Raw mini cakes with herbs recipe
These small cakes need no cooking, and their delightfully delicate herby flavour is enhanced with a dollop or two of honey. You can make a sweeter version by replacing the herbs with soft red fruit and arranging these on the bases before adding the whipped cream topping. If you want to make it this way, don't add the salt and pepper in step 4.
You can prepare the dough in advance (up to step 2), and store it, wrapped in cling film or placed in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days until you're ready to make the cakes.
Note: Lecithin can be found in health-food stores.
Ingredients
For the bases- 170 g blanched whole almonds
- 50 g pine nuts
- 13 pitted dates
- 3 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp (roughly) water
- 3 tsp lemon juice
- 150 g cashew nuts
- 200 ml almond milk
- 50 ml liquid honey
- 3 tsp lecithin
- 0.5 sprig of chopped chervil
- 0.5 bunch of chopped chives
Details
- Cuisine: French
- Recipe Type: Dessert
- Difficulty: Medium
- Preparation Time: 200 mins
- Cooking Time: 0 mins
- Serves: 6
Step-by-step
- To make the bases, begin by soaking the almonds in a small amount of warm water for at least one hour. Drain them and blend them with the pine nuts, dates, honey, lemon juice, a teaspoon of salt and enough water to obtain a reasonably smooth mixture (add a little a time).
- The dough should be very well mixed and should not stick to your fingers. If it is too dry, add a little more water gradually until the desired consistency is achieved.
- Spread out the dough by hand and use a 9cm pastry cutter to cut out six rounds of dough. Wrap each one in greaseproof or parchment paper and let them rest in the freezer for 1 hour or in the fridge for several hours.
- To make the topping, soak the cashew nuts in mineral water for one hour. Drain them and blend them with the almond milk, the liquid honey and half a teaspoon of salt to obtain a smooth mixture. Add the lecithin and chopped herbs to the mixture and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Place the mixture in the fridge for one hour.
- Remove the rounds of dough from the fridge/freezer and unwrap them. Arrange them on individual dessert plates or a serving platter.
- Assemble the cakes one by one. Place the previously used pastry cutter around each base and fill the circle with one-sixth of the whipped herb-cream. Remove the cutter carefully and wash and dry it before repeating the procedure for each cake.
- Refrigerate the cakes for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Recipe extracted from Raw Food French Style by Delphine de Montalier. Published by Frances Lincoln www.franceslincoln.com
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