eastcoastashtangi

A couple of years ago, we got hooked on some of the local restaurants and cafes that featured raw foods.  I know what you’re thinking–salads and salads and more salads, right?  Wrong!  I’m talking about green energy soup made with corn, zucchini and cucumbers.  Lasagna with zucchini noodles, pesto and raw marinara made from sun dried tomatoes.  Seriously.  The flavors are so intense, you don’t miss the heat from cooking!  As you can imagine, organic food in restaurants can be expensive.  Especially since they don’t use any of the cheap “fillers,” like actual pasta, rice, or other starches that tend to give food more volume.  So, I had the wild idea of emailing one of the area’s raw chefs to find out if she did any private (non) cooking.  To my delight, she did and we hired her.

Every Sunday, she would deliver (or we would pick up) meals, sides, and accompaniments for the week.  Raw pizzas and tacos to be assembled, soups, marinated raw greens, etc.  We eventually asked her to add in some cooked options as well, since we weren’t 100% raw foodies, and each of those were crazy good.  On one special occasion, she made us a raw chocolate torte that was out of this world.  I had hoped to get some of her recipes along the way, but she was having personal issues and eventually resigned as our chef.  (Boo!)

Fortunately, I had the pleasure of getting acquainted with a super health conscious cutie in L.A. who is a yogi and raw foods genius.  Sophie and her business partner also offer smoothies, healthy cleanses, etc.  She gave me a recipe for this amazing, fudgy torte that rivals any flourless chocolate cake I’ve tried.  The process is pretty simple, but it definitely works best if you have a food processor and/or a high powered blender.  I have a VitaMix, and it is worth every single penny.

So, here it is, in all its raw, gluten-free, dairy-free splendor!  If you try it, please let me know what you think!

Raw Chocolate Torte

Crust:

• 1/2 C cacao powder
• 1/2 C carob powder
• 1/2 C ground raw almonds
• 1/3 C agave/honey
• 1/4 C cacao butter (If you can’t find this, use Nutella.  It isn’t raw, but it works.)
• sea salt to taste

• 2 C cacao powder
• 1 1/2 C agave nectar (raw, organic if possible)
• 1 C coconut butter (melt until soft by placing container in a warm/hot bowl of water)

1. Take all ingredients for the crust and mix in the food processor.  Once they are combined, take the filling and push it into a spring form or tart pan with your fingers.  (The best kinds are the ones that have a removable bottom.)  Chill in the fridge for an hour or freezer for 30 minutes.

2. Mix the filling ingredients and add on top of the crust. Put back in the fridge or freezer for at least an hour.

Because there are no eggs involved in this recipe, you can lick the bowl and spatula without worry.  🙂  Prior to serving, run a knife under warm water and wipe dry.  It will make slicing into this masterpiece a little easier.  Repeat between slices as necessary.

*Top with raspberries, strawberries and/or nuts and drizzles of cacao! (An easy cacao topping is mixing cacao powder and agave with a spoon until it’s runny.)