Recipe: Easy Raw Carrot Cake Slice

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I was a really weird kid. 

Most kids will happily devour a slice of cake, but me? Nope, I hated cake... unless it was a carrot cake. 

For years I had ice cream cakes for my birthday (which is in WINTER, might I add) because it was the only cake-looking thing I would eat that other kids would also eat. 

That was because the only cakes I did like, other kids turned their noses up at.... like carrot cake. 

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I feel like carrot cake is ridiculously underappreciated.

Sure, it's got a vegetable in it - but vegetables don't really count when sugar is involved, right? 

I'm hoping that this "cake" won't be underappreciated because it's all sorts of delicious. Inspired by my all time favourite cake, this raw slice tastes just like a big ol' hunk of carrot cake - only it's vegan and refined sugar free and doesn't require any baking. 

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Of course it doesn't have the same texture as carrot cake (because it's not actually a cake...) but all the flavour is there - and the creamy cashew based topping tastes like a decadent cream cheese creation. 

Whilst carrot cake traditionally isn't healthy, this version is - but I promise you'll never know. 

So let me share the recipe with you! >> 

Recipe: No Bake Chocolate and Peanut Butter Bars (Grain & Refined Sugar Free!)

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Chocolate and peanut butter are kinda sorta my two favourite things in the world. 

It's the ultimate combination of salty and sweet and they are totally a match made in heaven - butttttttttttttt, I don't love chocolate and peanut butter candy bars.

Reese's cups? Yeah, nope... well, not unless I'm desperate.

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You see, when we were in New Zealand last year, Jesse and I were at this teeny tiny grocery and we were both craving chocolate after a day of travelling and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups were the only chocolate bars we found that I knew were gluten free. 

At first, we were super dooper excited but then we took one bite and looked at each other with a really confused expression. 

Holy cow

Jesse said. 

When in the world did these get SO ridiculous sweet?!

He looked at me with this face of betrayal and confusion because, perhaps for the first time ever, he didn't even want to finish his food. 

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Thus, we returned home with a mission. We had to come up with the ultimate homemade chocolate and peanut butter treat that was just perfectly sweet.... and oh my word, sweet friends, did we succeed with that mission.

This No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars Recipe is insanely ridiculously delicious.

With a cookie like base, creamy peanut butter filling and decadent chocolate topping, it's a recipe that we have made over and over and over again - but one that usually disappears so fast I always forget to snap a photo. But nevertheless, photos have been snapped and here we are!

So let me share the recipe with you! >> 

Recipe: Paleo No Bake Carrot Cake Bites (Vegan!)

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I feel like everyone has a kitchen disaster story and when I was making this recipe to photograph, I was reminded of one of mine. 

You see, whenever I make carrot cake; I obsessively check that my walnuts are fresh. 

Why? One time I spent hours making the most beautiful carrot cake. It was a double layer cake with perfectly whipped cream cheese frosting and looked amazing... but when we cut into it and took a bite, it just tasted off. 

The walnuts were stale and the cake was totally ruined. 

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I was so mad that I vowed never to make another recipe with walnuts ever again. 

If walnuts were a person, they were my enemy and I would have been writing moody Facebook status updates hinting at my hatred towards them. 

But unfortunately for me, walnuts are actually really delicious and carrot cake is one of my favourites so I still really wanted to be their friend. 

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Luckily my walnut ban lasted all of 0.00001 seconds as I then created this Carrot Cake Smoothie Recipe which then lead me to create ALL the carrot cake related things (even a Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal Recipe) and my obsession only got stronger.

These carrot cake bites are a recipe I've been making for years but somehow I've never shared them before. We tend to make a big batch and freeze them as they can be eaten straight from the freezer, however, for those looking for a more traditional textured bite, I've also shared my tips on how to achieve that too. 

So let me share the recipe with you! >> 

Recipe: Paleo Chocolate Almond Slice

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This is another one of those recipes I simply didn't know what to call...

Chocolate Almond Coconut Slice?

Paleo Almond Joy Slice?

Paleo Almond Joy Bars?

I ended up with Paleo Chocolate Almond Slice because adding coconut into the mix made it too wordy - and I didn't want to end up in a copyright battle if I used almond joy..... or an argument with an almond joy fanatic who didn't like my recreation.

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But what I DO know for sure, my friends, is that this recipe is crazy delicious. 

So delicious, that I want to warn you... DO NOT TELL ANYBODY ABOUT THIS RECIPE.

Why? Because they will eat it all... and you'll be left feeling regretful and sad because you'll have nothing left to eat yourself. 

I made that mistake, dear friend, and it was not pretty. 

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I stupidly let Jesse try a piece as I was slicing up the first batch and what do you think he said? "Um.. yeah I think you'll need to share that". 

My Dad tried a piece and said "Are you taking orders? Because I'll have three batches". 

Before I knew it, the batch was gone. I know sharing is caring and all, but sometimes a girl needs chocolate... so needless to say the batch I made yesterday is squirreled away at the back of the fridge.... behind the vegetables.....

But I didn't tell you that... 

So let me share the recipe with you! >> 

Recipe: Raw Mint Chocolate Layer Cakes

I love chocolate, but if I had to pick any particular flavour of chocolate as my favourite, it would have to be mint. 

I don't know what it is about the mint chocolate flavour combination, but it never gets old in my eyes. Mint chocolate bars, mint chocolate icecream, mint chocolate cupcakes, mint chocolate raw bites - anything mint and chocolate related is good in my books! 

So when I found myself with a heap of cashews and coconut left over from a recent food photography session for one of my clients, I decided I was going to make a raw mint chocolate cake. I got to processing and mixing and pressing and what I ended up with was the most delicious treats that are full of mint chocolate-y goodness.

The photographed ones you see here are mini cakes. Made in mini muffin tins, they're the perfect bite sized treats and are a super cute dessert to share with friends. You don't have to worry about slicing and making a mess and they look a little fancier than a full sized cake. 

That said, we have also made these babies in a full sized cake as well as layered in glasses - so the possiblities are endless! 

They're sweet and decadent tasting whilst totally healthy - made without any refined sugars and even paleo too! 

So let me share the recipe with you! >> 

Recipe: Healthy Raw Cookie Dough Brownies (Vegan too!)

I have been a bussssssssssssssssy busy bee this week. So busy, in fact, that I haven't had a chance to bake a thing this week... unless you can't last night's Healthy Tuna Pasta Bake.

But just because I haven't had time to bake, doesn't mean that I haven't whipped up something delicious. You see, this week we have been loving no-bake treats. Why? They take just minutes to make and I don't have to worry about getting distracted and ending up with a burnt disaster in the oven. 

These babies are all sorts of delicious. With a slightly chewy chocolate brownie base and a creaaaaaamy and delicious cookie dough topping, they're the perfect healthy snack or dessert. 

Best of all? It takes just minutes to make and you don't have to worry about waiting for one layer to set before making the other - all you have to do is chill them until firm!

Jesse is often hesitant about trying raw treats as he's not the biggest fan of dates, however, I gave him half a piece to try when I made the first batch, only to have him say "uhhh, you see I can't tell by just a small piece... I'll have to have another one... you know..... just to be sure.... and then maybe have another". 

Also known as; he loved them - and I've been making them ever since!

So let me share the recipe with you! >> 

Recipe: Raw Banana Cake

The Southern In-Law Family have fallen in love with raw treats lately. For years I never made any raw treats (except for the occasional treat for myself) as I thought no one else would like them - but boy oh boy was I wrong!

This Raw Banana Cake is by far our favourite raw treat at the moment. It's drool worthy and it's impossible to eat it without Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm and Yummmmmmmmm-ing. Best of all - it's so ridiculously simple to make - and healthy too. 

It uses just three ingredients so it's ridiculously simple - all you have to do is blend all of the ingredients, stick it in a tin and then put it in the freezer and try to resist the urge to eat it all with a spoon patiently wait until it's solid.

I asked Jesse how I should describe this recipe and he said "Just tell them it's delicious - you can't explain it - you just need to try it" I asked SIL Sister and she said "yum, delicious, like icecream - just really really good". If you asked me, I'd tell you to make this right now. 

Now all I need is a blast chiller so I don't have to wait for it to freeze ;P (but the way is around this is our 3 batches in the fridge right now - you eat some and make some for when that's all gone - genius!) 

Raw Banana Cake makes about 8 slices, easily multiplied

raw, vegan, grain free, gluten free, paleo, sugar free 

2 ripe medium bananas

1 cup dates 

1 cup raw cashews 

Line a baking tin with baking paper or use silicone cupcake cases*

In a food processor, process your cashews until they look like crumbs. 

Add in your dates (if your dates have been in the fridge and are quite hard - just heat them in the microwave for 30 seconds to a minute until they soften) and process until finely chopped. 

Add in your bananas, processing until the mix has combined. 

Pour your mixture into your tin/silicone cups and freeze until solid. 

When serving, serve quickly as it will begin to melt! 

*We've found metal tins tend to let the mix freeze solid, whilst silicone cases and tins keep the mixture quite soft. 

But tell me, are you a raw treat fan? 

What's your favourite kind of icecream? 

I'm a chocolate icecream lover, so that's the next recipe I want to come up with!

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