Raw Red Velvet Cake

I absolutely love all fruits & veggies.  Except beets.  Beets & me...it's a continuing journey.  A slow one....but one that I hope someday will blossom into a beautiful friendship.  I really do want to love them.  They are so packed with goodness.  But they taste like dirt.  I wrote a blog about a year ago, touting all the health benefits of beets - you can read that here.  One day I will love them - I'm determined.  Until then, I still have to find ways to sneak them in to my diet: usually a tablespoon-sized chunk at a time in a smoothie with berries & lots of carob or cacao, or in a savory green smoothie/soup with lots of garlic.  Or in a cake.  Huh?  Yes, I did say in a cake.  :-)

I love cake.  But since it doesn't love the body, I rarely eat it - unless of course it's raw.  This cake has no flour, no refined sugar, no eggs, no butter or dairy of any kind, no hydrogenated &/or damaged oils, etc., etc.  Instead, it has vitamins, minerals, carotenoids, antioxidants, enzymes, beneficial bacteria, healthy fats & countless blood-purifying phytonutrients.  Now I can have my cake & eat beets too - ah, I love raw food.

I've made this cake a number of times.  Each time it seems to turn out a little differently.  This is true with unprocessed food in general, especially raw.  Because we're using whole foods very close to their natural state & not dumping something highly processed out of a box, bag or can, the qualities of the food will vary from time to time.  For example, beets may be mild or strong flavored depending on the soil, climate, water, sun & other environmental factors where they were grown.  Honey will taste different depending on where the bee got his pollen & what kind of plant it came from: wildflowers, clover, fruits, vegetables, etc.  Almonds may have varying amounts of oils or moisture content - this is also true with wet or dry almond pulp, almond flour & almond meal (varying moisture content, oil & texture).  Almond pulp (left from making almond milk) is used as the base of this cake.  You can use any of these, but your cake will be just a bit different depending on what is used.

I demonstrated making this cake in my 'Raw Food 101' class at Whole Foods on 2/10/2012, just in time for Valentine's Day.  I made the almond milk ahead of time since I've made it & many other nut milks in class before (also to save time in class).  I asked the class if they would like a video demo of making almond milk & they said yes.


Here it is:

If the video doesn't work, here is the link to click or cut & paste.  (Let me know if you have any issues viewing the video.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sN39RsLDbA&feature=plcp&context=C36076d9UDOEgsToPDskLj9_IzF4YoHVkfEIdjxgaA

If you'd like an in-home demo of this cake, let me know.  I'd love to come to your kitchen & help you make it!  :-)

Since I didn't want to try to cut a cake into 40-50 or more pieces for class, I decided to make little cake balls - aren't they cute?

Raw Red Velvet Cake

Wet ingredients:

3/4 C beet juice – or 1 medium beet, cubed (~1 C)

1 1/4 C honey (or other liquid sweetener)

1/4 C lemon juice

‘Dry’ ingredients:

4 C almond flour, pulp, or meal*

1 C raw cacao (or combination of raw carob & cacao)

Blend wet ingredients until smooth.  Process dry ingredients in food processor until mixed.  With food processor running, add in wet ingredients.*  Process just until combined (scraping down the sides of the container a few times).

*Note:  Add the wet ingredients very slowly, using only as much as needed to obtain a cake-like consistency – the amount needed will differ depending on whether you are using almond flour (dehydrated/blended almond pulp), almond pulp (the fiber removed when making almond milk – still wet) or almond meal (ground almonds).  Your cake will also turn out just a bit different depending on the almond fiber used (my favorite is almond flour).

Press half of the cake batter into plastic-wrap lined cake pan.  Transfer to a plate & frost top of cake with Cream Cheeze Frosting, below.  Repeat with the remainder of the cake batter & frosting, covering the entire cake.

This is the 'batter:'

Fermented Cashew Cheeze

1 C cashews, soaked & drained

1/2 C water

1 tsp probiotic powder (about 12 capsules)

Soak cashews in water for 4-6 hours; rinse & drain.  Blend soaked cashews & water in high-speed blender (VitaMix) until creamy.  You may need to (cautiously!) use a spatula with the blender lid removed to assist blending.  Add probiotic powder & blend just until incorporated.

Spoon mixture into a cloth-lined colander & cover with another wet cloth.  Place in a warm location (e.g., on top of or next to the dehydrator) & drain overnight (8-12 hours, or more).  The cheeze will be slightly sour smelling and fluffy – this means it has fermented & is ready to use.

(I also made fermented cashew cheeze in my January class - you can read that post here.)

Cream Cheeze Frosting

1 recipe Fermented Cashew Cheeze

1/3 C honey

1 1/2 T lemon juice

1 1/2 T apple cider vinegar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Pinch of Himalayan or Celtic sea salt

1/2 C coconut oil, melted

Blend all ingredients except the coconut oil.  With blender running, add oil & blend until combined.  Chill frosting a bit before spreading or serving – these are three options:

- Drizzle frosting over cake; chill for several hours before serving.

- Chill frosting in the refrigerator for several hours, stir well then frost cake.

- Chill frosting in an ice cream maker; frost cake immediately (I chose this method for class):

This is what the frosting looks like after chilling in the ice cream freezer:

This is what the cake looks like as a layer cake...yum.

By the way, here's another raw cake recipe...check it out too, but let me know if you make this one & what you think!

Peace, love & kale rocks...xoxo,
Kat