#beet frosting

[itscookery]

Chocolate Beet Cake with Beet Cream Cheese Frosting from joythebaker

[goodeggsnyc]

RAW LAVENDER & CACAO CAKE with BEET & CASHEW FROSTING

Happy (belated) Valentines Day! 

Our Community Care team member, Simone, made these beautiful raw, vegan lavender & cacao cakes with cashew & beet frosting for her valentines this past weekend. Her photo was such a hit on Instagram that we thought we'd share the recipe! 

Cake:

2 cups of walnuts 1 cup of raw cacao powder ½ tablespoon dried lavender flowers 1 cup dates (or more, depending on how moist they are) 1 teaspoon of sea salt

Frosting:

2 cups raw cashews, soaked for 4 hours ¼ cup coconut oil, plus extra to coat cake pans ½ small beet, shaved zest of 1 lemon 3 tablespoons maple syrup

Extra:

Heart-shaped cake pans, individual sized.  Food processor Lavender sprigs to garnish

*Before you begin, soak cashews in a bowl of water for at least 4 hours.

For Cake:

In a food processor, combine walnuts, cacao powder, lavender, and salt and blend until it becomes a flour-like consistency. Taste flour and add more lavender if you want a stronger floral flavor. De-pit dates and add them to the running food processor one by one until the flour becomes moist. You do not want to add enough to make it batter-like, stop adding dates when the flour is still light and fluffy but holds it form when squeezed together with your fingers. How many dates you add will depend on the moistness and freshness of the dates.

Coat each cake pan with a light coat of coconut oil and then press the walnut/cacao mixture into the pans with your fingers. Pack it densly. If it is not sticking together, put it back in the processor and add more dates. You want it to form together in one heart shape, not be coming apart in pieces when you remove it from the pan. Put in freezer to chill. The cakes can be made far in advance of the frosting and kept frozen.

For Frosting:

After Soaking the cashews for 4 hours, strain them and put them in the food processor or vitamix. Heat coconut oil until it is liquid and add to cashews. Add maple syrup and blend the cashew/coconut oil/maple syrup mix. Grate lemon zest and half a beet into the food processor/vitamix and blend until smooth. Taste and add more lemon zest and/or maple syrup to desired taste. Put into jar and let it harden in the freezer.

Check frosting every 20 minutes or so and stir to mix frozen and unfrozen layers, as if you were churning ice cream. When it has reached spreadable, frosting-like consistency, take cakes out of their pans and frost them with the beet frosting.

For decoration, put a tiny sprig of lavender on each and sprinkle any spare lavender flowers over the cakes. Enjoy these healthy, beautiful treats!