Cacao Nibs As A Crio Bru Substitute

I cant speak to its effectiveness in every recipe that calls for the much sought after Crio Bru, but I can say that when brewed as a coffee-style drink, cacao nibs are a perfectly suitable substitute for the hard-to-find and expensive Crio Bru variety.

Last weekend I was very lucky and thrilled to attend a workshop with Tenina Holder, who is quite possibly one of the people responsible for the rise in demand for this cacao by-product.

The thing is, its really hard to find in the UK. You can buy it on Amazon, but its pricey and import duties make it crazy expensive.

So whats a girl on a budget to do?

Experiment, of course.

I have bags and bags of organic cacao nibs at home, bought because of the health benefits, but not always used quite as often as I could.

DIY Crio BruI poured 25g of raw cacao nibs into the Thermomix and ground it on speed 10 for one minute. I could vaguely smell the chocolate. I then brewed the powder as I would any coffee, and tentatively took a sip. Well. It tasted of nothing. And not a very good nothing. I added sugar and milk and it tasted of nothing, with sugar and milk. Fail.

The next day I decided that to replace Crio Bru with cacao nibs, it would need to be roasted. So I lay 50g of cacao nibs on a baking tray and put it in a hot oven – 180C – for 6 minutes. I dont know why six, but six, determining that it would be best to be guided by the smell as I didn’t want burnt beans either.

Well, after about 4 mins the kitchen was filled with a beautiful chocolatey aroma and after two more minutes, the cacao nibs were a dark crunchy brown. In the Thermomix for 10 seconds at speed 10 and they were all powdered.

Two heaped teaspoons went into the Boden cafetiere, and the rest into a sealable jar. Like with any decent coffee I boiled the water, then gave it a few seconds to cool so it didn’t scald the powdered cacao nibs, poured in and left to brew for about two minutes before pouring.

Crio Bru2

The difference was amazing and immediately obvious.

I had a few sips as is, and it was fine, but then added milk and a small teaspoon of rapadura, and thoroughly enjoyed it! It does look a bit like a weak tea, but the flavour and smell are fantastic!

Crio Bru3

I know Tenina said that in time you can pick out just by taste which flavour of the Crio Bru you’re drinking, and perhaps if you’re used to drinking Crio Bru you wont like the home roasted cacao beans, but as someone without those specific beans to compare it to, I think its lovely! I’m also sure that you could subtly flavour it, perhaps with dried orange peel in the brew, or perhaps soaking the beans before roasting them (which would take longer to roast) but what I do know for sure is that raw organic cacao nibs are a perfect substitute when drinking Crio Bru.

*Tenina also recommends brewing it for 10 minutes in the Thermomix with your milk for the best flavour. I haven’t tried that yet.

(If you’re interested, these are the Cacao Nibs I use.)

Asparagus, Prosciutto & Champagne Risotto

Sometimes the most amazing things happen when you least expect it. This was one of them. I was looking round the kitchen thinking how I had no idea what I was going to make for dinner, when I remembered the asparagus in the freezer from a trip to a pick your own asparagus place with my girls.

AparagusI also have a huge supply of Risotto rice at the moment, so the obvious answer was Asparagus Risotto, a la the Fast And Easy Cookbook for Thermomix UK. But, I also had a left over bottle of champagne – that’s a bottle of booze that wasn’t finished the day it’s opened, don’t worry, a few years back I wouldn’t have known that either 😉 – and some prosciutto from our recent meat box delivery and chicken stock from the whole chicken I managed to make in my Veroma last week.

Well, this combination proved to be my favourite risotto to date. I hope you enjoy it too!

*If you don’t have a Thermomix you can still make this recipe using a traditional Risotto recipe, but substituting the wine for champagne, and the other additions for prosciutto and asparagus.

Aparagus Risotto

Asparagus, Prosciutto & Champagne Risotto
Recipe Type: Main Meal
Author: Luschka van Onselen
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
I should warn you that this is a very rich dish, but it is beautiful. Just a rush of beautiful flavour, and I would encourage you to use the best quality prosciutto you can. This recipe is an adaptation from the Asparagus Risotto recipe in the Fast and Easy Cooking TM31 book.
Ingredients
  • 80g parmesan
  • 200g asparagus
  • 20g olive oil
  • 250g risotto rice
  • 200g champagne of your choice
  • 450g chicken stock
  • 30g butter
  • 8 strips of prosciutto
  • freshly ground pepper
Instructions
  1. Run your Thermomix at speed 8, and drop 80g of parmesan cheese in for 5 seconds. Set aside.
  2. Cut asparagus tips and add them to the cheese. Put the stalks in the bowl and chop 7 seconds/speed 5.
  3. Add oil and cook for 3 minutes/100C/Speed 1.
  4. Add the champagne, stock and risotto rice and cook for 15 minutes/100C/Spoon Speed Reverse, making sure the measuring cup is in to maintain the liquid.
  5. When it’s done the rice should be firm but edible. If needed add another minute or two.
  6. In the meantime, tear the prosciutto into strips.
  7. When the rice is cooked, add the butter, parmesan, prosciutto and asparagus tips, and stir using a spoon.
  8. Sprinkle freshly ground black pepper, and serve immediately.

 

 

Thermomix Wontons For Chinese New Year

Thermomix Wontons

**If you don’t have a Thermomix, you can mix the ingredients in an ordinary bowl and knead the dough for about 10 minutes till it is pliable and smooth**

I can’t actually recall that I’ve ever eaten wontons before, but I liked the look of them when my children and I were doing craft activities for Chinese New Year, so thought I’d give them a try. I found a recipe in an old book, so had to convert it for the Thermomix, and have been really happy with the end result.

It is my understanding that wontons can be either steamed or fried. Obviouly steaming it in the Veroma is going to be healthier than deep frying, so we went for that option.Thermomix Wontons

For fillings – the options are as vast as your preferences. Our first attempt was with a minced beef (a few seconds, roughly, in the Thermie), tomato and coriander. The second attempt was with cooked ham, garlic and kale. Both were lovely.

If you’re planning on making a lot of wrappers but only using a few, I’d suggest laying them in a single layer on a baking tray, and freezing them like that. Once frozen, put them together in a container. If you don’t they’ll freeze as a solid lump!

These are really quick and oh-so-easy, although rolling the dough thinly enough might require some practice, or a pasta maker.

Thermomix Wontons For Chinese New YearI
Recipe Type: Main
Cuisine: Chinese
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 20 wontons
Here’s a great idea for Chinese New Year. It’s really easy, and depending on your skill with a rolling pin or pasta maker, quick too.
Ingredients
  • 250g / 2 cups flour
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 cup water
  • milk for brushing
Instructions
  1. Add the flour to the bowl, and pulse two or three times
  2. Add egg, salt and water
  3. Mix for 5 seconds/speed 5
  4. Knead for 90 seconds/dough speed
  5. Set aside for 30 – 60 minutes for the dough to rest.
  6. Follow manufacturer instructions for the pasta maker to make the dough as thin as you can. Otherwise roll it as thinly as possible, before cutting into squares.
  7. If you’re not going to cook immediately, use corn flour to separate the sheets (normal flour will be absorbed)
  8. Lightly brush the edges with milk or egg
  9. Scoop a spoon full of filling into the centre of your square, then take opposing corners and bring them together.
  10. Squeeze the corners together to seal, then twirl them around.
  11. Place them inside the Veroma
  12. Fill the Thermomix Bowl to the 1 litre mark, place Veroma on top and boil at Veroma speed/20 mins.
  13. Serve hot.

 

Thermomix Lamington Recipe For Australia Day

Lamingtons

I totally intended to lay off the sugary and cake-y recipes for a while, but since it’s Australia Day this weekend, and we had a great Australia Day extravaganza for the kids today, we made Lamingtons. There are loads of recipes online, but I found this one intriguing since it used a lot less flour and wasn’t actually what I’d call a sponge cake. It was really, really tasty though. The original is from the Thermomix Forum but I made a few changes.Lamingtons

Upon reflection, I think this is a brilliant recipe if you are making it the same day you’ll be eating it. Normally Lamingtons are better with day old cake, but with this cake it doesn’t make a difference at all. It’s perfect for same day Lamingtons.Lamingtons

 

Lamingtons
Recipe Type: Desert
Cuisine: Australian
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 20
An easy Lamington recipe for the Thermomix.
Ingredients
  • 120 g brown sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 50 g melted butter
  • 120 g Self Raising Flour
  • Lamington Icing
  • 25 g unsalted butter
  • 160 g milk
  • 500 g icing sugar
  • 50 g organic cocoa
  • 2 cups Shredded coconut to coat
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 190C.
  2. Place sugar into mixing bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10.
  3. Add eggs and insert Butterfly.
  4. Whip eggs for 7 min/50C/speed 3. It’ll form an almost meringue like texture, smooth and creamy (and delicious, just sayin’)
  5. Melt the butter in the warm oven and also butter a 20cm pan.
  6. Add the vanilla essence to the melted butter
  7. Add the butter mix to the Thermomix bowl, for 5 sec/speed 4.
  8. Remove Butterfly and add the flour.
  9. Mix the dough for 10 seconds on interval speed (dough setting).
  10. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 15 – 20 minutes.
  11. It should be springy to the touch.
  12. Cool for 5 minutes before turning out onto rack to cool completely, then freeze for 30 minutes before cutting.
To Ice
  1. Put butter and milk into mixing bowl and cook 2 min/80 C/speed 2..
  2. Add sugar and cocoa and blend for 20 – 25 sec/speed 4.
  3. Sprinkle coconut onto a tray, and pour icing into a bowl.
  4. Dip the cake pieces into the icing and make sure it’s totally coated. Put the cake onto the coconut, and toss it around so that it all is covered by coconut. If you hold it, it doesn’t receive an even coating.
  5. Place on a stone tray or in a glass bowl and leave to set.

 

 

 

Thick Yoghurt Recipe

YoghurtThere’s a pretty varied number of ideas, recipes and versions of yoghurt (yogurt in the US) available on t’internet, which can sometimes be really both intimidating and off-putting. I’ve tried a number, and have finally found one I  return to again and again. You can find this on the Thermomix Forums too, but read on for more information and options. (See the bottom of this post for non-Thermomix recipes)

This is a thick Greek-style yoghurt. I like to whizz up some frozen fruit and mix it with the yoghurt to make the fruity flavoured breakfast favourite that I’d otherwise be spending a fortune on.

When I was in Australia, I found 60 minutes made a good yoghurt. Now I find it makes it a bit grainy and find 50 minutes is perfectly sufficient. I’m not sure if there’s a difference in the milk or if it’s moisture in the air, or what, but try different timings and see what you prefer.

**this post contains affiliate links. Clicking on them will cost you nothing, but I may earn a percentage of the cost of your purchase. You will not pay anything extra**

 I’ve recently changed my reusable pouches brand to this one. Check it out!

Thick Yoghurt Recipe
Recipe Type: Breakfast, Snack
Author: Thermomix Forum
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 1 litre
Ingredients
  • 1000g full cream milk – low fat milk will result in a runnier yoghurt
  • 50g Greek Yoghurt/from previous batch
Instructions
  1. Add the milk to a clean Thermomix bowl
  2. Cook the milk for 50 – 60 mins/90/speed 2.
  3. After 60 minutes, remove the lid and let the milk cool to 37C. This can take 30 – 60 minutes depending on the temperature in the room.
  4. When it’s 37C, add 50g natural yoghurt
  5. Mix 4 seconds/speed 4.
  6. Cook for 10 minutes / 37C/speed 2.
  7. How you now go about preparing your yoghurt depends on your equipment. I use an Easiyo, so fill the cylinder to the red mark with boiling water. (I normally do this before the final 10 minute cook above, leaving it to cool a little, then when the 10 minute cook is done, the water is a good temperature). Fill the pot with the milk and leave over night.
  8. Alternatively you could just use a decent Thermos-style insulated flask, leave the yoghurt overnight, and that should work the same way.
  9. The important thing is not to move the yoghurt while it’s doing it’s thing. Just pop it in a corner, and leave it for 12 – 24 hours.

I use this Easiyo Yoghurt Maker. I suppose I use it because I have it, but it’s easy enough to make yoghurt without it. That said, I like it. I’ve never had a failure using this, either with the Easiyo starter or just with my own yoghurt. The good thing is people buy these, try them out, then sell them. eBay is full of 99p offerings. I got mine free on Freecycle. It’s very simple to use.Easiyo

Once the yoghurt is made, I transfer it into Fill n Squeeze pouches, ready for my children to enjoy. The yoghurt freezes really well, so I can take a pouch out of the freezer every evening, ready at my daughter’s table for her to have in the morning. We also use it for daytrips and so on, so I get less requests for ice cream! The reuseable pouches save a fortune, and I’m just thrilled not to buy my girls sugar-and-sweetener-filled yoghurt ‘treats’.

We also use these ice lolly moulds for making frozen yoghurt ‘ice-cream’. Literally, frozen yoghurt, sometimes with fruit. My baby especially loves these and would have them for every meal. There are so many shapes, forms and moulds on the market, but these are a perfect child size – about two or three tablespoons full – so there’s little to no wastage.  Each ‘ice cream’ comes apart so you only have to take out one at a time. They’re pricey, except when they’re on sale, and the little connectors snap sometimes when frozen, but they are the best we’ve found for our purposes so far.

 Yoghurt Icecream

Here are some of our favourite toppings for plain yoghurt:

  • Nuts and honey
  • Muesli
  • Raisins and grated apple
  • Pureed apple and cinnamon
  • 1/2 a pureed banana and 1/2 banana slices
  • Pureed berries
  • Vanilla pods or essence (buy the proper stuff though, not artificial flavouring)
  • Crushed pineapple and coconut
  • Chopped and dried mixed fruit
  • Sliced or pureed banana
  • Chocolate buttons or chips with a squirt of chocolate ice cream sauce or melted chocolate (for a treat)
  • Lemon zest (lemon juice might curdle your yoghurt)
  • Nuts, raisins, honey and chopped mint

but  of course, there’s a world of other options to explore.Yoghurt Pouches

If we find ourselves with excess yoghurt, I love making cream cheese from it. While I’ve never had a problem with bought cream cheese, the home made stuff is amazing. Well worth making!cream-cheese

And if you’re making your own cream cheese, you’ll find you have plenty of whey left over. Don’t discard it! There’s a lot you can do with left over whey

Don’t have a Thermomix? Try these recipes instead:

 

 

 

Soft Cherry And White Chocolate Thermomix Fudge Recipe

White Chocolate and Glace Cherry Thermomix Fudge

Charlotte, who contributes here from time to time, shared a fudge recipe on her Facebook page recently that, as a lover of both fudge and Thermomixes,I had to try. My first attempt following the recipe was only mildly successful, but for the second attempt I went with raw sugar, golden syrup and glace cherries and it is fantastic. So good, in fact that it has made it into the Christmas gift hampers for this year.White Chocolate and Glace Cherry Thermomix Fudge

If you have a last minute gift or party to cater for, these are so simple and totally worth it.

I use a brownie pan to pour it into, then cut using the guides, and cut each of those in four too, to bring them down to a snackable size.

We use Farmlea condensed milk to avoid using Nestle.

Soft Cherry And White Chocolate Fudge
Recipe Type: Sweets, Desert, Gift Basket
Cuisine: English
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 54
Delicious soft fudge, cut into bite sized squares to counteract the supreme sweetness. Thoroughly delicious though, and makes a big enough batch for gift baskets, or a party.
Ingredients
  • 1 can Farm Lea condensed milk
  • 250g raw sugar
  • 25g golden syrup
  • 125g butter
  • 200g white chocolate
  • 100g glace cherries
Instructions
  1. Add condensed milk, sugar, syrup and butter to the Thermomix bowl.
  2. Cook without MC at 100C speed 3 for 8 mins.
  3. Scrape down sides if needed, then cook Veroma, 20 mins speed 3 still without MC
  4. Add chocolate and cherries and mix on speed 4, reverse blades for 20 seconds.
  5. Pour into brownie tray
  6. Refrigerate for 3 -4 hours, cut and store in airtight container.

 

Rosetta’s Cute Coconut Ice

Issue 2 of the Disney Cakes and Sweets magazine brought with it some childhood memories for me. I remember making coconut ice as a child. I remember it including boiled sugar, however, which this recipe doesn’t, but maybe I’m confusing it with fudge?

No cook coconut iceIf you take away the serious sugar overdose in this recipe, coconut ice is a brilliant treat to get kids involved in. I haven’t made it in years – not since I joined the Nestle Boycot – but my husband found some Farmlea condensed milk recently and it’s reopened a world of sweet pleasures that were off limits unless I wanted to make my own condensed milk!

Anyway, traditionally coconut ice is pink and white, but I can’t seem to find a reason why. We decided to make ours red (which failed and look more pink than it should) and green to be all Christmassy. In future I’d rather do red and white and green and white. I think it would look better. Anyway, whichever colours you choose, here’s the recipe for you.

No Bake Coconut Ice
Recipe Type: Dessert
Author: Disney Cakes And Sweets
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 16
The original recipe says to stir all the ingredients together with a wooden spoon. If you’re not using a Thermomix, you’re going to have to get in there with both hands. The kids love it. It’s sticky and messy and tasty fun.
Ingredients
  • 397g can [url href=”http://www.amazon.co.uk/Farmlea-Condensed-Milk-397G/dp/B00BHFEF3K/” target=”_blank”]condensed milk[/url]
  • 300g (11oz) icing sugar
  • 300g (11oz) desiccated coconut (we used organic)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • food colouring of choice
Instructions
  1. Line or oil your baking tray. I use [u][url href=”http://amzn.to/1iI0G6l” target=”_blank”]an awesome brownie pan[/url][/u] for most things, and for this too.
  2. Pour condensed milk into a large mixing bowl and sift in the icing sugar.
  3. Add the coconut and vanilla essence or extract and mix together until well combined.
  4. If you’re having a white layer, spoon half the mix into your baking tray and flatten out pressing down tightly. If you’re having two coloured layers, split them into two bowls and add the required colours to each bowl.
  5. Mix well and add to pan, flattening till all the first layer is covered, and it’s all flattened.
  6. Place pan in the fridge for six hours or overnight to set.
  7. Once set, turn out and cut the coconut ice into squares.
  8. If you use the brownie pan, cut it while still in the pan. This will make huge slices though, so use a knife to cut again.
For the Thermomix:
  1. Make your icing sugar first, if you’re making your own.
  2. Add all but the colouring and mix on speed 2 for 30 seconds.
  3. Split the mixture into two, put one layer in the pan, then add the food colouring to one.
  4. Layer the next into the pan and leave to set in the fridge for at least 6 hours.
  5. Cut the set coconut ice into squares and enjoy.

Issue 2 also has recipes for a Winnie the Pooh Cake, cream-tea scones, fudge, florentines, 101 Dalmatians cake pops and Winnie the Pooh and friends silicone molds

I’m all about the healthy. We experiment with raw food, drink water kefir, and cook from scratch. I even make my own butter. But to be great 80% of the time, we allow ourselves a break 20% of the time. For the next while, we’ll share recipes from the Disney Cakes and Sweets magazine series. They are not healthy. The name kind of gives it away. But that’s okay. Sometimes we adjust the recipes a little to fit in better with our style, and sometimes I use a Thermomix instead of following the directions. As part of a balanced diet, we hope you ‘ll join us. We’ll have fun! (If you prefer completely raw, healthy, but still delicious snacks, have a look at Bliss Balls For Beginners)

A Very Thermie Christmas This recipe features in A Very Thermie Christmas, where you can find it and 50 other recipes perfect for a Thermomix assisted Christmas. Read more about it here.

Thermomix Brioche

Chocolate BriocheYesterday I shared the traditional French Brioche recipe from Brioche Pasquier with you. I told you about how they’re made in the factory, and showed you some photos from our masterclass in Brioche making from the professionals themselves.

I came home from the event and decided I had to make another batch as fast as I could, so that I would remember how it was done. Of course I had to tweak it a little for the Thermie, but it sure turned out beautiful!

Here’s pretty much the same recipe, but with some Thermomix tweaks for you.

Thermomix Briochettes
Recipe Type: Baked, Bread
Cuisine: French
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12
A lovely, light brioche recipe perfect for the Thermomix. Normally I wouldn’t knead more than a few minutes in the Thermomix, but this recipe needs the dough to be silky and stretchy and around 7 minutes works really well.
Ingredients
  • 120g Sugar
  • 500g Strong White Flour
  • 40g Bread Yeast
  • 10g Salt
  • 90g Water
  • 3 Free Range Eggs
  • 125g Unsalted Butter
  • 250g [url href=”http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dgrocery&field-keywords=beyond+dark+chocolate&rh=n%3A340834031%2Ck%3Abeyond+dark+chocolate” target=”_blank”]Chocolate Chips[/url]
  • Milk for Milk Wash
Instructions
  1. Place the sugar in the bowl and pulse for a few seconds to make it into caster sugar. Remove half (60g) and put it aside.
  2. To the bowl, add the flour, bread yeast, and salt and pulse a few seconds to mix.
  3. Add the water, egg and butter and knead on the dough setting for about 5 minutes. Add the extra sugar and knead for a further 2 minutes.The dough will look silky and smooth.
  4. Add your chocolate chips and stir on speed 2 for 20 seconds.
  5. Divide the dough into about 12 even sized portions and role them as round as you can.
  6. Leave aside to rise for about 2 hours.
  7. Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6.
  8. Brush milk over the dough to glaze.
  9. Bake for 10 minutes.

 

 

Easy Thermomix Meringues

Silky Thermomix Meringues

I make our mayonnaise, and many other things from scratch, often requiring only the yolk of an egg. I hate seeing things go to waste, so I try to make something with the left over whites. While this isn’t by any means a healthy recipe, it is a lovely one. If you don’t have a Thermomix, here’s my non-Thermomix recipe.

Unless you eat them all in one go, the Thermomix Meringues will last in the cupboard for weeks, if not months!

We put them in the lunch box as snacks sometimes, or have them as desert with cream and fruit – absolutely yum.

To make the colours like in the image above, you need to separate the meringue mix into different bowls and very gently stir through the food colouring. Then use a spoon to move the batter into an icing bag, putting different colours next to each other rather than on top of each other.  As you squeeze it, the colours will mix and make pretty meringues.

If you make meringues with brown sugar they’ll come out in this golden-ish hue rather than white.

Silky Thermomix Meringues

Easy Thermomix Meringues
Author: Keeper of the Kitchen
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
You can adapt this recipe as far as you like, in terms of amounts used, so long as you use 110g sugar to each egg white. In a TM31, I wouldn’t be inclined to go beyond 6 egg whites however. I have successfully made this with just one egg white too.
Ingredients
  • 3 Egg-Whites, room temperature
  • 330g White sugar (brown if you don’t mind them not being white)
  • Pinch of Salt
Instructions
  1. Put the sugar in the mixing bowl and pulse for 10 seconds on Turbo.
  2. Place the butterfly in the bowl and add the egg whites along with a pinch of salt.
  3. ‘Cook’ at 37C for 7 minutes on speed 2, no MC.
  4. Leave the mix to cool for 10 minutes with the lid off.
  5. Mix again for 7 min/speed 2.
  6. Either pipe the mixture with a piping bag into small circles, or a large ‘pie’ for pavlova-style deserts, or dollop the mix onto a baking tray in spoonfuls, leaving space for expansion.
  7. Cook for about 60-90 minutes on 100C° to 120 min at 80C° depending on your oven and meringue sizes – as well as how chewy you want it.
  8. When finished, leave in the oven to dry out while cooling down.

 

*original recipe found on the Thermomix forums

Raw Strawberry Cheesecake

If you fancy a healthier cheesecake, you’ve come to the right place. This is a dairy free, vegan, sugar free cheesecake alternative. And it’s pretty darn good.Raw Strawberry Cheesecake

I make it in the Thermomix, but you can make it in any high powered blender. It’s both labour intensive and totally not. It’s a perfect dinner party recipe, especially for people not familiar with raw food. Check out The Rawtarian from time to time – this is an adaptation of her recipe.

Raw Strawberry Cheesecake
Recipe Type: Desert
Cuisine: Raw Food
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 18
Take this desert out of the freezer half an hour before you expect to eat it and don’t forget to return it to the freezer when you’re done. If it’s for snacks rather than dinner, freeze in single portion sizes
Ingredients
  • Crust ingredients:
  • 1 1/2 cups cashew nuts
  • 1/2 cup pitted dates
  • 1/4 cup dried, unsweetened coconut
  • 1 pinch sea salt
  • White cheesecake filling ingredients:
  • 3 cups cashews
  • 3/4 cup lemon juice
  • 3/4 cup agave or honey
  • 3/4 cup coconut oil
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • Up to a 1/4 cup of water, as needed for blending
  • Fruit topping ingredients:
  • 2 cups frozen strawberries
  • 1/2 cup dates
Instructions
  1. Sprinkle coconut into a large glass dish to serve as a base for your cheesecake.
  2. In your food processor, place 1.5 cups of cashews, salt and dates, and blend to a crumbed consistency.
  3. Pour into dish on top of coconut and press down to form a good, firm base.
  4. Next, blend together the ‘cheesecake filling, adding as little water as possible and as required to make your blender work. In the Thermomix you shouldn’t need to add much water at all. This needs to be smooth and creamy in consistency.
  5. Spread the mixture on top of the base.
  6. Freeze for about an hour to allow it to firm up.
  7. When you’re ready for the last step, blend the berries and dates until they are nice and smooth. Pour this mixture on top and freeze again for another few hours at least.
  8. Take out of freezer about half an hour before eating, so that it’s still firm, but edible.
Calories: 349.0 Fat: 24.9 g Carbohydrates: 31.6 g Sugar: 18.7 g Sodium: 65.7 mg Fiber: 2.2 g Protein: 5.4 g Cholesterol: 0.0 mg

Reposted from Diary of a First Child