Baby Shower Light Vanilla-Yoghurt-Berry Cake

This time I've got really special job to do. My friend wanted me to make a cake for a baby shower - how cute is that! :) She wanted to be a small attention - not too big, with not many decorations, just simple healthy light dessert. And she knows it's going to be a baby boy.

So it was a challange to me. Not with lacking idea of healthy light dessert. But to make a decoration for a baby boy! So I was thinking going through the store and a cute little blue dummy lollipop cought my eye! Perfect for baby-boy cake decoration. So finally a light vanilla-yoghurt cake with strawberries and raspberries on real chocolate crust with blue dummy on top was the baby shower cake. I just hope the guest liked it! ;)

Ingredients:

Crust

* 3 large eggs

* 90 grams wholewheat spelled flour

* 3 Tbsp 100% cocoa

* 1 vanilla sugar 

* 40 g powdered sugar

Cream

* 300 g vanilla yoghurt

* 360 g natural yoghurt

* 40 g of powdered sugar

* 1 vanilla sugar

* juice of half lemon

* 300 g whipped cream

*  vanilla seeds

* 9 leaves gelatine

* 12 Tbsp rum

* 5 Tbsp strawberry juice

* 400 g strawberries

* 125 g raspberries

* lemon balm leaves

Preparation:

First prepare the crust. Mix eggs with powdered and vanilla sugar until fine creamy consistency. Add flour and cocoa powder and mix again. Pour into 26cm rounded cake pan (be sure to put baking paper in it before). Bake in preheated oven on 180°C for 15 minutes. Take it out and let it cool.

Then cut 400 g of  strawberries on smaller pieces. In a big bowl combine yoghurt with lemon juice, powdered and vanilla sugar. Melt gelatine leaves in cold water. Bring 9 Tbsp of rum to boil and turn the heat down. Add gelatine to rum and mix well. Put mixutre to yoghurt and mix it well. Beat whipping cream and add it to the mixture. Add also some vanilla seeds. Mix well and set aside.

Combine 3 Tbsp of rum with 5 Tbsp of strawberry juice and moisture the crust with the mixture. You will see when it is enough, if you get too much liquid, you don't need to moisture the crust with all of it. ;) Then put strawberries over crust (with baking ring on the crust) and add raspberries - leave some for decoration. Now take cream mixture and pour it over the fruit. Put in the fridge for 2 hours so it firms. 

Take the cake out and decorate with raspberries, lemon balm leaves, dummy :) or however you want.

Baby shower cake is here! :)

Strawberry Coconut Cake

Another weekend - another cake. It's month of may when most of my friends and relatives have birthdays. And that means a lot of cheerful hanging out together, nice little presents and of course a lot of sweets! :) 

Tomorrow my friend Nataša has birthday. She's one hell of sporty mama who I've met in the sport center where I often spend my late afternoons. You don't get to know that much of women who are keeping good shape like she is. I hope I will also find time to do that when I have my own family. 

Nataša told me she wants me to make her a special cake for her birthday. Together we have came to an idea that it should be creamy, juicy and light. So I've decided to use coconut for creamy texture and strawberries for juicy flavour. She didn't want raw cake, but I've tried to make it healthy anyway - with adding almost none sugar and substituting white flour for healthier one. I hope she likes the taste because I've just done my best for decoration so I couldn't ruin it by taking a piece and try it myself. :)

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

For the crust:

150 g spelled flour

100 g coconut flour

80 g brown sugar

5 eggs

1 dcl coconut oil

1 dcl water

1 baking powder

For the cream:

1 l whipped cream

1 kg strawberries

450 g white cooking chocolate

coconut flour by feeling

6,5 gelatine leaves

1 powdered gelatine

2 dcl strawberry juice

shredded chocolate

rum

Preparation:

A day before prepare the crust. Whisk together sugar and egg yolks. Add coconut oil and water and mix well. Then add flour with baking powder and mix. Make snow from egg whites and add it gently to the mixture - don't mix snow with mixer, use spoon and mix it gently.

Pour into prepared cake pan (covered with baking paper) and bake in preheated oven on 180°C for 35-40 minutes. Take it out and let it cool. Wrap with foil and let it rest until next day.

A day before melt also 450 g of white cooking chocolate in 300 ml of whipping cream. Put in the fridge.

Next day divide the crust into three parts (layers). Cut 500 g strawberries into small pieces. Heat 1 dcl of strawberry juice. Melt gelatine in cold water and add it to the strawberry juice, then mix together. Add cutted strawberries and mix again using spoon. Mix 400 ml of whipped cream and add strawberry mixture to it. Mix it with spoon and put it in thee fridge for 1 hour so ti thickens. 

Then take melted chocolate from the fridge and mix it. While mixing, slowly add some coconut flour (I've done it by feeling - so you can see coconut inside and it is not too thick).

Combine 1 dcl of strawberry juice with 0,5 dcl of rum and 2 dcl of water (if it's not enough, add more water).

Take first layer and spread a bit of combined liquid over the layer (using spoon). Cover with strawberry cream - but leave a little bit of it also for the second layer.

Then take second layer and put it over the cream. Spread a bit of combined liquid over it. Cover with coconut cream - leave a bit for the top. Then cover with the rest of strawberry filling.

Take the last layer, cover the cream, and again spread a bit of combined liquid over and spread the rest of coconut cream on the top. Use knife to spread it nicely so it is even. 

Mixt the rest of the whipping cream, add a bit of powdered gelatine and slowly add coconut flour. Spread cream on the sides of the cake. Leave some for decoration on top.

Cut the rest of strawberries along longer side for decoration. Decorate on the sides and on top. Use decorating bag to decorate the top of your cake. Spread with shredded chocolate. Of course you can let your imagination free with decorating as you want. 

Enjoy the cake! ;)

Raw Coconut-Pineapple Cake

This weekend was my mother's birthday. Another birthday means only one thing - another cake! And of course I've spent some time thinking what to prepare for her this time. I knew it's gonna be raw, and since I've been doing mostly chocolate kind of raw desserts lately, I've decided that this time I go for fruit. Again inspired by Amy, I've made raw "pina-colada" cake. With pineapple and coconut. And oh my, was that delicious! Creamy, juicy, healthy and tasty! Just what we've all wanted!

Here is the recipe for all pina-colada lovers (for 26 cm big cake pan):

Ingredients for raw crust:

* 210 ml macadamia nuts 

* 425 ml coconut flour

* a pinch of salt

* 19 medjool dates, pitted

Ingredients for pineapple filling:

* 425 ml macadamia nuts (soaked overnight)

* coconut meat from 1 young coconut and additional soaked cashews, so all together comes to 425 ml

* 100 ml agave nectar

* 70 ml coconut water

* 110 ml coconut oil (warmed to liquid)

* half tsp salt

* vanilla seeds

* 425 ml pineapple - chopped

Ingredients for coconut filling:

* 425 ml macadamia nuts (soaked overnight)

* coconut meat from 1 young coconut and additional soked cashews, so all together comes to 425 ml

* 100 ml agave nectar

* 70 ml coconut water

* 110 ml coconut oil (warmed to liquid)

* half tsp salt

* vanilla seeds

* 210 ml coconut flour 

Ingredients for "jelly":

* 4 medjool dates (soaked)

* 210 ml pineapple - chopped

Preparation:

First prepare the crust. 

Oil the cake pan (bottom and ring) with coconut oil. Combine macadamia nuts, coconut flour, salt and chopped medjool dates with blender until you get firm consistency - so you can squeeze it with your hands. Than put it in a cake pan and level with your hands.

Put in the fridge and prepare the pineapple filling:

Combine soaked macadamia nuts, coconut meat, soaked cashews, coconut water, agave, salt and vanilla seeds until well combined. Add liquid coconut oil and blend it. Then add chopped pineapple and blend once again until it is well blended. Set aside.

Prepare coconut filling:

Combine soaked macadamia nuts, coconut meat, soaked cashews, agave nectar, coconut water, salt and vanilla seeds. Add liquid coconut oil and blend it. At the end add coconut flour and blend again until it is well blended. Set aside.

Finally prepare the jelly. 

Combine medjool dates with chopped pineapple and blend it well.

At the end combine the filling: put 1 tbsp of each filling 1 tsp of jelly over the crust and keep doing it so until you finish with all filling. Level on the top. Put in the fridge overnight.

In the morning put the cake-pan ring off and decorate your cake. You can do it however you like - I've used chopped pineapple and coconut.

Enjoy every piece od your beautiful raw cake!

Smoothieees!

My favourite start of a day - a good, fresh, fruity, saturated smoothy! Makes me alive, gives me full of energy and turns my good mood on. It is acutally hard writting recipes for different kinds of smoothies I make, since I usually just put in fruits that are available in the kitchen, add some nuts, quark, sometimes yoghurt or chia seeds, and smoothies are ready. I will post how I usually do it and give you some tips, what can you add to smoothies aswell.

My favourite
"Bananas Smoothie"

Ingredients for 2 persons:
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- (coconut) water
- 1 banana
- 3 chunks of ananas (put ananas in fridge a night before, it will give more fresh taste to smoothie)
- 1 pear
- light whole wheat cereals
- coconut strips for decoration
- pomegranate seeds for decoration

Preparation:

A night before combine 2 tbsp of chia seeds with 10 tbsp of coconut water. Put in fridge. In the morning, combine peeled banana together with 3 chunks of ananas. If you want, you can also add one pitted pear. Mix in blender and add chia seeds. Blend it again - for around 1 minute on maximum speed.

Then take a big glass cup and put 1 tbsp of cereals in it. Pour smoothie over cereals - about 3/4 of the cup. Add 2 tbsp od cereals on top. Decorate with coconut strips and pomegranate seeds. Enjoy!

"Red love smoothie"

Ingredients for 2 persons:
- 1 greek yoghurt 0% fat
- around 100 grams of strawberries
- around 100 grams of raspberries
- light whole wheat cereals
- coconut strips for decoration
- strawberries for decoration.

Preparation:
Combine greek yoghurt with strawberries and raspberries in a blender. Mix well for around 1 minute. Then take a big glass cup and put pour smoothie in - about 3/4 of the cup. Add 2 tbsp od cereals on top. Decorate with coconut strips and strawberries, cutted in small pieces. Let love come to you! ;)

"Fruity smoothie"

Ingredients for 2 persons:
- 1 banana
- around 100 grams strawberries
- around 100 grams red pitted grapes
- 2 chunks of ananas
- ligh quark
- almonds, macadamia or other nuts for decoration
- strawberries for decoration

Preparation:
Combine banana, strawberries, grapes and ananas in blender. Mix well for about 1 minute. Then take a big glass cup and put 2 tbsp of quark in it. Pour smoothie over it - about 3/4 of the cup. Cut almonds and macadamia nuts in small pieces and put it over smoothie. Cut few strawberries and garnish them on the top of smoothie. Fruity smoothie is ready for you! :)

These are just some random recipies for smoothies. You can combine all different kinds of fruit. I can give you some tips how to make them taste even better:

• Add low fat vanilla yoghurt to the mixture.You can also prepare your smoothie, pour it in a cup and then add 2 tbsp of vanilla yoghurt extra to it. That's yummy too!
• Always put some cold fruit in it otherwise it doesn't taste that good.
• If you use fruit that contains a lot of water (strawberries, orange etc.) add chia seeds to make smoothie thicker and more creamy. Just soak chia seeds a night before (1 tbsp chia seeds - 5 tbsp water / coconut / almond milk).
• One of my fav combination is also pineapple-banana-orange smoothie - must try it! :)
• Use different layers to create parfraits. You can first add some quark in the cup (or greek yoghurt). Then a bit of cereals, add smoothie, and do it again with quark and cereals. Decorate with coconut or different kinds of nuts.