Adventures in Raw Food

Category: Desserts

  • Ridiculously Easy, Completely Scrumptious Raw Fruit Compote or Topping

    We love using fresh fruit, but sometimes it’s not practical. However, we always have several kinds of organic fresh-frozen fruit in the freezer, and it’s amazing how easy it is to use this to make an incredibly delicious raw fruit compote (or spiced fruit compote! – yum!) or fruit topping.

    Just take three different types of frozen fruit – we always include at least one lobed berry, such as raspberry or blackberry, as these contribute the best juices – and mix them, still frozen, in a glass bowl.

    Our favourite combinations are:

    raspberries, blackberries and cherries
    raspberries, blackberries and strawberries
    raspberries, blackberries and peaches
    raspberries, strawberries, and peaches

    Whatever combination you use, put the glass bowl with the frozen fruit in your dehydrator, and warm the fruit at 115, stirring occasionally, until it is thoroughly warmed.

    At this point you will have a lovely juice in with the warm fruit.

    You can just serve it like this, in bowls, with a spoon, or spoon it over something else (or into oatmeal!..mmmmm).

    Or you can mix in a little agave or honey to make it a bit sweeter, and you can also stir in some cinnamon or clove (depending on the fruit) for a spiced fruit compote.

    This is so easy, and a great last minute dessert! Dump the fruit in a bowl, stir, and put it in the dehydrator when you start preparing dinner, and by the time you are done eating, you will have a lovely fruit compote for dessert!

  • Raw Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

    This recipe for raw oatmeal raisin cookies follows on the heels of the success of our Raw Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies.

    These Raw Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are very easy to make (one bowl!) and take only a bit over an hour to ‘cook’ in the dehydrator!

    Raw Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

    4 Tablespoons almond butter
    4 Tablespoons honey
    4 Tablespoons filtered water
    1 teaspoon vanilla
    1 teaspoon cinnamon
    1 1/2 cup organic quick oatmeal
    1/4 cup raisins

    Whisk almond butter, honey, water and vanilla together until smooth. Stir in cinnamon.

    Add oatmeal to honey mixture, one-half cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.

    Mix in raisins.

    Take a teaspoon (the kind you set your table with, not a measuring spoon), scoop up a spoonful of cookie dough, and using another spoon, slide the dough off the spoon onto a Teflex sheet on a dehydrator tray.

    Repeat with rest of dough until all of the cookies are on the Teflex sheet.

    Place in dehydrator set to 115 degrees, for about an hour, or until the outside of the cookies feel dry (and not sticky) to the touch. Flip the cookies over on their ‘backs’ and let the bottoms dry.

    Remove from dehydrator and enjoy!

  • Warm Honeyed Sesame Date Gems

    One of the beauties of raw food is that, while many recipes can seem complex and time-consuming, many others are so simple and so delicious. And this is one of those. These honeyed sesame date gems, served warm from the dehydrator, are melt-in-your mouth wonderful, and so very good for you!

    Take as many nice, moist organic dates as you want to make. Pit them by making a slit on one side of the date and spreading it open, removing the pit.

    Keeping the dates spread open, place the dates on a dehydrator tray on a Teflex sheet or a sheet of waxed paper.

    Sprinkle the dates gently with some high-quality cinnamon.

    Next sprinkle sesame seeds along the inside of the dates.

    Drizzle with honey, and warm in the dehydrator, at 115 degrees or slighly less, for 15 to 20 minutes.

    Pop one of these in your mouth as soon as they come out of the dehydrator, and you will swoon – I promise.

  • Raw Fudge Brownie Recipe

    If you are craving the taste of fudgey brownies, this recipe for raw fudge brownies is just the ticket! And so good for you!

    Raw Fudge Brownies

    1 cup raw organic walnuts
    1 cup raw organic shredded coconut
    1/2 cup organic powdered raw cacao
    4 tablespoons organic agave nectar

    Frosting:

    1/2 cup organic powdered raw cacao
    organic agave nectar as needed

    Brownies:

    Combine walnuts, coconut, cacao powder, and agave nectar in food processor for several minutes until a smooth dough-like paste forms.

    Pat evenly into lightweight glass or plastic 4×4 or similarly-sized container. Set aside.

    Frosting:

    Into the raw cacao powder for the frosting mix enough agave syrup to create the consistency of frosting. Spread evenly over brownie dough.

    Cure in dehydrator set at 115 degrees for 6 hours.

    Cool, cut, and enjoy!

  • Raw Summer Soft Fruit Crisp or Crumble

    This was a riff on my first raw fruit crisp or crumble, only instead of being merely fantastic, this one is divine! I used peaches and nectarines as my summer soft fruits, but you can also use plums, or really anything you want! If you aren’t vegan, this is incredible warm from the dehydrator with a little cream drizzled over the top!

    Raw Summer Soft Fruit Crisp

    Topping:

    1 cup organic walnuts
    1 cup organic almonds
    1/2 cup organic shredded coconut
    4 medjool or other moist organic dates, pitted
    1 Tablespoon agave nectar

    Filling:

    3 to 4 ripe organic nectarines
    3 to 4 ripe organic peaches

    Directions:

    Cut fruit into quarters or smaller, and process in food processor until cut into approximately 1/4-to-1/2 inch size pieces.

    Pour fruit into a pan that will fit in your dehydrator – anything 4 x 4 up to 8 x 8 will do! I’ve used both a 4×4 and an 8×8 plastic container (such as Rubbermaid or Tupperware) although you could use a cake pan. I prefer a smaller (such as 4×4) container, as it gives you a deeper filling base – I think that 8×8 makes the filling base too shallow.

    Place all topping ingredients in bowl of food processor with the ‘s’ blade (the curved cutting blade). Pulse until all ingredients are uniformly processed and crumbly, with crumbs no larger than pea-sized.

    Spread the topping on top of the filling, spreading it evenly all over.

    Put the pan in the dehydrator, near the middle, at 115 degrees, for 2 to 4 hours. You can eat it any time after about 2 hours, but 4 hours is best.

    Yum!!!

    Here are some pictures of my original raw berry fruit crisp – the summer fruit crisp looks the same, just different fruit:

    In the dehydrator:

    Just out of the dehydrator:

    With a little corner cut out so you can see the filling:

    Enjoy!

  • Raw Chocolate Coconut Cream

    Ohmygawd this is so good, and so darned easy to make, you’ll think of all kinds of uses for it!! From frosting and filling, to truffles, to ganache, to just eating it out of the bowl with a spoon – you’d better sit down because this raw Chocolate Coconut Cream is going to make you weak in the knees!

    Annie’s Chocolate Coconut Cream

    Raw organic coconut butter
    Raw cacao powder
    Raw agave nectar

    Take 2 parts raw coconut cream, to about 1 part raw cacao powder. Add a bit of agave nectar to make it easier to mix, and once mixed, add more agave nectar until cream mixes desired sweetness and consistency.

    Really – you have to try this, it’s incredible.

    This Recipe Uses These Products:

    Coconut Butter (Coconut Meat Puree), Raw, Organic, 16 oz. Certified Organic Kosher Raw Vegan Healthy Cacao Chocolate Powder - 16 Ozs. Light Agave Nectar Syrup 16 oz(100 % Pure Raw Cetified Organic)

  • Jessica’s Raw Sugar-Free Gluten-Free Wheat-Free Yeast-Free Soy-free Vegan Chocolate Mousse

    Yes, the name is a mouthful – but wait until you get your own mouth full of this delicious treat! Says Jessica “I developed this recipe for my boss’ wedding shower. People went NUTS for it, even those who were psyched out by the title “raw” went back for seconds!!”

    And you will too!

    Jessica’s Raw Sugar-Free Gluten-Free Wheat-Free Yeast-Free Vegan Chocolate Mousse

    1 cup raw chocolate coconut butter
    1 ripe avocado
    ¼ cup water
    2 Tablespoons raw cacao powder
    3 Tablespoons raw agave nectar
    1 can raw coconut milk, separated (use only the creamy part – use the water for something else)
    ¼ teaspoon Celtic sea salt

    Place ingredients in bowl, whisk until smooth, and serve, or chill.

  • Fabulous Raw Fruit Crisp or Fruit Crumble Recipe

    This recipe for a raw fruit crisp (or raw fruit crumble) is absolutely fabulous! And it’s very easy to make!

    Fabulous Raw Fruit Crisp or Fruit Crumble Recipe

    Topping:

    1 cup organic walnuts
    1 cup organic pecans
    1/4 cup uncooked quick oats
    1/2 cup organic shredded coconut
    4 medjool or other moist organic dates, pitted
    1 Tablespoon agave nectar

    Filling:

    1 small container strawberries (mine are 8.8 ounces or 250 grams)
    1 small container blueberries (6 ounces or 170 grams)
    1 small container raspberries (4.4 ounces or 125 grams)
    1 Tablespoon agave nectar

    Directions:

    Place all topping ingredients in bowl of food processor with the ‘s’ blade (the curved cutting blade). Pulse until all ingredients are uniformly processed and crumbly, with crumbs no larger than pea-sized.

    Empty topping out of food processor into another bowl and set aside.

    Put food processor bowl back together (do not rinse or clean) with the ‘s’ blade.

    Rinse all of the berries and let drain well. Keep each type of berry separate.

    Remove any leaves and stems from the strawberries. Cut the strawberries in half (if they are very large cut them in quarters).

    Put the strawberries in the food processor and pulse them just a little, until they are chopped, but not too finely.

    Now add the blueberries to the food processor and pulse again, just enough to chop the blueberries up a bit.

    Finally, add the raspberries and the agave nectar, and pulse again to get all of the berries finely chopped and well mixed and the agave nectar well incorporated.

    Spread the filling evenly in the bottom of an 8×8 pan. I use a square 8×8 plastic container (such as Rubbermaid or Tupperware) although you could use a cake pan.

    Spread the topping on top of the filling, spreading it evenly all over.

    Put the pan in the dehydrator, near the middle, at 115 degrees, for 2 to 4 hours. You can eat it any time after about 2 hours, but 4 hours is best.

    This is so scrumptious! You can also try other berry combinations (such as blackberries and raspberries).

    Here are some pictures:

    In the dehydrator:

    Just out of the dehydrator:

    With a little corner cut out so you can see the filling:

    Enjoy!

  • Raw Carrot Coconut Macaroons

    Wondering what to do with leftover carrot pulp from making carrot juice? Try these wonderful raw macaroons made with carrot pulp and coconut!

    Raw Coconut Carrot Macaroons

    2 cups carrot pulp
    2 cups organic shredded coconut
    1/2 cups organic raisins
    1/3 to 2/3 cup agave nectar

    Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Knead together well.

    Squeeze a walnut-sized amount of the mixture in your fist, squeezing out any liquid. Place macaroons on Teflex sheet and dehydrate about 10 or so hours, until the consistency you want. We actually have ‘overdehydrated’ these so that they were crisp and not at all moist or chewy and my family still loves them! Kids always ask for more!

    You can buy organic raisins, organic shredded coconut and agave nectar from Amazon.

  • Fresh Fruit Crepes

    We had these raw food crepes for dessert last night, and wow they were good! And there is something about eating this kind of dessert where the fruit still tastes like it is supposed to, rather than having been cooked into some sort of goo, that is just wonderful.

    The crepe itself is a take-off on a recipe originally gleaned from Alissa Cohen’s book.

    Fresh Fruit Raw Crepes

    Very ripe bananas, approximately one per serving
    1 tsp. vanilla
    Fresh fruit of your choice, for filling*
    One recipe Deep Dark Delicious Raw Chocolate Sauce.

    [*Berries are really best as they are soft and lend themselves well to crepes – if you use another fruit make sure it is soft, and cut it up into whatever size pieces you want for your filling.]

    Put the bananas in your food processor and puree along with the vanilla just until completely smooth. The puree will have the consistency of a thin pancake batter.

    Line dehydrator shelves with Teflex sheets, and pour two 6″ circles of puree into each sheet, making sure to leave some space between them. The puree will pour out much like pancake batter, and naturally assume the shape of a circle – pour it slowly and gently!

    Dehydrate the crepes for about 14 hours or so. But be sure to start checking them after about 12 hours. You want the tops of them to be tacky to the touch – but almost “no longer tacky”. At this stage they are fairly solid, but still flexible. What you don’t want is for the crepes to get too dry, as they will get tough, hard or brittle.

    At this point you can either carefully remove the crepes from the Teflex sheets and drape them over a rolling pin, or carefully roll the Teflex sheet into a wide tube with the crepe still on it, to achieve the same effect. The point is to let the crepe cool in a curved shape – this is in case you did dehydrate them a bit too long, so that you can still salvage them.

    If you are not going to use the crepes immediately, cover them with plastic wrap to keep them from drying out.

    To assemble the crepes, puree a bit of the fruit you are using. Place a crepe on each serving plate, and cover it with a thin layer of the puree (this will help keep it moist). Place a tablespoon or two of the fruit filling in the center of the crepe, roll the crepe up, and then place it seam-side-down on the plate.

    Drizzle Deep Dark Delicious Raw Chocolate Sauce on top of the crepe and, if you like, garnish with a sprig of mint and/or some berries.