It’s 2020 and we know that depriving ourselves of the sweet things in life is never the path to true well-being. Instead, we need to focus on abundance — of nutrients, home-prepared food, and gathering with family and friends to cook, eat, and connect.
Talida Volnea of Hazel & Cacao is a plant-based mum from Newcastle who is recovering from a life-threatening hormone imbalance through her diet, is a big believer in the power of food, and she created this plant-based dessert to settle the sweet tooth and fuel her body with antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.
She says, “Dragonfruit, in my opinion, is one of the most beautiful fruits! They’re also a wonderful fruit to add to the diet because they are packed full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, are high in calcium and interestingly can help with blood sugar control as they contain properties that help the pancreatic cells that produce insulin to grow.”
Her recipe uses unsweetened almond milk from to ensure the recipe is completely plant-based and as low in unnecessary sugars as possible, “unsweetened almond milk contains only 0.3g of sugar per serve most of which is likely to be fibre. In contrast dairy milk contains about 13g of sugar per serve, which is not fibre,” she says.
Here’s the 5-step (yes, seriously!) raw recipe. No oven required.
RAW DRAGONFRUIT SLICE
A recipe from Hazel & Cacao and Califia Farms
Ingredients:
BASE:
- 2 cups walnuts
- ½ cup sunflower seeds
- 3 cups pitted dates
- 4 TBSP cacao powder
- 2 TBSP Califia Farms Unsweetened Almond milk
CHEESECAKE FILLING:
- 3 cups raw cashews (soaked for at least 3-4 hours)
- 1 cup cacao butter melted
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 cup Califia Farms unsweetened almond milk
- Juice 1 lemon
DRAGONFRUIT COATING:
- 2 cups dragonfruit chunks ( I used frozen)
- ½ cup raspberries 2 TBSP maple syrup
- 2 TBSP coconut oil
Method
1. For the base, break down the walnuts and sunflower seeds in a food processor. Add in the dates and cacao powder and process again. Add in the Califia Farms Unsweetened Almond milk last and process again.
2. Press down base mixture into the base of a lined baking tin. I used a sheet pan but any square or rectangular tin will work. Set aside.
3. For the cheesecake filling: add all the ingredients to a high-speed blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Pour evenly on top of the base, tap gently to smooth and place in the freezer for about 30 mins to firm up enough before adding the dragonfruit layer.
4. For the dragonfruit layer, place all ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. If dragonfruit is frozen, you may need to thaw it before blending. Pour dragonfruit mixture over the cheesecake layer. Smooth with spatula and place back in the freezer to set for 3-4 hours or overnight.
5. Once set, allow to that slightly, slice and enjoy.
Recipe provided by Califia Farms. Visit: califiafarms.com.au or head to @califiafarms for more information
