Raw Raspberry Ganache Fudge Cake

 Good morning all you lovely people. I hope you all enjoyed a wonderfully relaxing and enjoyable weekend. For us it was a fairly slow one, but with quite a few things to do around the house. We still seem to be in the January clear-and-sort-out mode, which seems to be falling slowly in place. In between it all we have been enjoying some of this gorgeously delicious Raw Raspberry Ganache Fudge Cake, by Ani Phyo.

 

 

 

 

Earlier this month, I treated myself to this lovely book by Ani Phyo, as I felt it fitted in perfectly with my new outlook on a journey to wellness. The book if filled with '85 Easy, Delectable Sweets and Treats' all without wheat, gluten, dairy or any processed sugar. Ani Phyo has divided the book into ten sections: Frozen Treats, Cakes and Tartlets, Chocolate and Fudge, Crisps and Cobblers, Puddings and Parfaits, Cookies, Fruit Simples, Sun-Baked Treats, Sauces and Kreams and Sparkling Desserts with Wine and Champagne.

 

 

 

Thus far I have only tried two of the recipes and they have both been very delicious. The first was 'Peacan Pie Cookies', which is very much like the Naked Bar's peacan pie, but definitely a bit yummier. This cake however is in a league of its own.

 

 

The cake is made up of processed dates, cocoa powder and walnuts, which to be honest baffled the socks off me as I just didn't understand how this crumbly mixture was going to hold its own once assembled and iced

 



 

and as it turns out I was right. The idea is that you divide the mixture between two sandwich tins and then set aside whilst you make the icing. Amazingly they held their shape once turned out, but started crumbling once I attempted the icing. So, I figured that I would pop it back in the food processor, add a few more dates and then packed them really tightly by pushing the mixture firmly into place (a bit like working with putty) and then I popped them in the freezer for a good few hours, which seem to do the trick.

 

To make the ganache, you simply process some dates, agave syrup, cocoa powder and some avocado and amazingly

 

you have THE most delicious ganache. This stuff is seriously yummy and the good news is that it is healthy too!

 

 

 

 Once the glitches were all ironed out it was really easy to assemble the cake. The recipe calls for adding a layer of raspberries in between the two cakes, but I was a little worried that it would make the cake soggy over the course of a few days. Having seen how the raspberries behave on top, I think I will give it a go next time as the raspberries really compliment the delicious flavours of this cake beautifully. For anyone interested in trying this recipe, you can find it here.

 

 

 

 

On Friday I had a little 'stitch and bitch' session at home with a friend as we were both desperate to finish some cushions that we had started long before Christmas. It was a really enjoyable morning and seeing that we are both on MyFitnessPal and avoiding sugar, this cake seemed like the perfect treat whilst stitching. I will say that we both thought the cake is much tastier than many other chocolate cakes, even the kids and hubby loved the cake (yes it is all gone!) and for us the thing that struck us the most was that there was no nasty post sugar cravings that you so often get when eating refined sugar and simple carbohydrates. I honestly never thought that I would put the words cake and healthy in the same sentence, but here it is loud and clear and to top it, it is actually really delicious.

 

 

 

 

The good news is that I finally finished this cushion I have been working on for a while. I have never spent this long on making a cushion and I must confess that working with velvet can be quite tricky and therefore calls for a great deal of hand stitching to get everything firmly in place before it starts dancing under the foot of your machine.

 

 

I am really pleased with the end result and love the use of doilies on cushions. I also love the colours of this fabric and I think it compliments this little space beautifully. I still have another one in the same fabric to make, but this time I will take my time and do it properly from start to finish to ensure that pesky un-picker is NOT required.

 



 

 

Before I go I would like to thank each and every one of you who left such supportive and loving comments on my post about my plans for this year. It is really wonderful to know that there is so much love and support out there. So far it has been hard going as it doesn't come natural for me just to be still, so it is a challenge, but then I have always been very fond of challenges, so I will keep that in mind when things get tough. As for the yoga, it seems to be aggravating the shingles in my body, so I am toning it right down to breathing and trying to find ways in which it will work in harmony with my body. For now it is all very much trial and error and it is definitely affecting my health, but the art lies in listening to my body and it is not going to happen overnight. This is going to be a long process, one that will take time to tune in and find the pathways that needs to gel together in order for my body to be in its optimal position whilst my mind follow hand in hand. It is all to easy for our minds just to lead the way without any regard for the needs of our bodies and for me this is most certainly my biggest challenge.

 

 

A big welcome to my new followers, I am so touched that you have decided to stop by and I hope that I will get to know you all a little better over the months ahead. I am also a little behind in catching up with many of your lovely blogs, but it will hopefully happen during this week.

 

Sending you all much love and wishes for a creative week ahead.

 

Warm Wishes

Hannapat

xoxo