Monday night was our first cake club for 2016 and to kick start the year keeping in tune with New Year’s Resolutions the theme was ‘free from’ meaning ideally the cakes would be slightly more healthy than usual!

Bar 55 in Camden was the chosen venue for Monday’s cake club. With its huge choice of cocktails and Mondays two for 1 offer all night, it was the perfect place for nine of us to meet up. Ye that’s right, we had nine people and therefore loads of cake!

Any thoughts about being somewhat healthy went right out the window when I realised there would be ten cakes to try. With a mix of savoury and sweet cakes there was a great selection consisting of: Lynn’s savoury aztec bundt cake, Jelena’s savoury upside down cake, Fiona’s flour free raspberry and almond cake, Sandra’s flour less chocolate cake, Amy’s orange and chocolate cake, Orls’a lemon drizzle, Cat’s white chocolate japanese rose infused cheesecake and Joela’s lemon cake.

I opted for a Vegan Chocolate Avocado Torte which my friend Sareta had sent me a link to. As I had a busy Sunday I wanted something quick and easy I could make on the Saturday that would still stay fresh. The first raw chocolate cake I made was from the Rooted Nutrition class I attended in Vancouver which was delicious and I did want to make this one again but couldn’t find the recipe. Therefore chocolate and avocado it was!

Since making raw brownies before and them turning out horrendously (In all fairness I couldn’t find half the ingredients in the recipe so opted for my own concoction) I’ve been a bit reserved with trying out raw recipes however I have recently been including more raw food in my diet and it is so good and heathy for you I figured it’s best to learn how to make more raw food products!  Therefore when my friend sent me the recipe for this chocolate and avocado cake I thought it would be perfect for this month’s theme.

With not too many ingredients to buy, no baking and relatively quick to make this is a delicious and easy recipe and can also count as one of your 5 a day, maybe two considering the amount of avocados it has in it!

I used a nutri bullet to process the ingredients. I hadn’t used the nutri bullet before so I might have been using it completely wrong, but tip for next time would be to probably chop the pecans smaller before throwing them into a food processor. They were a bit too big for the blades and therefore kept getting clogged up in the bottom. However they still tasted very good in the cake being all big and chunky.

I tried the mixture of the cake whilst making it and it tasted pretty good despite thinking what on earth will this be like, chocolate and avocado therefore I was hopeful it would be ok on the day!

Turns out it is pretty tasty! The base is actually delicious, rich, nutty and has a wonderful texture. It was quite messy and quite rich. A small slice will do the trick but all in all it turned out to be a lovely cake.

There were so many incredible cakes, Lynn’s cheesy savoury cake was delicious. I took some home to have with my lunch but unfortunately my dog got hold of it as I left it in my bag on the floor. Note not to do that again. Jelena’s savoury was delicious too. Then there was Cat’s cheesecake with floral hints which I loved. Usually I’m not a huge fan of floral flavours in food but I think my taste buds are adjusting more and more. (I still order lemon and herb in nandos mind you but these are gradual things.)

A popular one was Sandra’s flourless chocolate cake with mascarpone cream and Fiona’s raspberry and almond cake. I loved the thick texture of Joela’s lemon cake and the sweetness of amy orange and chocolate.

After having a slice of each we all sat there stroking our sore tummies but we had a wonderful night catching up, welcoming new members to the cake club and seeing old faces too I hadn’t seen since before Canada.

Next month’s theme is Roses are Red, Violets are Blue which I’m not sure if I can make as I’m giving up sweet things for Lent but I’m already looking forward to the one after!

Here’s what you need to make it:

No Bake Chocolate Crust:

350g pecans

40g cocoa powder

2 tbsp coconut oil

60ml agave or maple syrup

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

 

Chocolate Avocado Mousse:

3 avocados pitted and scooped out

70ml almond milk

140ml agave or maple syrup

1 tbsp smooth peanut butter (or other nut or sunflower seed butter)

1 tbsp cornflour or a starchy type of flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

150g chocolate chips melted or 150g dark chocolate melted

50g cocoa powder, sifted if clumpy

 

Method:

1. Using some coconut oil, line a 7-10 inch spring form pan with some parchment paper.  In a food processor, pulse the pecans until crumbly. Be careful not to over process them as you still want them a bit chunky. Now add in the rest of the crust ingredients and pulse until just mixed. Scoop the mixture into the tin and press down firmly and evenly. Put in the freezer to chill for 2 hours.
2. Chocolate mousse: Place all mousse ingredients (except chocolate chips/chocolate) into food processor. Process until smooth. In a small bowl, melt your chocolate chips/chocolate in the microwave, set it for 30 seconds at a time and stir in between. Scoop melted chocolate into food processor mixture and process until smooth.
3. Remove crust from freezer and scoop this mousse on top of crust. Smooth out as much as possible and then place in the freezer for 2 hours to firm.
4. Once firm, remove from freezer and allow to sit on the counter for about 5-10 minutes before serving chilled. Place leftover torte in the freezer wrapped and placed in a seal container.

Note that this torte should be served chilled as it gets soft at room temperature.