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Spumoni Christmas Gateau

It's that most wonderfully festive time of the year! When decadent, richly hued Italian Spumoni cakes layered with pistachio cream, chocolate-hazelnut and cherry ice-cream step out dripping in ganache and festooned like royalty in crisp wafer crowns! Let me tell you, I felt like royalty simply having this gorgeousness lighting up my table… so beautiful it was difficult to slice into. However, once past it's exquisite beauty, a creamy slab of this luscious Spumoni Christmas Gateau is a divine flavor celebration fit for holiday Kings and Queens! Heavenly layers of pistachio cream, chocolate-hazelnut and cherry ice-cream studded with candied fruit, chopped pistachios & hazelnuts galore luxuriously dazzle the tastebuds in ultimate comfort and joy!

High Vibe Living Foods like this Italian Spumoni Christmas Gateau are the most gorgeous and delicious on the planet… and they leave us looking and feeling the same way! Italian Spumoni Christmas Gateau is a truly spectacular way to celebrate the Season with amazing raw food deliciousness that doesn't weigh us down but lifts us up… in Peace, Joy and Happiness!

Raw Vegan Spumoni Christmas Gateau w Chocolate Ganache

This is my submission to Ren Behan at Simple & In Season and Jacqueline at Tinned Tomatoes for No Croutons Required Festive Photos and Bookmarked Recipes. Check them out!

Recipe for Raw Vegan Spumoni Christmas Gateau (Serves 6)

Ingredients

PISTACHIO CREAM

1/2 cup fresh young thai coconut meat (or sub soaked cashews)
2 super ripe bananas
1/2 cup pistachios, separated into 1/4 c & 1/4 c halved or coarsly chopped
4 drops edible grade lemon essential oil (or sub fresh lemon juice)
1/2 t vanilla powder
pinch of celtic salt
stevia to taste

CHOCOLATE-HAZELNUT CREAM

1/2 cup fresh young thai coconut meat or 1/2 cup soaked cashews
2 super ripe bananas
1/3 cup carob powder (or sub cacao or a combo)
1/2 t ceylon cinnamon
1/2 t vanilla powder
1/2 t celtic salt
stevia to taste
2 T + 1/4 cup hazelnuts, coarsly chopped

CHERRY CREAM

2/3 cup fresh young thai coconut meat or sub soaked cashews
2 super ripe bananas
2 1/2 T cherry juice concentrate or to taste
1/2 t vanilla powder
stevia to taste
pinch of celtic salt
1/3 cup dried, apple-juice sweetened cherries, lightly chopped as in halved – leaving several whole.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE

1/4 c extra virgin coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup carob or cacao
2 T almond butter

Method

PISTACHIO CREAM

Blend all the ingredients in a Vitamix, except the extra 1/4 cup chopped pistachios, until ultra creamy. Taste to adjust flavors as needed.
Stir in the chopped pistachios.
Pour into the bottom of a 6 x 3" removable bottom cake pan and put into the freezer until set.

CHOCOLATE-HAZELNUT CREAM

Blend all ingredients in Vitamix, except the extra 1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts, until ultra smooth and creamy. Taste to adjust flavors as needed.
Stir in chopped hazelnuts.
Pour onto 1st layer once it is set. Place back into freezer to allow 2nd layer to set as well.

CHERRY CREAM

Blend all ingredients in Vitamix, except extra 1/3 cup dried cherries.
Stir in dried cherries.
Pour onto 1st two layers once they're totally set. Place back in freezer to allow 3rd layer to set.

RAW VEGAN CHOCOLATE GANACHE

Whisk together all ingredients until smooth and creamy.
Drizzle over cake once it has set. Add decorative toppings at this point so they'll stick. Pop back into the freezer.

RAW VEGAN SPUMONI CHRISTMAS CAKE ASSEMBLY

Well, it's practically finished! However, feel free to add your own special touch as I did, with raw vegan chocolate wafers, dried rose buds, chocolate shavings, a few more chopped pistachios & raw coconut.
Allow the cake to thaw for 45 minutes – hour (or longer just keep an eye on it as we don't want it to totally melt) prior to serving to maximize creaminess.

Enjoy a large slice of high vibe luxurious Christmas indulgence under the light of the tree!

Do you have a favorite "traditional" recipe you'd like upgraded into a beautiful Vegan & Raw version? Share it below for a chance to have me recreate it for you!

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All Love,

Juliane

Thank you for visiting 🙂

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Food, Health, Nutrition & Wellness

Nutty Honey Manuka Chocolate Truffles

Nutty Honey Manuka Chocolate Truffles are decadent bites of powerful nutrition for mid-afternoon snack, post or pre work-out fuel or served as a luxurious dessert. Dense, dark chocolate richness with the healing powers of Manuka Honey to nourish body, mind and soul while satisfiying sweet tooths too!

Manuka honey is created by bees that feed on the flowers of the manuka bush, also known as the tea tree, in New Zealand or the jellybush in Australia. The honey is distinctively flavoured, richer and darker than other honey.

This healing honey has been used by indigenous cultures of New Zealand for thousands of years. Manuka honey contains incredible anti-bacterial & microbial properties which, in a study conducted by the University of Sydney, killed nearly every type of bacteria to which it was exposed.

In 2004 Britain's National Health Service licensed the use of medical grade manuka honey as a wound dressing, confirming what the indigenous people of NZ have long known – that Manuka honey has seemingly miraculous properties.

Recent tests at Sydney University's School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences, showed manuka honey killed every type of bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant "superbugs". In addition to being antimicrobial and antiviral, Manuka is also an antioxidant which helps increase immunity and vitality.

yummy.

powerful.

healing.

I make a large batch of Nutty Honey Manuka Chocolate Truffles for the freezer to keep on hand for those rushed days when we want to grab something and go. However, they are a little addictive, so you may want to stick with the smaller portion recipe below 🙂

Please enjoy this powerfully nutritious and delicious, enzyme rich, Raw Living Foods Recipe!

Recipe for Nutty Honey Manuka Chocolate Truffles

(Makes 8 Truffles – feel free to double or quadruple the recipe)

Ingredients

heaping 1/2 cup (ideally sprouted) Cashews, Raw Almonds, Brazil Nuts (get creative!)
2 – 3 tablespoons or so extra virgin coconut oil
2-3 tablespoons (or to taste) Manuka Honey or sub any type of ethically sourced honey (I err on the side of 3 Tbsp)
Vanilla powder to taste (or substitute Vanilla extract)
Himalayan Pink Salt to taste (I used 2 or 3 twists freshly ground)
2 or 3 tablespoons Cacao Powder (substitute Carob Powder if you prefer)
1 tablespoon Maca Powder (optional) *note: if you're new to Maca use a small amount as it can be incredibly detoxifying resulting in cleansing/detox symptoms)

Method

Carefully (so as not to take them into the nut butter realm) pulse nuts, 2 tbsp coconut oil (add more later if needed), honey, salt and vanilla in food processor until it forms a sticky mass which you can form into truffle shaped rounds.
Using dampened fingers, form each section into a small ball. They don't have to be perfectly round! They're supposed to mimick the free-form shapes of truffles in the wild after all 🙂
Add the Cacao and Maca (if using) to another small bowl.
Roll each truffle in the Cacao, Maca mixture until nicely coated.
Place truffles in the fridge for about 15 minutes or until they've firmed up nicely. If they're left in the fridge overnight, allow truffles to sit at room temperature to soften slightly before serving.
Enjoy!

Raw Nutty Honey Chocolate Truffles

What is your favorite way to use Manuka Honey?

Are you a chocolate lover like me?

All Love,

Juliane

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Food, Health, Nutrition & Wellness

Creamy Chia Rice Pudding

Creamy Chia Rice Pudding

My silky Chia "Rice" Pudding is one of my favorite desserts or snacks- in fact I just had it this afternoon topped with a little extra virgin coconut oil and cacao nibs. SO delish! In the recipe below, I've shared a few tricks I use to make my version even better than other recipes you'll find. The result is a luxuriously comforting, creamy and rich dessert that takes less than five minutes to prepare. It's a cross between tapioca pudding, rice pudding and classic vanilla custard.

Chia seeds, best known for their role in animal shaped potted plants, rival flaxseeds for nutritional super status. In fact, I now use Chia instead of flax because flax has 3 times the phytoestrogenic properties of soy. In addition, the oils in flax oxidize very easily becoming rancid and biologically harmful when the oxygen–rich environment of the body causes oxidative destruction of these oils after they are consumed.(1) Chia on the other hand is extremely shelf stable allowing it to be kept for several years! Chia is also incredibly satiating because it holds up to 10-15 times it's own weight in water. And, it's very versatile in it's recipe application- not to mention amazing for our skin, hair, digestion, overall health and beauty.

See for yourself…

Check out these 18 awesome reasons to enjoy Chia every day!

1. Chia boasts 8 times more Omega 3 than salmon, making it a super food for the heart and brain and an anti-inflammatory in the body.

2. It's super high in dietary fiber making Chia excellent for digestion as well as healing digestive issues and cleansing the body of toxicity.

3. Chia boasts 20% protein.

4. Its protein is a complete protein containing all 8 essential amino acids.

5. Chia is a gluten free whole grain.

6. Chia is very high in antioxidants, boasting 4 times higher ORAC value than blueberries!

7. It contains 3 times more iron than spinach

8. Chia contains 5 times more calcium than milk

9. Chia contains 7 times more vitamin C than oranges

10. Chia is an excellent egg replacement. Simply combine with water to form a gel, and add to recipes that call for egg.

11. Chia can also be added to recipes as a thickener. Just blend it up (in your Vitamix) alongside the rest of your dressing or sauce ingredients.

12. It has twice the potassium content of banana

13. Chia is great food for healthy hair, skin and nails.

14. It balances blood sugar levels, because of it's soluble fiber content, making it outstanding for diabetics.

15. Chia is easily digestible. For example, unlike flax seeds, which need to be ground to obtain their full nutrition, chia can be eaten and digested whole.

16. Chia seeds are great for athletes because they are highly hydrophilic. Chia seeds can absorb over 10 times their weight in water making them a great enhancer in hydrating our bodies; they absorb the water we drink holding it in our system longer.

17. Chia seeds gel when wet. In our digestive systems, this gel prevents absorption of some of the food (and calories) we eat, making the chia seed a great assistant for anyone looking to lose weight!

18. Chia can be sprinkled on salads, cereals, oatmeal, smoothies, yogurt (dairy & soy free of course). They can be added to dressings, baked goods and, of course, made into the delicious chia pudding below!

My favorite type of Chia Seeds are the white ones below by The Chia Company. However, when I can't get those, I also enjoy the Nutiva brand.

From The Chia Company, my favorite Chia source

Recipe for Creamy Chia "Rice" Pudding (makes 1 large serving, or 2 small servings)

Ingredients

1/4 cup chia seeds
8 oz almond milk
Madagascar vanilla extract to taste (I like a lot)
liquid stevia to taste (I use 1 1/2 droppers full)
cinnamon (again, I use a lot!)
pinch of Himalayan or Celtic sea salt (optional)
heaping teaspoon cacao nibs (optional)
extra virgin coconut oil (optional)

Method

Add almond milk to a small, heavy-duty pot and gently warm til baby bottle temperature (to keep raw) or lightly steaming. This is the 1st of my tricks which result in an immediate thickening of the chia into a delicious porridgey pudding.
Whisk the vanilla, stevia and cinnamon into the milk.
In the meantime, grind chia seeds with a pinch of sea salt in a spice grinder until fine and place in serving bowl/s. (The second of my tricks which adds to the immediate thickening of the chia.) You may prefer to leave your chia seeds whole, in which case you'll need to stir the chia, after you add the milk in step 5 below, several times throughout a 15 min period until thickened. This will create more of a rice or tapioca pudding texture.
Pour steamed almond milk mixture over the seeds, whisking with a fork til thickened.
If desired, top with extra virgin coconut oil for additional yummy richness.
Add a sprinkling of cacao nibs for a fabulous chocolatey crunch- plus another sprinkling of powdered stevia/raw honey/coconut nectar over the nibs if you're me 🙂
Enjoy!!

What is your favorite way to eat Chia?

"Kindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind."

-Eric Hoffer

References:

1. http://integratedsupplements.typepad.com/integrated_supplements_bl/2008/05/some-reasons-to.html

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