No Bake Chocolate Avocado Cake

On the 2nd of November I begin catering on the last Power Living retreat for 2013. This will be the tenth Power Living retreat I have catered for. When I think about catering on a Power Living retreat I initially wonder where on earth I am going to get all the energy from. However I know from experience it always comes and it comes from somewhere in great abundance. The Power Living retreat is one of the largest yoga retreats I cater for and is often for fifty five hungry yogis and staff.

In the kitchen there are three of us at all times and I end up working a sixteen hour say. Spending a day writing the menu, a day compiling shopping lists, a day placing orders with farmers and suppliers, a day buying bulk dry foods and a morning at he the farmers market for the initial market shop (we go to 3 markets during the week). By the time I hit the kitchen after all the preparation I am itching to get cooking, and cooking we do. We provide high energy food in abundance. As the yoga pumps in full energetic force in the yoga shala the fun, laughter and hard work takes place next door in the kitchen. The kitchen crew feels very connected to the positively high and beautiful energy that radiates from the yoga Shala.

On each and every Power Living Retreat the menu changes somewhat depending on what is in season and what new creations I have come up with in accordance to the facilitators guidance, but one item that always stays the same and that is Duncan Peak’s (the original founder of Power Living) favourite dessert- TheNo Bake Chocolate Avocado Cake.

In the retreats scheduled for March I always tell the coordinators that avocados are out of season and I can’t provide them for breakfast. In March this year Duncan was telling his students about the chocolate avocado cake and how good it is when the coordinator for that retreat told Duncan that we probably wouldn’t have it this retreat as avocados are out of season. Apparently Duncan was disappointed but unbeknown to the coordinator one of my avocado suppliers had managed to secure the twenty one avocados required to keep the cake on the menu for fifty five people.

This recipe is one of the few recipes that I have repeated in both my books and now I want to share it here with you all. Beware it is very delicious but also very rich so a small piece at a time is recommended.

No Bake Avocado and Chocolate Cake

Technically this is not a raw food recipe. However if you want to make it totally raw- use raw chocolate instead of the vegan chocolate and grate the chocolate and place in a metal bowl. Boil up a saucepan of water and then take off the heat. Place the metal bowl on top of the saucepan and leave until the chocolate is soft.

Base

1 ½ cups dates, soaked for an hour

1 ½ cups dessicated, sugar free coconut

1 cup pecans

Filing

½ cup almond meal

3 ripe avocados

10 tsp raw cacao powder

2-5 tbsp of honey

½ cup macadamia oil

150g melted gluten free dark chocolate (vegan preferably)

serves: 12

preparation: 45 minutes

To make the base put the pecans in the food processor, grind to a meal, add the dates and a few tbsp of the water they were soaking in, process until they form a paste, add the coconut. Spread evenly over a pie dish or spring form flan tin. Next melt the chocolate over a low heat in a bowl set over water. Mix the almond meal, mashed avocados, raw cacao powder, honey and oil together. Mix in the melted chocolate and spread the filling over the base. Set in fridge for an hour or so. Decorate with fruit.

Categories:Sweets

Tags:raw cacao no bake chocolate cake