other lovely foods like nut burgers or add some to a smoothie, OR dehydrate the pulp and keep in an airtight container to use as almond flour for other cakes!!!