Glimpse into blueberry and coconut cake

For my family's Christmas Eve dessert, I made a blueberry and coconut cake. It is like a fruity, coconut cheese cake, without the dairy!

This was the perfect cake in terms of preparation, because I was able to make it the day before, and as it is a raw cake which is set in stages, you can do it a little at a time for an even lower energy consuming cake!

It was also great for a summer time treat. I had left it in the freezer til a half hour before we wanted to eat it, however, we had to keep waiting for it to thaw, and eventually ate it quite hard and frozen! It was still good, but the leftovers revealed that it was much nicer and easier to eat when left in the fridge rather than the freezer. I suggest that you set it in the freezer, but store it in the fridge so that it is soft when you come to eat it.
It can be kept in an airtight container for several days in the fridge, or will keep well for a later date in the freezer.

My recipes are usually my own creations because I rarely come across recipes which I can use that contain ingredients that I can tolerate. However, this recipe is a result of the inspiration from a recipe from The Merry Sisters. You can find it here: http://themerrymakersisters.com.au/paleo-choc-blueberry-cake-epic/. I have made changes to it, to make it more appropriate for my low fructose, grain free, gluten free, dairy free, and egg free diet. I find I have trouble tolerating too many nuts, so I went for more coconut than nuts, but if you prefer nuts, feel free to swap the 2 cups of coconut in the middle to soaked cashews.


Blueberry and Coconut Cake.

Base:

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup almond meal
1/4 cup raw cacao powder
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

1. Line and grease a 20cm spring form cake tin.
2. Place the coconut, almond meal, cacao and salt into a food processor. Blend til as fine and smooth as possible.
3. Pour in the oil, syrup and extract and blend again til well combined.
4. Remove the mixture from the blender and pour into the lined tin. Press it into the tin so that it is equally and firmly spread.
5. Cover with cling wrap and place in the freezer.

Middle:

2 cups shredded coconut
1 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup coconut oil
2 tablespoon maple syrup
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
Juice of 1 lemon
Rind of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Place all ingredients into the clean food processor. Blend until smooth. This can take several minutes.
2. Retrieve the cake tin from the freezer and pour the middle mixture over the base. Spread it evenly.
3. Cover again with cling wrap, and return the tin to the freezer for at least 90 minutes to set.
4. Move to the fridge to soften slowly, or allow to thaw in room temperature for about 60 minutes before eating.

 

Topping:

Your choice of fresh fruit, raw chocolate, chopped dairy free chocolate, nuts, cacao nibs, shredded coconut or maple syrup.

1. I made raw chocolate (1/4 cup melted coconut oil, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, 1/4 cup cacao, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extra and a pinch of salt combined well til smooth) and poured it over the top, unevenly. While this was wet, I sprinkled it with chopped dark chocolate, freeze dried strawberries and fresh blueberries. Use whatever takes your fancy!