Walnut chocolate fudge cake with raspberries

It was a warm summer in 2010 and we had just moved to Antwerp, where we lived for two years. Our son's birthday was coming up and he asked me to make this walnut chocolate fudge cake with raspberries that needs no baking. He had seen it in Ani's Raw Food Desserts by Ani Phyo and his mind was set. A fudge cake and Playmo and our five-year old was happy. The original recipe, called raspberry ganache fudge cake, had two layers with frosting and raspberries between them. I made it, we loved it, but after only one slice we were full. For us the two layers were simply too much. I reduced the cake's size and my version is one layer with frosting and berries on top. The beauty of making the cake is its simplicity: There is no soaking of nuts or dates needed; everything is mixed in a food processor. The cake is shaped and ready to serve. Excellent on summer days when you're craving a chocolate cake but it's too warm to turn on the oven.

One of the reasons why I love this cake so much is that it has two of my favourite foods: walnuts and raspberries. Walnuts are an excellent source of (plant-based) omega-3 fatty acids. They are considered good for the heart and they have anti-inflammatory benefits. I read in my Larousse Culinary Encyclopedia that the ancient Greeks and Romans believed walnuts cured headaches because of the shape of the kernel, which looks like the two halves of a brain (p. 1143). In the same food bible I read about 'the nymph Ida prick[ing] her finger while picking berries for the young Jupiter and thus raspberries, which had been white until then, turned red' (p. 861). Let's leave the mythology and make the cake.

This walnut chocolate fudge cake recipe is adapted from the aforementioned book by Ani Phyo, which is filled with delicious raw treats. I have reduced the cake's size, as we prefer one layer, with the frosting and raspberries on top. Phyo's recipe calls for dry walnuts (first soaked, then dried in the sun or in a dehydrator) but I simply use walnuts without soaking them. Some people are sensitive to caffeine and in such cases you can substitute the cocoa powder in the fudge cake for carob powder. The original recipe calls for pitted Medjool dates, which are soft and don't need soaking. You can of course use pitted dried dates instead and soak them first. The original frosting recipe has agave syrup but I use pure maple syrup instead. The cake can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

WALNUT CHOCOLATE FUDGE CAKE WITH RASPBERRIES

fudge cake
220 g walnuts (2 cups)
50 g cocoa powder (¼ cup + 2 heaped Tbs)
scant ¼ teaspoon fine sea/Himalayan salt
175 g pitted Medjool dates (scant 1 cup)

frosting
60 g pitted Medjool dates (about ¼ cup)
40 ml pure maple syrup (scant 3 Tbs)
70 g ripe avocado flesh (⅓ cup)
30 g cocoa powder (¼ cup)

topping: 70-100 g raspberries (about ½ cup)

To make the fudge cake, combine the walnuts, cocoa powder and salt in a food processor and pulse until coarsely mixed. Avoid over-processing. Add the dates and pulse until mixed well. Use your fingertips to feel the texture of the batch and add one or two Medjool dates if it feels dry. Using your hands, shape into a cake of desired size on a plate (I like mine 18-19 cm (about 7 inches)). Set aside.

To make the frosting, combine the dates and maple syrup in the food processor and process until as smooth as possible. Add the avocado and process until smooth. Add the cocoa powder and process until smooth.

To serve, spread the frosting over the cake and top with fresh raspberries.

Uppskrift á íslensku.

If using pitted dried dates, instead of Medjool dates, chop them first and soak them in water for at least 30 minutes. Do not discard the soaking water, as you may need some of it to get the right texture, both for the cake and the frosting (depends on how good your food processor is). Instead of walnuts only for the fudge cake you can subsitute one cup for a blend of pecans, almonds and cashew nuts.

Comfort food: Spice loaf / bread

Perhaps I shouldn't admit it but I got into the holiday spirit early this year. I blame the kids. One evening when having dinner they started talking about our Christmas traditions, the food we enjoy, and I haven't recovered. I think I may have to pretend to be American and celebrate Thanksgiving this year just to get me some turkey and pumpkin pie. Back to my holiday mood. It's serious. I even baked a spice loaf two days in a row last week, mainly to enjoy the Christmassy scent of spices coming from the oven. And yesterday I started my experiments for our Christmas brunches, which you may have seen on Instagram.

October has kept me busy but one of the highlights this month was getting my friend (Cafe)Sigrun's cookbook in the mail, which you can spot in two images. It's the cookbook I worked on and told you about in this post. It was published in Iceland in the beginning of the month and has been well received. I thought my heart would burst when I opened the envelope. It was a strange feeling holding the book in my hands and turning its pages: there they were in print the documents that had been on my computer screen for months! I'm going to share a few recipes later and give you a peek inside the book.

The spice loaf recipe, which contains cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and cocoa powder, is one of those from my old food blog. I adapted it from my friend (Cafe)Sigrun, who was inspired by a spice tour in Africa when she put hers together, which is spicier. I have been baking the spice bread, a loaf cake, for many years and it's our comfort food. Sometimes when it's cold outside, and it's just the children and me at home, we enjoy it with hot chocolate for dinner. It's one of the few things I eat with butter, but I also like it without it. I bake it with spelt flour and I combine white and wholemeal, but you can use another flour. When I make it I use a dl measuring jug (something I was brought up with in Iceland) but I have added the measurement in grams and cups for those who don't have one or have never heard of it before.

SPICE LOAF / BREAD

3½ dl spelt flour (175 g, scant 1½ cups)
2½ dl rolled oats (100 g, 1 cup)
1¼ dl organic unrefined cane sugar (110 g, ½ cup)
2-3 tablespoons cocoa powder, organic/fair-trade
2½ teaspoons baking powder, gluten free
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
250 ml milk / soya milk (1 cup)
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Add the milk and maple syrup and combine slowly, until there is no dry spelt flour left at the bottom. Add 1-3 tablespoons of milk if needed.

Line a (ceramic) loaf tin with baking parchment and pour the batter into it.

Bake at 190°C/375°F (175°C fan oven) for 35-40 minutes. You can stick a fork into the middle to see if the bread is ready. My children prefer the loaf a little sticky so I never bake it longer than 35 minutes in my oven. You can freeze slices of the spice loaf and put them straight into a toaster.

Uppskrift á íslensku.

Meringue tops and chocolate sauce

I remember Nigella Lawson saying wittily in one of her TV episodes that adding strawberries makes you feel like eating very healthily. She was wearing a robe and I think she was making pancakes for breakfast at a beach house. It stuck with me. I need to borrow her words because the meringue tops have the highest sugar content of all my recipes. After years of occasional experimenting I gave up and concluded that a healthier version was a wishful thinking. A certain ratio of sugar and egg whites is needed for the meringue texture to feel right. It cushions the blow just a little to use organic unrefined cane sugar, but after all sugar is sugar. I serve the meringue tops with whipped cream, chocolate sauce, strawberries and blueberries, and if I'm making them in summertime I like adding nectarines or peaches.

This is one of the recipes I have already shared on the old food blog and when making them yesterday I thought, why not snap new photos. Actually, I had already separated eggs and was about to make Belgian waffles when the jar of coconut oil came flying out of the cupboard and broke into pieces on the floor. I had berries in the fridge, so making meringue tops instead was an excellent idea.

In comparison to my other recipes, these meringue tops may have a high sugar content but their taste isn't over-sugary. It is said that the fibre and fructose of strawberries help regulate blood sugar, which may explain why we never feel a sugar-rush after enjoying them. But note that this isn't a recipe that I make every week, these are just for special occasions. I used to own a KitchenAid mixer but for many years I haven't used a mixer when baking, except for whipping cream and egg whites. Now I use a simple handheld mixer on a stand so I find it best to add the sugar gradually, not in one go. In my meringue experiments I tried using baking powder, lemon juice, cream of tartar and a blend of it all, but in the end I switched to cornflour and add just a bit to the sugar. If you are new to meringue making, make sure not a trace of egg yolk goes into the mixing bowl (see tip below).

MERINGUE TOPS (CHOCOLATE)

4 egg whites (use large free-range eggs, at room temperature)
185 g organic unrefined cane sugar (as fine as possible)
½ teaspoon cornflour
a pinch of sea salt
for chocolate meringue tops: ½ tablespoon cocoa powder

Separate the eggs. Add the egg whites to a mixing bowl with a pinch of salt. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar and cornflour.

Beat the egg whites until you get a slightly fluffy texture. Gradually add the sugar until the texture has become thick (the process takes me about 10-12 minutes). If making chocolate meringue tops, sieve over the cocoa powder and use a spatula to gently fold it in to create a marbled effect.

Line a baking tray with baking parchment and use a spatula to form 6 meringue tops, using slow swirling movements.

Bake at 140°C/275°F (125°C fan oven) for about 80 minutes, then turn the oven off, open the oven door and let the meringue tops sit in the oven for another 10 minutes.

Serve with whipped cream and fresh berries, and perhaps the chocolate sauce below.

Uppskrift á íslensku.

If you are new to meringue making or perhaps a bit clumsy then perhaps it's better to separate cold eggs, one at a time: Use separate bowls for the egg whites and yolks. After cracking each egg, transfer the egg white from the bowl to the mixing bowl before cracking another one. If using cold eggs, cover the mixing bowl with a plastic film or a plate when you are done and wait for about 30 minutes until you start beating the egg whites.

Meringue tops ready for the oven

The chocolate sauce is a variation of the chocolate frosting I made for my chocolate tray bake recipe. I just added more water to turn it into a sauce (you can also use it on ice cream). Make sure to always bake with quality cocoa powder, preferably organic/fair-trade. Prepare the chocolate sauce while the meringue tops are baking in the oven to give it time to cool.

CHOCOLATE SAUCE

3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1½ tablespoons unrefined cane sugar
2½ tablespoons pure maple syrup or agave syrup
4½-5 tablespoons water (about 75 ml)
a small piece organic dark chocolate or milk chocolate (15-20 g)
optional: a pinch of sea salt

Put all the ingredients into a small pan or saucepan. Bring to the boil over medium heat, stirring gently. Then remove from heat.

Pour the chocolate sauce into a bowl and let it sit for 30-40 minutes before serving.

Uppskrift á íslensku.