3 deliciously colored raw vegan tart

Versiunea in limba romana: 3 tarte raw vegan, delicios colorate

My curiosity for raw food started when I discovered  Ina's blog, my raw muse :). Beautiful delicate pictures, delicious recipes, life style. I kept on saying I will try, but I kept on finding excuses: I need more ingredients, I need seeds, I need a germinator, I need a Vitamix... No more excuses! I have to start... So I started my raw food play :) And I loved to play ♥ This dessert is very easy to prepare. The chocolate was absolutely delicious, perfect for a strong chocolate craving... The avocado strawberries tart was incredibly fresh, perfect for a hot summer day. As I had 3 tart shells/pans of cca 15 cm, I played with the colors and textures. Loved the raw play :) 

I'm not saying I'll go stricly raw vegan starting today, as overnight changes are not my thing, but raw vegan food will become increasingly present in my family meals. What the future will bring, we shall see... I'll keep you posted on my raw food play  :)

Today I'll prepare almonds milk for the kids. A raw, delicious, flavored almonds milk. Then we'll just play with some raw almond cookies... I love to play raw with the kids, in the kitchen :) 

PS: Before starting to prepare the tart shell, I tasted the soaked almonds. Not a good idea, as these almonds are soooooo good, that I almost had none left for the tart :) Delicious! Just in case, soak a couple more, for unpredicted cravings :)

Raw tart shell

75 g coconut flakes, dry, unsweetened + 100 g almonds, soaked in cold water over night, then strained and mixed in the blender + 80 ml coconut oil 

Mix all ingredients, then press the dough in the tart pan; refrigerate for minimum 4 hours.

Black and white - raw chocolate tart

The above mentioned tart dough.
65 g good quality cocoa + 60 ml coconut oil + 120 ml agave syrup + 1/2 tsp lecithin 

Slowly heat the coconut oil (over bainmarie), then remove from fire. Mix the cocoa, coconut oil,  lecithin and agave syrup. Pour the cream over the very cold tart dough and refrigerate for minimum 1 hour.

White, red, green - Avocado & strawberries tart

Above mentioned tart dough.
1 avocado, ripe, without brown spots +  4 tsp fresh lemon juice +  4 tsp agave syrup + 1/2 tsp lecithin
250 g strawberries +  4 dates, soaked in warm water for 10 minutes + 1 tsp lecithin + 1/2 lgt  lemon juice

In a blender, mix the avocado, lemon juice, agave syrup and lecithin. Separately, mix the strawberries, lemon juice, dates and lecithin. Pour the creams over the chilled tart dough and create the pattern you like. Refrigerate for a couple of hours.

White Black Green Red

Just play with all the above creams. Yummi raw ♥

Lime, poppyseeds & blackberries cake with cream cheese frosting

Versiunea in limba romana: Prajitura cu limeta, mac si mure & cream cheese frosting 

I love poppyseeds! I love poppyseeds cakes and I keep thinking of a dessert we had some time ago in Germany, in Garmish. A kind of pie filled with an enormous quantity of poppyseeds. Crazy... It was winter, snow capped mountains, hours and hours of walking to the lodge... We would have skied, if we knew how :) The path was so beautiful, the mountains so magnificent and dramatic, the lodge so perfect and cozy, that instantly everything, including the dessert, was forever in my heart, in the favorite memories "folder". I remember my kid's red noses and their happy little eyes... Probably the hypnotic effect of the poppy seeds was exactly what we needesd after such a trip :) Anyway, winter is far away... At list, that's my hope. Spring is here. Blackberries. Strawberries. Raspberries. Sun. Green. Blue. Yellow. Gold. Light...

A wonderful cake for a beautiful day! Easy to prepare & so delicious, with a well deserved festive touch from the cream cheese frosting... What to celebrate? Spring! Spring is here...

85 g unsalted butter, at room temperature + 245 g sugar + zest of 2 lime + 50 g poppyseeds
170 ml milk
235 g flour + 2 tsp baking powder + a little salt
3 egg whites, mixed until it becomes a dense foam
150 g blackberries, mashes (with the fork)

Cream cheese frosting
130 g Philadelphia cream cheese, very cold
50 g unsalted butter, at room temperature + 250-300 g confectioner's sugar

Heat the oven to 170 degrees C. Prepare a round cake tray (removable bottom), with butter and baking paper. Mix well the butter, sugar, lime zest and poppy seeds. Slowly add the milk, mixing (the consistence is not homogenous yet). In another bowl mix flour, baking powder and salt, then add the poppyseeds cream, in three steps, mixing well each time. With a silicone spatula scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, making sure there are no solid parts left. Add the mashed blackberries, mix slowly. Add the egg whites foam and mix carefully.

Pour the batter in the prepared tray and cook in the heated oven for 30 minutes. Let the cake cool in the tray. Prepare the cream cheese frosting: mix well with the mixer the butter and sugar, until you obtain a fluffy foam; add the cream cheese and mix for aprox 5 minutes; do not over mix.

When the cake is cold, put the cake in the plate you like and put the frosting on top. Lovely ♥

White chocolate banana cake

Versiunea in limba romana: Prajitura cu banane si crema de ciocolata alba

Delicious banana cake with white chocolate cream. I adore banana cakes, breads, muffins... Besides, it is the most delicious way of "getting rid" of the very ripe brown bananas :) This recipe is from Magnolia Bakery (New York) and I loved it. I worried it might be too sweet, as it sometimes happens with American cakes, but my worries proved wrong. It was a smashing hit for family and friends! It is also quite impressive as a dessert, so everybody asked us what we celebrate :) Surprisingly light and fresh for a banana cake with chocolate. If kept in the fridge, the icing becomes crunchy.

Delicious!

375 g flour + 1 tbsp baking soda + 3/4 tsp salt + 1/2 tsp baking powder
115 g butter, softened, room temperature
400 g sugar
3 big eggs, room temperature
4 ripe bananas, mashed
6 tbsp plain, full fat yogurt or buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Decoration: raspberries, hazelnuts
Heat the oven at 160 degrees Celsius. Prepare two round baking trays (23 cm and 28 cm diameter, removable bottom); use butter then flour or baking paper.
In a bowl mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt. In another bowl mix the butter until you get a soft cream. Slowly add sugar, mixing well, until the cream becomes fluffy. Add the eggs, one by one, mixing well after each. Add the mashed bananas, then half the flour and mix well. Add the yogurt and vanilla, then the rest of the flour and mix well again. Divide the batter between the 2 baking trays. Take your time to mix very well all the ingredients, every time, and you'll have a delicious cake.

 Bake for 40 - 50 minutes, both baking trays at the same time. The baking tray that will be lower in the oven might need 10 more minutes in the oven. Test if the cake is baked: insert a toothpick in the center of the cake and if it comes out clean, the cake is ready. Let it cool in the tray.

 After complete cooling, place the cake with the 28 cm diameter on a cake plate and put the white chocolate cream on top.

 Place the second cake on top then "dress" it all in white chocolate cream, including sides.

Decorate with raspberries, hazelnuts (unsalted).

White chocolate cream & icing

500 g mascarpone cream, room temperature + 6 tbsp butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
250 g  withe chocolate (melted over boiled water, then cooled to room temperature)Mix well, on medium speed, the butter and mascarpone. Add vanilla and mix well. Add the melted chocolate and mix well. Use imediatelly.

Delicious!

Walnut pumpkin blondies

Versiunea in limba romana: Blondies cu dovleac si nuca

I love pumpkins so much that I decided to try so many delicious recipes. White chocolate, walnuts and pumpkin = perfect autumn dessert. These blondies are so good, that even my little kid, a chocolate hater (white or black), enjoyed every bit of it :)

1 pumpkin, around 500 g, peeled, seeded and finely chopped

300 g white chocolate, chopped + 150 g unsalted butter, chopped

250 g mascarpone cream
100 g confectioner's sugar
3 big eggs
100 g flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 tbsp walnuts, chopped
Prepare a rectangular tray (butter and roasting paper or flour). Heat the oven to 190 degrees C.
Melt the chocolate and butter over boiled water. mix well the mascarpone cream and the melted chocolate, then slowly add the sugar. Add the eggs, one by one, mixing well, then add the flour and the vanilla extract. Mix until you have the consistency of a cream. Pour half of the cream in the tray, spread the pumpkin and walnuts, then cover with the rest of the chocolate cream.

Bake for 25 minutes, let it cool in the tray, then cut. Serve cold. Keep it refrigerated. If the  cake starts to burn on the surface during baking (depending on the oven), you can put a loose alluminium foil on top of the tray.

 

Delicious!

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Perfect chocolate ricotta muffins

Versiunea in limba romana: Muffins cu ciocolata si ricotta

 

Chocolate cravings... Joy of baking's chocolate ricotta muffins seemed so perfect that I just had to try. I switched for dark chocolate (75% cocoa) instead of milk chocolate. Early in the morning I baked the ricotta muffins. Meanwhile, I prepared the coffee. A wonderful chocolaty aroma filled the house... A delicious breakfast. There's a reason why specialists keep on saying that dark chocolate is good for women... I feel good ♥ ( thanks God nobody hears me singing :)

250 g ricotta
2 big eggs, at room temperature 
320 ml milk
1 tbsp vanilla essence 
57 g unsalted butter, melted and returned to room temperature
260 g flour, sieved
250 g white sugar
2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
60 g good quality cocoa, sieved
170 g dark chocolate 75 % cocoa, chopped
Heat the oven to 180 degrees C. Prepare a muffin tray. 24 little muffins or 12 big ones.
Mix well ricotta, then add the eggs, one by one, mixing well after each addition.  Make sure you add also the mixture on the sides and bottom of the bowl, by removing it with a silicone spatula. Add milk, vanilla essence and melted&cooled butter and mix well.

In another bowl mix the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and cocoa. Add the liquid part and mix a little, only until it's smooth. Add the chocolate chips and mix with a wooden tablespoon. Pour the batter in the prepared muffin papers and bake for 20 minute. When a toothpick is inserted in the muffin, it should come out clean.

Delicious! I love chocolate ♥

Thanks, Joy of baking