Tag Archives: cashews

RAW Mango Cheesecake

05 Tuesday Mar 2013

Posted by in Playful food and photos

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Deutsche Version / German version

Okay, I am kind of proud of this one. I just recently got into raw “baking”. I’m not a raw foodist, as you can see on this blog, but I love play around with raw food preparation! For me, it’s a really creative approach that offers so many new possibilities and new flavors! Some of them are worth sharing…

Like this one.

mango cheesecake

RAW Mango Cheesecake. It does not only look delicious, it really is! Don’t compare raw cakes to baked treats. They are not an imitation – they are different, a whole new thing. See them as an alternative or as a very tasty addition to your diet!
Raw cakes are usually quite rich – you might want to cut smaller pieces than you’d do with a regular cake.

RAW Mango Cheesecake

RAW Mango Cheesecake

 Ø about 20cm / 8 inch

For the crust:

  • 3/4 cup (about 100g) pitted dates
  • about 1/2 -3/4 cup nuts or seeds (I used sesame seeds and almonds)
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • Pinch of salt

For the filling:

  • 3/4 cup (100g) cashews 
  • 4-5 pieces dried mango (my pieces more rather big, use more if your pieces are rather small)
  • 4 tbsp coconut butter
  • 1/2 cup (about 50g) xylit (or sweetener to taste)
  • 1/4 tsp powdered vanilla
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/2 – 3/4 (about 125ml)  cup water

Crust: Either grease your pan with coconut oil or like it with baking paper. Put nuts / seeds in a food processor and mix until coarsely ground. Add the other ingredients and mix until combined. (Add more dates of the dough is to dry and add more nuts if it’s too moist. It’s hard to give exact amounts here cause it all depends on the moisture of your dates!) Put the dough in a baking pan (Ø about 20cm / 8 inch), form the crust.

Filling: Put all the ingredients in a blender and mix! You might want to soak the cashews before blending of your blender is not that strong. Add more water if needed. Pour the cream into the prepared crust. Lick off the spatulas and spoons you used. (This step is essential. DON’T skip ;) ) Put in the refrigerator over night or until the cream firms up.

raw mango cheesecake

Yummy! When a friend taste-tested the cake, he was like “Wow… this is really… cheesy. It’s like cheesecake…”
Even though I’d definitelly not say that this is a one to one cheesecake alternative,… the cashews definitelly yield a cheese flavor. And the mango coconut combo fits the cake really well. Even though I almost had the whole cake for myself, it did not last long until it was gone… hey, I am writing exams. I need brain food! And it seems like the little guy in the pic (no, he was not the test-taster) feels the same about this cake.

raw mango cheesecake

You can freeze the leftovers, too. You might also find the frozen cake easier to cut (even though I had no problems cutting the cake when I left it in the refrigerator over night). Freezing the cake is especial great, when you are making a raw cake for just one or two people. You can eat the frozen cake straight from the fridge… I promise, it’s the best ice-cream cake I ever had!

Caramel Cheesecake – Fairytale come true

17 Sunday Feb 2013

Posted by in Playful food and photos

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Sweet times on Playful and Hungry!

I always thought, a cake can’t taste like cheesecake if it’s made from tofu. I was proven wrong. It took some trials and experimenting – but the result was a delicious AND healthy, vegan cheesecake. It’s high in protein and you don’t have to feel bad about eating it for breakfast. Or Dinner. Or lunch…

Piece of cheesecake

It’s might not be 1 : 1 like a sugar-loaded, non vegan cheesecake. But the consistence is perfect and it tastes just as good as any cheesecake I’ve ever tried! Give it a chance!

Using Whole Cane Sugar yields the wonderful caramel flavor! If you want a caramel cheesecake, don’t replace it! If you don’t care so much about the caramel flavor, you could also replace it with stevia or xylit or any other sweetener.

Fariy cheese cake

So… once upon a time, there was a little fairy. And what do fairies do all day? Exactly! They sparkle, twinkle, flutter around and eat cake. Today, it just had to be a cheesecake. Voila.

Fairy plate

So she got out her pink plate…, well, no. She just did some magic and conjured it up.

fairy and cream

Pling! One wink with her wand, and she had a whole plate full of cream…

Time to have some Caramel Cheesecake!

Whole Caramel Cheesecake

Caramel Cheesecake
Inspired by this recipe, Ø about 20cm / 8 inch 

  • 1 package (350-400g) firm tofu
  • 1/2 cup (70g) cashews
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) almond milk
  • 1 tbs vinegar
  • 3 tbs lemon juice
  • 1 ripe banana (can be omitted . use slightly more sweetener) 
  • 6 tbsp soy yogurt
  • 1/4 cup stevia (or more whole cane sugar – which also means more caramel ;) ) 
  • 3/4 cup (100g) Whole Cane Sugar (add more if you like it sweeter!!!) 
  • 1/2 tsp powdered vanilla or 1 tsp vanilla extract

Put all the ingredients in your high speed blender or food processor and mix! Pour into a slightly greased backing pan and bake for about 45 minutes (350 F / 200 C).
Allow the cake to cool down before cutting it!

Oh, by the way… you can be looking forward to a RAW vegan Mango Cheesecake. Just saying… ;)

Fairy on Cheesecake

Greeting from Fairy Land!

Navratan Korma – The nine gems

21 Monday Jan 2013

Posted by in Playful food and photos

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Navratan Korma – I even like the name of this dish! Navratan means nine gems and stands for the nine vegetables, fruits and nuts originally used in this dish. However, it’s up to you how many ingredients you want to add, as always, just add the veggies you like and that are available to you. Navratan Korma is more about the delicious, creamy sauce anyway.

Navratan Korma

Too me, it’s THE Indian dish. It took a while for me to notice that each time I was at an Indian Restaurant (and I’ve been to many Indian restaurants!), I’d usually take Navratan Korma. Well, who needs variety when you can always just eat the most delicious dish on the menu?

Okay, I guess you noticed that Navratan Korma is delicious to me… So could just stop talking and giving you the recipe!

Oh, and don’t be intimidated by the long list of ingredients! It’s really not that much once you have all the spices!

Navratan Korma 2

Navratan Korma 

inspired by The Lotus and the Artichoke

  • 1 cup / 8og cauliflower, chopped
  • 1/2 cup / 50g bush beans
  • 1/2 cup / 50g peas
  • 1 large potato, chopped (I didn’t peal, it’s up to you)
  • 3/4 cup / 180 ml water
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1/4 tsp granulated garlic OR 1 clove fresh, finely chopped garlic
  • 1 inch / 2 cm fresh ginger, finely chopped
  • 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
  • 1/2 cup cashews plus some for decoration
  • 2 tsp cumin, ground
  • 2 tsp coriander seeds, ground
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1/2 tsp tumeric
  • cayenne pepper (optional, it’s hot!)
  • 1 tomato, chopped
  • a little less than 1 tsp salt
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/3 cup raisins
  • optional: fresh coriander leaves, for garnish

Heat the oil in a big pot on medium heat. Add onion and ginger (and fresh garlic, of using). Stir constantly and fry for about 2-3 minutes.
Add cumin, coriander, garam masala and tumeric and fry again for 2-3 minutes, until the spices omit a nice smell. Mix in the chopped tomato and cook for another 3 minutes. Turn of the heat now and puree the spice-tomato mix together with the cashews and water. Put the sauce back in the pot, turn on medium heat and add the bay leave, salt and raisins.
Now it’s time to add the veggies! You could also precook them, like the original recipe does, but I found it sufficient to cook them in the creamy sauce for about 15 minutes. Make it hot: Add cayenne pepper to taste!
Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

Indian Navratan Korma

Cheers!

RAW Frozen Hot Chocolate – Serendipity in a glass

19 Sunday Aug 2012

Posted by in Playful food and photos

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Finally, summer arrived where I live! We have a few really hot days right now, and I am happy to enjoy them with my exams being over by now!

And the best part: hot summer days are the perfect time for frozen treats!!!
Delicious frozen treats melting away in your mouth… or in your hands, if you don’t eat them fast enough!

So, I have some really exciting news: RAW frozen hot chocolate!
Do you know Serendipity in New York? It might be the one place every chocoholic has to visit once in their life… Long ago, I tried some from a chocoholic friend and I had to admit that it was really delicious! In fact, I’d have loved to eat (or drink?) one myself… if it was not winter. I am a cold blain, I would have been cold all day! But know it’s summer! I could have a frozen hot chocolate! Okay, New York is  not close and Serendipity is not vegan… so… I make my own frozen hot chocolate! A RAW vegan frozen hot chocolate! However, frozen hot chocolate always reminds of New York City. So that’s why I put the little statue of liberty next to it!

Making your own frozen hot chocolate is easier then you might think! Your freezer does most of the work…

RAW Frozen Hot Chocolate

  • 50g (just under half a cup) Cashews
  • 50g (just under 1/2  a cup) Almonds
  • 450ml (2 cups) water
  • 3-4 tbsp cocoa powder
  • stevia, agave syrup or any other sweetener to taste
  • tiny dash of salt
  • 2 tbsp nut milk (store bought or just keep a few tbsp from the nut milk you will make for this recipe)

Put the nuts, water, cocoa and salt in a blender an mix. Strain the milk through a nut milk bag (a laundry bag, a cheese cloths or even a kitchen towel works, too! I always use a laundry bag!) This is like heavy chocolate cream made from nuts! Sweeten the milk. It should be slightly oversweetend, the finished product will be less sweet. Put in ice cube trays, ice cube bags or flat containers and freeze! Once it’s frozen, put the ice cubes in your blender (your blender should be able to crush ice), add 2 tbsp nut milk and mix again! I used a vita-mix and pushed the mixture into the knives with the tamper. This will yield the best results… however, I guess this will also word with any blender that can crush ice!

You will be rewarded with the most delicious frozen hot chocolate ever.

 

All right… this is serious food porn. It’s as delicious as it looks, I promise! It’s rich but not too heavy. And it’s healthy! Plus it’s a nice change to all those banana soft serve treats… (I do like bananas. But I don’t want everything to taste like bananas!)

 

Talking about frozen treats melting away…
As I found out, it’s really not easy to take photos of a frozen treat when it’s about 100 degrees and you don’t have an air conditioner… I would have loved to take more photos… to play around… but the Frozen Hot Chocolate had to be eaten before it melted, I hope you understand!