I’m a complete failure when it comes to raw desserts. I have decent skills in the kitchen, and I usually don’t have any problems with cooking and baking anything. I rarely make an inedible disaster, but with raw cakes, I tend to mess up big time. I tried it many times, and no matter how precisely I followed the recipe, the cake just didn’t come out right. I mean the desserts usually tasted all right, but the consistency was not very cake-like. It was more like something you would eat with a spoon from a bowl. Somehow, I have always managed to make a filling that wasn’t thick enough. My last attempt looked like one giant bowl of thick smoothie. Usually all the raw cake recipes say to presoak nuts and dried fruit in water, but that has never, ever worked out for me. I’m not trying to say that all the raw cake recipes are wrong – just that I have had no success with them.
Then, the other day, I finally got it right! And the trick was that I used dry nuts. I didn’t soak them in the water at all, instead I just blended them dry. So, raw pistachio mango cake with saffron is my first raw cake that I can actually call a cake. And it was fantastic, which is why I think it’s really worth sharing this recipe. Mango pairs perfectly with pistachios and saffron, giving it a fantastic color and a hint of an exotic taste. Feel free to substitute mango for any other fruit you like.
- For the crust
- ½ cup (about 75 g) cashew nuts
- 1 cup (about 100 g) pistachios
- ⅝ cup (about 110 g) dates, pitted
- ½ cup (about 50 g) finely ground coconut flour
- For the filling
- 2 mangos, pitted and diced
- 1 teaspoon saffron (optional)
- 3 cups (about 450 g) cashew nuts
- 5 tbsp honey
- ½ cup (about 50 g) coconut flour
- 1 cup (about 210 g) coconut butter
- Place cashews and pistachios in the food processor or in a powerful blender and process until finely ground. Transfer the pistachio-cashew flour into a big bowl. Add coconut flour and mix well.
- Place dates in the blender or food processor and blend until the mixture has the consistency of paste.
- Mix the date paste with the ground pistachios and the ground coconut flour. Mix well, until the mixture is smooth and holds together.
- Press mixture evenly into the bottom of a 9" (22 cm) springform pan.
- For the filling, blend mangos, honey, and saffron together until a thick smoothie consistency is achieved. Transfer into a bowl.
- Grind cashews in the blender or food processor. Add finely ground coconut flour.
- Mix the cashew-coconut flour with the mango-saffron mixture. Combine well. You can do this in a blender or in a bowl using a spatula. Taste and adjust the sweetness by adding more honey as needed.
- Pour the filling into the crust. Smooth with a spoon.
- Keep in the refrigerator overnight or put in the freezer for a couple hours before serving.
- Decorate with crushed pistachios and saffron.
I don’t see the coconut butter anywhere in the directions…???