By Chef: Chris Anca
Posted: December 24, 2013
Difficulty/Moderate
The ultimate Christmas dessert by Chris Anca of Tales of A Kitchen!
This chocolate cake is accented with hints of fresh orange zest and turns out moist and gooey from all of the dates, dried fruits, coconut oil and luscious raisin caramel filling. Shredded coconut tinted green with real matcha powder along with red goji berries makes for an especially festive feel. That and the fact that it’s actually shaped like a Christmas tree….
If you’re looking for something to wow a crowd than this is the recipe to help you accomplish the feat!
Ingredients
To make the cake:
- 100 gr walnuts
- 50 gr sunflower seeds
- 3 TBSP ground linseed
- 3 dry figs (soaked in water for few minutes to soften and roughly chopped)
- 2 medjool dates
- 2 TBSP coconut oil
- 2 TBSP cacao powder
- zest of ½ orange
To make the raisin caramel filling:
- 140 gr raisins/sultanas (oil free, added sugar free)
- 2 TBSP coconut oil
- 2 TBSP cacao powder
- a bit of water (just enough to get them to blend)
To decorate:
- 2-3 TBSP dessicated coconut
- ½ tsp matcha powder
- goji berries
Instructions
1. Add walnuts, sunflower seeds, linseed, soaked figs, dates, coconut oil and orange zest to a blender or food processor and blitz for few seconds until they mix through. It’s good if you can, leave some crunchy walnuts or sunflower bits in the mix.
2. Scoop the ‘dough’ out of the blender and shape it like a Christmas tree using your hands.
3. Place the cake in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to firm up.
4. To make the caramel, add the ingredients to the blender and whiz them up until you get smooth caramel.
5. Take the cake out of the fridge and cut it in 3 layers with a very sharp knife.
6. Top each layer with caramel, reserving 2 TBSP of the caramel, and stack them back up.
7. Spread the leftover caramel all over the outer sides of the cake in a thin layer (this is going to help the decorations stick to the cake).
8. Mix the matcha with the coconut until it colors it green and begin to sprinkle it/pat it to the cake.
9. Stick some goji berries in the cake or whatever other decorations you fancy and return it to the fridge.
10. Allow it to firm up for at least 15 minutes (or more if you make it bigger) before serving.
Notes
This is a mini Christmas cake that serves 2-4 people. If you would like to make a bigger one, simply double/triple/quadruple the ingredients.
