Raw Vegan Chocolate Orange Cake
from The Blender Girl cookbookJanuary 13, 2012
This raw vegan chocolate cake with orange as super easy to make, and is rich, creamy, and absolutely delicious. Serve with cream or ice cream.
Raw Vegan Chocolate Orange Cake
This raw vegan chocolate cake with orange as super easy to make, and is rich, creamy, and absolutely delicious. Serve with cream or ice cream.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 10 to 12
Calories 611 kcal
Ingredients
crust:
- 1 cup (160g) whole raw almonds
- 1 cup (160g) firmly packed chopped pitted dates, plus more as needed
- 1/4 cup (18g) cacao powder (or unsweetened cocoa powder)
filling:
- 1 cup (240ml) melted virgin coconut oil
- 1 cup (240ml) freshly squeezed orange juice
- 3/4 cup (180ml) pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup (35g) cacao powder (or unsweetened cocoa powder)
- 3 cups (420g) raw unsalted cashews, soaked
- 1/4 teaspoon (1ml) orange extract
- Pinch of Celtic sea salt
- 1 teaspoon (4g) finely grated orange zest
to serve:
- shaved chocolate
- finely grated orange zest
- ice cream
- cashew cream
Instructions
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To make the crust, Grease a 9- or 10-inch (23 or 25cm) springform pan with coconut oil. Put the almonds, dates, and cacao powder into your food processor and process until well combined and the mixture forms a dough.Form the dough into a ball; if the dough doesn’t hold together, you may need to add more dates and process again. Press the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan and set aside.
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To make the filling, throw all of the ingredients in your high-speed blender in the order listed and blend for about 2 minutes, until rich and creamy. To achieve the smoothest filling, stop the machine periodically and scrape down the sides of the container. Pour the filling into the crust.
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Cover the pan with aluminum foil and freeze the torte for 8 hours.
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To serve, transfer the pan from the freezer to the fridge at least 1 1/2 hours before serving; let the torte defrost in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Remove the sides of the springform pan and then cut the torte into slices with a very sharp knife. Keeping the slices together, return the torte to the fridge to continue defrosting for at least an hour before serving.
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Note: Because of the coconut oil, this filling will melt if left out at room temperature.
Recipe Notes
Recipe and photo from The Blender Girl cookbook.
Comments 57
I plan on making it today if I can find all of the ingredients at the stores close by. I already know I’ll love it!
I’m trying to convert my white-bread-loving, meat and potatoes, boyfriend.
Fantastic site and amazing recipes, by the way!
LOL! I love it!!!
this looks spectacular!
Thanks!
I was really really pleased with the way this cake turned out.
It is absolutely delicious!
I can’t wait to hear what you think 🙂
I just made this the other night and WOW! Smooth, creamy, chocolatey, everything a cheesecake should be except…no cheese! No dairy! It is outstanding and easier than a typical cheesecake too. The only problem I had was the crust. I couldn’t get it to stick together even after adding more (and more) dates. I used regular almonds – would soaking them first help? I ended up sprinkling the crust on top with the Vanilla Cream. It was fabulous and I will definitely make this again and again! Thank you
Blender Girl!
Hey Jeannie,
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment here, and thankyou for your lovely comment on Facebook.
I am sorry you experienced problems getting the crust to hold together. It does depend on the nuts you use. I DO always soak my almonds and dehydrate them beforehand. However, you really don’t need to. If you don’t want to add more dates, I have found that a little bit of coconut oil or water helps too. Just a little, until you get the right consistency.
I hope this helps. I am so pleased you enjoyed this cake. I LOVE it!
hello,i also have a problem !
after put in the freezer then i transfer to fridge
but it becomes melt in the fridge !
how can i prevent it coz i was planned store it over night 🙁
thank u so much
Hmmm…that has never happened to me. Your fridge must be on a very low setting. Increase the temperature of your fridge and it should be absolutely fine to store overnight. But, you will get the best results storing in the freezer and only transferring to the fridge an hour before serving.
OMG!
It’s amazing!
Ha! SO pleased you enjoyed it 🙂
Oh, you are SO welcome Olivia!
From a “jaffa aficionado” that means a lot!!!
This was totally amazing! I had a group of girlfriends over for a Raw Tea Cake Party to celebrate the end of my nutrition course and make a raw cake feast for them to sample the delights of healthy treats. They couldn’t believe it was so simple and delicious! Thank you, as ever.
An absolutely pleasure Caroline.
Thankyou for trying so many of my recipes.
I really appreciate the support and all of the shout outs on Facebook.
This cake is so easy and so delicious, the only problem is not making it every day! LOL!
If only I could have chocolate, am allergic to it. Has anyone ever tried this with carob??
Sorry Alyssa, I don’t know how I missed your question. I have not tried this with carob. I don’t see why you couldn’t make it work. You will probably have to add more sweetener. The great thing about raw cakes is that they taste the same after freezing. So, you can blend and taste as you go, keep tweaking, so no disasters. Please let me know how you go. I might give it a go next month when I get back from vacation too 🙂
WOW. This cake should be universally illegal. Lock up your children. If you have a devilish sweet tooth & yearn for some rich, chocolate pie in the sky then BEWARE – (And I don’t want to sound dramatic here) But this cake will change your life. It’s that simple. Seriously, this is a WINNER. Whether you know what a ‘jaffa cake’ is or not is irrelevant. You owe it to yourself and your loved ones to russell up this demon & spread the chocolatey love around.
Thankyou!!!!!
I have to agree.
This cake is pretty spectacular…..
even if I DO say so myself.
SO easy and SO delicious!
Glad you enjoyed it so much.
LOVE your comments. HILARIOUS!!!!!
Lovee this.
Just found it on a glutenfree mom that knows.
I will try this one for sure 😉
xo
http://www.lifeologia.com
Great!
Can’t wait to hear what you think 🙂
I am so happy I found you! I just made your raw Jaffa cake! It is the most amazing thing I have ever tasted!! Thank you 🙂
Oh Wonderful! Thankyou for your lovely comments here and on Facebook.
I am so glad you enjoyed this cake.
It is SOOO easy and SOO good!
Great to connect with another Melbourne girl 🙂
Hi, Just found out about your website today, looks amazing! I had a question about the alcohol free orange flavour for this. Can you use orange blossom water or is this not suitable? If not where do you get orange flavouring from? I havent checked my health food store but I dont recall seeing anything like this before aside from the orange blossom water. Thanks..
Hey Lisa,
In the US you can find orange extract in health food stores next to the vanilla extract. You CAN use orange blossom water in this recipe but I have not tried it personally. I would start with a very small amount, blend, and taste. The beauty of this cake is that the taste doesn’t change when you freeze it. So, whatever it tastes like in the blender will be the same as the finished product. So you can’t mess it up if you start small and keep adding. Let me know how you go.
Thank you for the advice. I made this yesterday and after the freezing had in fridge overnight – tried it today and tastes amazing! Very impressed – its my first raw cake that Ive made. Ive tried raw cheesecake before at a vegan restaurant and this is just as good! I left out the orange flavour and just used extra zest, may add a bit more even next time but still beautiful flavours. Cant wait to try the other raw cheesecake recipe!
I just had a question re the freezing part – any idea if it would still set just being in the fridge? Had a few pieces of ice form on the top even though foil over it which is fine unless I was serving it to people as when I took the pieces of ice off it discoloured the cake a little bit. But I guess I could just hide it with some fruit or something else??
I am so glad you enjoyed the cake!
If you fridge is on a very cold setting you could try setting it in the fridge. Although, it doesn’t quite set well enough, and it harder to cut. It needs to be really solid to cut properly. I take your point about the ice crystals on the top when freezing. That has happened to me once too. I topped the cake with chocolate-covered strawberries! LOL! Alternatively, you could try freezing if for a couple of hours and then placing a sheet of baking paper on top underneath the foil. Enjoy!
Thanks for that! Just one more quick question – how long do these cakes usually last for? Im assuming its best to keep it in the freezer if its not going to be consumed straight away or does it keep for a little while just being in the fridge?
It will keep in the fridge for about 5 days. But, if you are not going to consume it straight away keep it in the freezer. I wouldn’t leave it there too long though, so it doesn’t get freezer burn.
Thanks a lot for the info, appreciate it!
Pleasure. Enjoy 🙂
Just tried this today after thinking about how delicious it looked all week! I replaced the almonds with 1/2 cup of walnuts and 1/2 cup of cashews because I am allergic to almonds. The base was very easy to roll into a ball and perfectly biscuity when it came out. Reactions of family have been great too – my sister says it tastes way better than an ordinary cheesecake, it’s healthier without losing any of the creaminess or the richness. And it was so simple to make too. 10/10 recipe! Thank you!
Thankyou for sharing your blend of this recipe Georgia. It sounds DELICIOUS. I am so glad it was a hit with your friends and family.
Well this is phenomenal!! I made this 3 hours ago for my moms birthday. I was planning on leaving it in the freezer for the full 8 hours but it’s 1 am right now and I ate 2 pieces already. It’s so incredibly good!!! Thank you!!
LOL! I LOVE it. I did the same thing the first time I made it. I was watching Groundhog Day at midnight happily devouring my third slice! HA! SO glad you enjoyed it.
Does the coconut oil have to be melted before you put it in the vitamix?
You will get the best results if the coconut oil is in a liquid state before you add it to the blender. Enjoy 🙂
This was amazing, me and my mum made it on the weekend and halfed the recipe. We are in love with it YUM YUM YUM thank you for sharing
I am SO pleased you enjoyed it. I was allowed to put 10 recipes from the site in my book and this was at the very top of my list with the potato salad and cauliflower soup. But, yes, this cake is very rich. You can absolutely halve the recipe and still have tons of yumminess.
Just wondering if this can be made in another type of pan, since I don’t have a springform cake tin. Thanks!
You really need a springform to be able to release the cake from the tin keeping the shape. You can use a regular cake pan. But when you go to release it you will break the cake. So, if you can borrow a springform you will get the best looking results.
Oh my goodness! I made this for my boyfriends birthday and it was delicious!! I’ve never made anything like it in my life and usually I’m dreadful at cooking. Incredible!
Thank you! 🙂
So pleased this was a hit. It is so easy too. There are so many super easy recipes you can make in a blender where you don’t have to be a great cook. You can do it!
Can you replace the agave nectar with honey or maple syrup? If so is it same quantity? Thanks
Honey is too assertive. You could substitute 1/2 cup coconut nectar and 1/4 cup maple syrup.
Dear Tess – Thank you so very much for sharing this incredible recipe! My omni visiting family was astounded that something so rich and decadent could be free of dairy, gluten, AND refined sugars. I replaced the orange extract with vanilla, sub’d half of the agave for maple syrup, and added a touch of coconut oil to the crust for binding. It was SO easy and fast, and PERFECT for a house full of visiting company during an unprecedented heat wave. The Vitamix is key, as the filling is ridiculously, unbelievably smooth and supple, with no hint of grittiness (elusive in my pre-Vitamix days, I admit). My mind is racing at the options with this format (using pomegranate juice or coffee in lieu of the orange juice; omitting the chocolate altogether in favor of a lemon or fruit-based cheesecake; etc). ♥
Oh, I am SO glad you and your family enjoyed this, and you are making this recipe your own. Keep sharing your tweaks. I love this cake, too. It’s always a hit with everybody I serve it to! Thanks for sharing your experience.
Hello 🙂 I have a friend who is allergic to raw almonds. I don’t know yet if she can eat raw walnuts, as described in one of the comments. I wonder if the almonds are roasted, which I believe she can eat, will this still work in the base. Thanks for the great recipes!
Hey Carol, you can substitute raw walnuts or pecans for the crust, and it’s delicious. You could use roasted almonds. It would no longer be technically raw. But, if that’s not a concern for you then great! Enjoy!
I made this last night as a treat for today to break my fast. It is VERY good. Thank you for a great recipe! I’ve never made anything with soaked cashews and have been wanting to try vegan/raw baking for a while. This was a wonderful success for my first try!
Awesome. I am so glad you enjoyed it.
Pure awesomeness n no bake cake! Please tell me if I can use powdered sugar syrup instead of the nectar, I don’t find it in the shops near my place ( India )
Try pure maple syrup or coconut nectar. You could dissolve coconut sugar or another granular sugar in the coconut oil. Just start with 2/3 of the amount and add to taste.
Thank you for your reply. Got maple syrup! Gonna make this for my husband’s bday!
Yay! I hope it was a big hit.
Decadent and delicious – really hits that spot! I’m a self confessed chocoholic and this raw torte is better than any chocolate cake i’ve ever eaten, ever!
Oh….so happy you enjoyed it. Your comment just made my week. Thanks!
Hi, I would love to make this cake but am allergic to cashews. Can you suggest an alternative choice of nuts?
Sorry to hear that Deb. Unfortunately, cashews will give you the creamiest consistency. You could try making this cake substituting 3 cups young thai coconut meat. But, I haven’t tried this myself. It should work beautifully. But, I haven’t tried it.