2 cups oat milk (or almond milk) 1 tbsp instant Chaga powder 1 tbsp coconut oil 3 tbsp raw cacao powder ½ tsp ground ginger 1 tsp Ceylon cinnamon ½ tsp cardamom ½ tsp vanilla powder Pinch of ground nutmeg Pinch of sea salt 1 dropperful liquid stevia (or 2-3 tbsp erythritol or maple syrup)
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend well. Pour into a pot and bring to boil. Serve hot for example with frothed oat milk and crusted raw chocolate and almonds.
Put the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and add more sweetness if desired. Pour into jars and let the magic happen in the fridge overnight.
1 cup almond flour/almond meal ½ cup coconut flakes 4 tbsp coconut butter ¼ cup raspberries 4 tbsp maple syrup or coconut syrup 1 tsp vanilla extract
Frosting:
Raw chocolate, melted
Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth dough. Pour the dough onto a plate and form truffle balls with your hands. If the dough feels too soft, add some almond meal so that you get a consistency that is easy to mold. You can also keep the truffles in the fridge for 1 hour which helps them to harden. Dip the truffles into melted chocolate and freeze for about 1 hour. Store in the fridge.
12 fresh dates, pitted⠀ ¼ cup gingerbread dough (I used 1 plate of Myllyn Paras ginger bread dough)⠀ 100 g dark chocolate, melted⠀ ⠀ On top: ⠀ peanut butter⠀ crushed peanuts or coconut flakes⠀
⠀
Roll out the gingerbread dough until about 2 cm / 0.8 thick disc. Cut into cubes around the size of the head of the thumb. Use a sharp knife to make a lengthwise slit into the dates. Remove the pits. Place one gingerbread cube inside each date. Close glently and dip into melted chocolate. Sprinkle on peanut butter & crushed peanuts. Place into a freezer for 30 minutes to harden. Serve and enjoy. Store in the fridge and use within 3-4 days.
It is time, to get your nice cream balls rolling again, baby!
You probably remember the N’Ice Cream book by me and my co-author Tuulia Talvio that was launched exactly a year ago, first in Finland and in the US and then later in the year in 6 countries, like in France, German and Chroatia. The book has found it’s home in the arms of so many healthy ice cream lovers around the world that it is hard to even realize. So thank you! There is no better feeling than when your passion inspires people, makes an impact and is even a part of a cultural change (the ever so lovely ice cream culture), like now for example when we’ve been witnessing many big brands bringing out their vegan ice creams with better sweeteners after the last summer in Finland.
We have not been talking about an ice cream revolution for no reason! * raised fist emoji *
Note, that this Deluxe Edition is only available in Finnish and as an ebook and you can download it here. We’ll try to find a way to get these bonus recipes out also in English in some form asap!
But so that you international readers won’t have to return with empty hands, here’s one faaabulous nice cream flavor for you to exploit: Deluxe Chocolate Nice Cream with Peanut Butter Swirls and Raw Chocolate Cake Chunks! I came up with it by accident when I decided to blend together chocolate mousse (from my Chocolate Pizza Post) and frozen banana. So freakingly delicious. Then I also stirred in some raw chocolate cake chunks and peanut butter swirls and I honestly almost started to cry when tasting it. That’s what pure pleasures can do to you.
When scooping balls from this nice cream a song by Barry White, Can’t get enough of your love, babe, started playing in my mind:
“I’ve heard people say that Too much of anything is not good for you, baby Oh no But I don’t know about that There’s many times that we’ve loved We’ve shared love and made love It doesn’t seem to me like it’s enough There’s just not enough of it There’s just not enough Oh oh, babe
My darling I, can’t get enough of your love babe…”
That kind of sums up the whole essence of this nice cream. You just can’t get enough of it – And you don’t even have to. As good stuff makes good to you.
Place steamed sweet potato sliced, cashews, dates, almond milk, cocoa powder, vanilla ja coconut oil into a blender and blend until tick mousse. Add frozen and sliced bananas. Blend until soft serve. If your blender is small you can do this in two or three batches. Pour the soft serve in a big freezer safe container. Mix in the raw cake crumble and pour over some peanut butter. Freeze for about 30 minutes or until the mixture gets a bit harder. Serve and enjoy!
Raw Chocolate Cake Chunks:
½ cup gluten-free rolled oats
½ cup almonds
3 fresh dates, pitted
4 tbsp raw cocoa powder
a pinch of sea salt Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until crumble. Taste and add sweetener if needed. The dough should be quite dry but easily moldable. Roll into small chunks with your hand and sprinkle the nice cream batter with the chunks.
Preheat the oven to 390 Fahrenheit (200 Celsius) degrees. Mix water and chia seeds in a small bowl and set aside for about 5 minutes. In the meantime, put all the other ingredients into a bowl and mix. Add the chia gel and stir. For the dough into a ball and press or roll out on a parchment lined baking pan. Bake for about 15 minutes or just until the crust starts to become a very light golden brown. Let it cool down a bit before adding the toppigs.
Chocolate Mousse:
1 cup steamed sweet potato pieces
½ cup cashew nuts, soaked for about 1 hour
5 fresh dates, pitted
½ cup almond milk, or other dairy free milk
4-6 tbsp raw cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
On top:
nut crust
raw chocolate
raspberries
peanut butter
Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth mousse. Add a bit more liquid if needed, so that you get a smooth mixture, but keep the mousse as thick as possible. Spread evenly on the pizza crust. Add the rest of the toppings. Serve and enjoy!
Time to fulfil your wishes. Your nut-free wishes! Nearly every time I post a new sweet recipe I get messages from my lovely readers with allergies asking if it would be possible for them to prepare the recipe without nuts or almonds. Most of the times I have to disappoint them because nuts and almonds play such a significant role in many raw/health recipes, and the recipe just wouldn’t be the same if you substitute them with something else.
But now, my babies – now I have something magnificent for you! Something that is nut-free, raw, vegan, gluten free, dairy free and naturally sweetened, all at the same time. And delicious too! This one is truly a crowd pleaser.
And it doesn’t lay on coconut! Many times nut-free treats use coconut to get the creamy rich texture, but I know that the taste of the coconut doesn’t please everyone. And I have to admit that I don’t prefer a strong coconut flavor either and nowadays I use coconut in my recipes in veeery subtle ways so that the strong hippie vibe doesn’t push through. (All my love to hippies ♡)
So, therefore I picked a more neutral ingredient here that still gives a nice wholesome consistency. I picked chickpeas – le chick! Those brilliant little creatures that are so versatile, nutrient-rich and lovely. Then I accompanied them with fresh organic dates. Because dates are my no. 1 favorite sweeteners and they also add a nice little bonus to the texture and taste. I really could not survive without fresh dates in my kitchen.
Which brings to mind another quoestion I get asked a lot – Which dates do I use? Well, the ones that you can always find from my kitchen are fresh organic dates by Fontana that are sold in cardboard boxes in fruit ja vegetable section in supermarkets – at least here in Finland. I like the texture, the taste and the fact that they are organic. They are also easy to find because they are available very widely in the supermarkets – at least here in Helsinki. So I was very happy to pair up with Fontana with this post, because I actually use their dates A LOT.
And here’s my hot tip for a natural date sweetener:
Buy a package of fresh dates. Preferably organic. Take about 20 dates, take out the stones and place the dates in a blender. Add about 1 cup water and 1 tsp vanilla extract or ½ tsp vanilla powder, if you like. Blend until creamy and smooth sauce. Add more water, if needed. And if you like your sauce to be extra smooth, remove the date skins under a running water. Then pour the sauce inside a sealable clean jar. Now you have a lovely sweetener that you can use when baking in breakfasts or in any way you want. Store the date paste sealed in a fridge and you can use it easily for 2 weeks.
Now there you have it. Go ahead and make this date caramel paste & my Le Chick! Caramel Bars and serve them for example to your Valentine next week. Moi moi!
3 tbsp tahini (or your favorite nut/almond butter)
3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
3 tbsp water
3 tbsp coconut syrup (or raw organic honey)
½ tsp vanilla powder (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
a tiny pinch of sea salt
Chocolate frosting:
6 tbsp raw cacao butter, melted
4 tbsp coconut oil, melted
6 tbsp raw cacao powder
4 tbsp coconut syrup (or raw organic honey)
a tiny pinch of sea salt
OR about ½ cup of your favorite raw chocolate melted
Tin size: 17 x 12 cm / 7 x 5 inches
Base:
Cover the tin or the freezer safe container with parchment paper. Add the chickpeas into the blender and blend. Add dates, coconut flakes and vanilla and mix until a thick sticky mass. You may have to scoop down the sides of the blender in between blending. Taste and if you want add vanilla or other sweetener, for example coconut syrup. Spoon out the dough into the tin and even the surface with a spoon. Prepare the caramel sauce.
Caramel sauce:
Place all the ingredients into the blender and blend until sticky sauce. Add a drop of water, if needed, but try to keep the mixture as thick as possible. Spoon out the caramel sauce and spread onto the base mixture. Prepare the chocolate frosting.
Chocolate frosting:
Melt cocoa butter and coconut oil in a warm water bath. Add cocoa powder, syrup and salt. Mix until a nice sauce. Taste and add more some of the ingredients, if needed. Pour the chocolate mixture onto the caramel sauce. Put into the freezer and freeze for a couple of hours or until solid. Take out of the freezer and cut into bars. Let thaw for about 15 minutes before serving. Store in the freezer or in the fridge.
I’m really excited that I had an opportunity to design new stuff for this title, as I feel that although the book came out already two years ago here in Finland, the subject is still very topical.
Well, actually I can’t think of a time when healthy yet delicious sweet treats would go out of style. At least they are very much trending in our household all the time. And it was only 3 months ago when the book came out in the US, so it’s great to blow some new wind to these sails also in Finland! (I know there might not be that kind of idiom in English, but you get the point.)
So cake, muffins, donuts, cookies, chocolates, candies, ice creams and other heavenly goods, all without gluten, dairy and refined sugar. Gentle yet effective ease for sweet cravings with 86 recipes. Pretty luscious package, if I may say. And you’ll recognice the new Finnish edition by the green stamp it has on the cover.
To celebrate the new edition I wanna give away one copy of the new Finnish title to one lucky reader. All you have to do is drop a comment and say hello here in the comment field and I will pick a winner (located in Finland) on Sunday 22nd at 22.00. (10 pm)
Of course I don’t wanna leave you guys from other counties with empty hands, so I’m giving away one copy of the English title, It’s a Pleasure too. So eeeveryone can join! And please do!
Here is also one of the new recipes from the new Finnish edition: my current No.1 favorite raw cake, Raw Licorice Chocolate Mousse Cake, with a super soft and tasty filling and crunchy truffles. Enjoy, babes!
2 tbsp licorice root powder or licorice root extract powder
½ tsp vanilla powder
2 tbsp coconut syrup (or maple syrup)
a tiny pinch of sea salt
On top:
Small truffles made from the crust dough + black sesame seeds
raw cocoa powder
Tin/Cake mould size: 17 cm / 7 inches
Crust:
Cover the bottom of the cake mould with a parchment paper so that it is easier to remove later. Add the almonds and nuts into a blender and blend until fine crust. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until a thick and sticky dough. Check the taste and add more seasoning if you like. Spoon out the dough and put into a bowl, taking aside about 4-6 tablespoons of the dough, from which you’ll later make the truffles. Press the rest of the dough firmly onto the bottom of the cake mould. Prepare the filling.
Filling:
Toss out the soaking liquid of the nuts and rinse the cashews in cold water. Place the nuts into the blender and add the coconut oil. Also add the syrup and tamari. Blend. Add the raw cocoa powder and salt. Also pour in the cocoa butter and coconut oil. Blend until a smooth thick mass. Pour the mass into the cake mould. Even the surface with a spoon. Place the cake mold into a freezer for about 2 hours or until it’s totally firm. In the meantime prepare the truffles and the sauce. When the cake is firm, take it out of the freezer, remove from the mould, dizzle some shosola sauce on and decorate with the truffles you’ve made. Serve and enjoy. Store in the fridge.
Truffles:
Prepare small balls from the dough crust you had set aside. Roll the truffles on black sesame seeds pressing them firmly but gently so that the seeds stick and cover the balls evenly.
Chocolate Licorice Sauce:
Add the raw cocoa powder, licorice powder, syrup and salt into the melted coconut oil. Mix well so that you get a nice chocolate sauce.
4-5 tbsp unsweetened peanut butter or almond butter
Icing
4 ounces dark chocolate or raw chocolate
On top
flaky sea salt
Pit the dates. Put the dates, coconut oil, water vanilla extract and salt into the blender and purée. Caramel should be thick and smooth. Spoon the caramel in a freezer-safe container and put it in the freezer for about 15 minutes so that it thickens a bit and is easier to handle.
Line a small baking sheet with a parchment paper. When the caramel sauce has thickened, take about teaspoon-sized dollops of the caramel and place onto the prepared baking sheet and mold the caramel into balls. Press a pecan into each ball. And then add about half a teaspoon of peanut butter on each pecan nut and place the tray into a freezer. Freeze for about 30 minutes.
In the meantime melt the chocolate on the top of a double boiler / in warm water bath. Take the pralines out of the freezer and dip each of them into the chocolate icing. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and return them to the freezer just to set. Bring out, serve and indluge. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.
1 can full-fat coconut milk (kept in a fridge overnight)
½ tsp vanilla powder
Slice bananas into smaller pieces and put into the blender. Open a coconut milk can and scoop the white thick paste (about 2/3 cup) into the blender with bananas. Add vanilla. Mix until smooth. If your blender is not very powerful prepare the ice cream in two baches. Pour the ice cream mixture in a large freezer-safe tin and freeze for about 15-30 minutes. In the meantime prepare the cookies.
Chocolate Cookies:
1 cup almond flour
1 cup oat flour
4 tbsp raw cocoa powder
3 tbsp flax meal
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp vanilla powder
8 tbsp water
3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
4 tbsp maple syrup or coconut syrup
Preheat the oven to 175 C / 350 F degrees. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add water and melted coconut oil and syrup. Mix. The dough should be now easily moldable. Add a bit more water or flour if needed. You should be able to make a big ball out of the dough with your hands.
Place a dough ball between two pieces of parchment paper. Roll out to ½ inch thickness. Cut the dough into rectangles with a knife or use a cookie mold. Place the cookies gently on a baking tray covered with a baking sheet. Bake for 8 – 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely. The cookies can be a bit soft when you take them from the oven because they will get crispier as they cool.
Chocolate frosting:
½ cup coconut oil, melted
3 tbsp raw cocoa powder
2 tbsp coconut syrup
Mix the melted coconut oil, cocoa powder and coconut syrup in a small bowl.
Assembly:
Scoop about two spoonfuls of the ice cream and place it on the back side of one cookie. Place another cookie on top of the ice cream and press down gently. Repeat with the remaining cookies. Drip some chocolate frosting on top on the sandwiches and sprinkle some shredded coconut on. Freeze for 30-60 minutes. Enjoy!
Preheat the oven to 200 C / 400 Fahrenheit degrees. Grease/oil the sides and the bottom of the cake tin. Cut pieces of parchment paper to cover the bottom and the sides. Remove the stones from the dates and add all the ingredients to the blender. Blend until smooth. Pour the dough into the cake tin and bake for 20-25 minutes until the surface looks dry. Watch out not to dry the cake too much (a tough job!). Let the cake cool completely before you remove the cake from the tin. Notice that the surface will come down quite a bit. Enjoy with chocolate mousse and nut crust or whipped coconut cream and berries!
CHOCOLATE MOUSSE FROSTING
1 can (400 ml) full fat coconut milk (kept in the fridge)
3-5 tbsp raw cacao powder
1 tbsp organic honey (or coconut syrup)
Take the coconut milk can from the fridge and scoop the white thick paste into a bowl. Add cacao powder and sweetener and whip with a mixer until mousse. Taste and add more cacao or sweetness if needed. Use as a frosting.
1 tbsp organic honey (or coconut syrup, stevia or sweetener of your choice)
2-3 tbsp almond milk (or other milk), if needed
3 rkl raw cacao nibs
Peel the bananas and cut them into small coins. Put the bananas into an airtight container and freeze for at least 4 hours, or overnight. In the meantime pour the almond liqueur and rum into a small pot ja bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and add raisins to the alcohol mixture and let marinate until the bananas are frozen.
To make the ice cream, add bananas into a blender and pulse until a crumble forms. Keep on pulsing until the bananas start to form a smooth texture. You might have to scrape down the sides of the blender a few times. Add the marinated raisins, chocolate, vanilla and sweetener and keep on pulsing until you get a smooth and creamy ice cream texture. Mix in the raw cacao nibs and stir with a spoon. Scoop into a bowls, serve and enjoy! If the ice cream melts too much while you process it, you can freeze it a little bit before serving.
1 can (400 ml or 1 ¾ cups) full fat coconut milk (refrigerated over-night)
½ cup (120 ml) peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
a tiny pinch of sea salt
In the middle:
½ cup raw crushed peanuts (or hazel nuts) + 0,25 tsp sea salt
Caramel filling:
6 fresh dates (pitted)
2 tbsp coconut syrup (or organic honey)
½ cup (120 ml) un-sweetened peanut butter
4 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
a tiny pinch of celtic sea salt
½ cup coconut milk
Chocolate frosting:
4 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
¼ cup cacao butter (melted)
4 tbsp raw cocoa powder
3 tbsp organic honey or rice syrup (or sweetener of your choice)
On top:
½ cup crushed raw peanuts (or hazel nuts)
2 tbsp coconut syrup (or organic honey)
Cake tin diameter: 9 x 19 cm / 3.5 x 7.5 inch
Ice Cream:
Cover the cake tin with parchment paper so that the cake is easier to remove later. Put the bananas, peanut butter, coconut milk and vanilla to the blender and blend until smooth. Taste and if you want, sweeten for example with coconut syrup or honey. Pour the ice cream mixture into the tin.
Crush the peanuts and add a pinch sea salt. Add the crushed nuts on top of the ice cream and make the caramel filling.
Caramel filling:
Place all the ingredients into a blender but only half of the coconut milk. Blend until smooth. Add more coconut milk if needed so that you will get the consistency of a smooth caramel sauce or make it as runny as you desire. Pour about half of the filling into the cake tin on the top of the ice cream. Place the tin into a freezer for about 3 hours or until solid.
Chocolate frosting:
Whisk the ingredients until you have a smooth sauce. Taste and add more sweetness if desired.
Assembly:
When the ice cream is solid remove the ice cream cake from the tin and place it onto a serving plate. Pour the rest of the caramel filling on top of the ice cream cake. On top of the caramel filling pour the chocolate frosting. Sprinkle some crushed peanuts on top and pour some syrup or honey on. Let the cake melt a little while in the fridge so that it is not completely frozen, serve and enjoy!
Prepare the cake cumble by making chocolate muffins.
Melt the raw chocolate or prepare it yourself.
Prepare whipped coconut cream.
Crumble your chocolate cup cakes and add into the bottom of the jars.
Add some sliced banana and chopped nuts and pour some melted chocolate on.
Add some whipped coconut cream.
Crumble in some more chocolate muffins.
Add banana slices & chocolate sauce & coconut whipped cream & top with chopped nuts.
Serve and enjoy!
Chocolate muffins:
(Gluten-free, milk-free)
2 cups full-fat almond flour
2 cups buckwheat flour (or gluten-free oat flour or 50:50)
1 cup raw cacao powder
½ cup coconut sugar
2 tsp baking powder
3 organic eggs
1 cup melted butter (or coconut oil, or 50:50)
1 cup oat milk (or a dairy-free milk beverage of your taste)
2 tsp vanilla extract
a pinch of sea salt
Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit (175 Celsius) degrees. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix the eggs in another bowl, add melted butter/oil, milk and spices. Add the mix dry ingredients and stir. Spoon the batter to muffin moulds (or a small cake pan) and bake in the oven for about 25-35 minutes. Muffins may be a little soft in the middle. Allow to cool.
Raw Chocolate Sauce:
5 tbsp raw cocoa powder
1 cup almond milk (or any dairy-free milk beverage)
2 tbsp organic honey
a small pinch of sea salt
(+ 1 tbsp almond butter if desired)
Add cacao powder to a bowl and stir in the almond milk for a small amount at a time, until you reach desired thickness. Add honey, salt and almond butter and stir until smooth.
