Saturday night we had a special dinner with family friends. For one weekend all 8 of us were around before starting vacations and school again; one of is even spending a year studying at Oxford(no, it’s not me; yes, I’m jealous). That called for cake. I had been wanting to make this recipe for a while and wanted to wait until just the right celebration. Everyone loved it, although when I told them the frosting involved avocado you would have thought I told them my own hair was in it. They started eating it again 2 seconds later when they remembered how good it was and decided you couldn’t taste the avocado.

I actually made this cake for Father’s Day last year and featured it as a guest post on Gena’s blog. Since then I’d completely forgotten about it and had to go look it up to remember how to make it. Now that I remembered, I kind of wish I could forget again. The ones that we didn’t give away didn’t last long in this house. It’s hard to say no to a piece of cake, and even harder when you can tell yourself it’s “healthy” because it has fruits and nuts in it.

Hazelnut Chocolate Cake {Raw/Vegan}

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(makes 5 2×3-inch frosted cakes):

• 2 cups hazelnuts
• 1 cup pitted dates
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder, divided
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons maple syrup, divided
• 1 medium avocado
• Crushed hazelnuts for garnish

Method:

1. Pulse the hazelnuts in a food processor until finely ground into a flour
2. Add in the dates, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, and 1/4 cup maple syrup and process until it forms into a thick dough that sticks together.
3. Lay the dough out between two sheets of parchment paper and roll to about 3/4-inch thickness.
4. With a sharp knife, cut the dough into either 8 or 10 equal sized rectangles. If there’s excess dough you can form it into a ball, roll it out, and cut again.
5. Make the frosting by blending together the remaining maple syrup, cocoa powder, and the meat from the avocado until it’s uniform in color and texture. Taste it and adjust the sweetness if need be.
6. Spread about 2 tablespoons of frosting over half of the cakes. Layer with another slice and spread an equal amount of frosting on top of that piece.
7. Garnish with crushed hazelnuts.

These took from start to finish about 20 minutes to make, maybe a little more than that because I was distracted. Even so these are much quicker to make than traditional cake and certainly have all the show-stopping qualities.

Reading food blogs constantly sets of food cravings. I could be eating a perfectly healthy lunch or breakfast when all of a sudden a giant slice of German chocolate cake pops up on the screen and I get one of those I-need-chocolate-right-this-moment feelings. They’re awful. I’m sorry even to add to that.

When Caroline posted these cheesecake bars, it set off a craving just like that. Before I knew it I had already begun laying out the ingredients to make a version of them that day. These might be marginally better for you, but they’re still definitely a rich treat. The crust is an almond cookie base, the filling a cashew cream “cheese”, and chocolate a soft coconut oil ganache. All together it makes the perfect blend on richness and sweetness.

Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1 1/2 cups almonds
• 2 Tablespoons almond butter
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 Tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 Tablespoons agave nectar

For the filling:

• 2 1/2 cups cashews, soaked for 3-4 hours
• 2 Tablespoons coconut oil
• 5 Tablespoons agave nectar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean
• 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast*
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice*

*These ingredients aren’t entirely necessary but they will add a more authentic tang to the filling to simulate real cream cheese.

For the ganache:

• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup agave nectar
• 1/4 cup coconut oil

Method:

1. Combine all of the ingredients for the crust together in a food processor and blend until it forms a clumpy dough.
2. Press the dough flat into an 8×8 pan.
3. Make the filling by blending all of the ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
4. Spread the filling out across the top of the crust into an even layer.
5. Make the ganache by melting the coconut oil and mixing it with the cocoa powder and agave nectar.
6. Pour the ganache on top of the cheesecake filling and spread until smooth.
7. Refrigerate for 2 hours until the ganache and filling have set. Cut into 16 squares and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

The one thing I would do differently next time is add cacao nibs or raw almonds into the filling. The ganache on top is quite soft and doesn’t add the crunch factor I expected it to. Besides that, this is a knock-out dessert.

I’ve been going through bananas like crazy lately. Not because I actually like bananas, but because I love the creamy raw “ice cream” they become. I eat this once or twice a day to cut a sweet tooth craving, and this flavor is undoubtedly my new favorite. Cocoa powder and raspberries add the perfect sweet and bitter flavors that make this a true dessert, while the banana keeps it all smooth and creamy so you’d swear you’re eating actually ice cream.

A lot of people ask if these chocolate banana soft serves taste at all like banana. I’ll admit I’m not the most finicky when it comes to banana flavor, but I seriously cannot taste an ounce of banana in this behind the raspberry and chocolate. I’d love for a true banana hater to try it and leave a comment letting others know how it was for them.

Chocolate Raspberry “Ice Cream”

Ingredients:

• 1 banana, cut into quarters and frozen
• 1/2 cup raspberries, frozen
• 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1-2 Tablespoons almond milk(optional)

Method:

1. In a food processor, blend the bananas and raspberries until creamy. Add the almond milk as necessary if after a while the fruit still clumps together.
2. Once smooth, add in the cocoa powder and continue blending until entirely mixed.
3. Scoop and serve immediately.