This Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cake calls for a celebration, but if you can't think of anything to celebrate, simply celebrate life and make it anyway! This no-bake cake is sugar-free, healthy and delicious! I used to make a vegan cheesecake whenever there was a party but now I often choose this one instead (or make both).
I've had the idea for this recipe in my head for ages and when I finally made it to celebrate the launch of my new site I hated myself for not making it before. It's that good! I got the inspiration for the chocolate and peanut butter combo when I visited New York and had a truly magnificent brownie. Up until I tried this cake I only mixed chocolate and peanut butter in smoothies (also a really good idea btw). When I went for it after a morning walk in the park my enthusiasm caught on to Sjoerd, whose 'mmms' got louder and louder after each tasting.
Looking back on the recipes I used to make you can see I've been cutting back on sugar substitutes like maple syrup, coco sugar and agave nectar lately. I discovered refined sugar is obviously very bad for you but eating a lot of other sugars is not much better. I still end up with a sugar craving and a sugar crash. That's why this peanut butter and chocolate cake is totally without any added sugars whatsoever. If I need my recipes to be sweeter I try to use all natural alternatives like banana, sweet potato or apple puree. These work a lot better to contain the nasty side effects of eating sweets. Alright, but back to making cake! When you try this one you'll probably wonder too why 'regular' cakes are made with sugar, white flour, cream and eggs. Please let my know how you liked it and I'd like it if you would share a picture on Instagram with #vegadutchie.
Peanutbutter & Chocolate Taart gives aprox. 12 servings Bottom layer 1 cup raw almonds 1 cup medjool dates, pitted pinch of salt pinch of vanilla powder
Cream layer 2 1/4 cup cashews, soaked in water for at least 5 hours 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted 4 medjool dates, pitted 2 tsp lime juice 1 tsp vanilla powder pinch of salt 3 big tbsp peanut butter 2 really big tbsp (raw) cocoa powder 20 cm springform mould grease up the mould. Put the almonds, salt and vanilla for the bottom layer in your food processor and give it a few pulses. Then put the machine on automatic and gently add the dates until you have a sticky dough-like substance. Remove the dough and spread it nice and equally over the mould with a spatula. But it in the freezer while you continue with the cream layer. Rinse the cashews. Clean your food processor and add the melted coconut oil, dates, lime juice, vanilla powder and salt. Mix it for 1 or 2 minutes until you have a nice creamy mixture. Scoop out half and mix in 2 big tbsp of peanut butter with the remaining half. Take the bottom layer from the freezer, spread the peanut butter layer over the bottom and put it back in the freezer. Put the half of the creamy mixture you took out back in the food processor and add the last 1 tbsp of peanut butter and the raw cocoa powder. Mix it until it's nice and smooth. Take out the bottom layers again and spread the top layer over them evenly. Put everything back in the freezer for at least 1 1/2 hours to make it more solid. Remove the cake from the freezer 20 minutes before serving.
