Plant Cakes

SWEDISH DAMMSUGARE [Raw Around the World series]

I’ve been feeling the need to challenge myself in my raw pastry kitchen.
This only means one thing 👉🏼 trying new recipes and techniques to pick up all the skills to better myself as a raw pastry chef.
It can be a humbling experience to try something new, but it’s inspiring and so rewarding at the same time.

I got my hands on the super talented Nazli’s books. It opened up a whole new world for me and can’t wait to implement some of her suggestions.

This recipe was inspired by her Punschrolle recipes. I swapped a few ingredients around, and I skipped the arrack extract (which I have a feeling would have made these Punch Rolls even more divine).

Can’t wait to deep dive into her books and learn from her!

STORY TIME [the story that made me step up my raw cake game]

If you’ve been around you know I completed my degree in Sport & Exercise Science last year. It’s just as much of a passion as is raw desserts.

I’ve always been a sporty person since a kid (did karate, kayaking, basketball) but my relationship with food wasn’t always good. At the age of 18, I was even sent to a psychologist.

My training and education in exercise, yoga & nutrition allowed me to start connecting with my body and cultivate a loving and mindful relationship. My university studies allowed me to deep dive into nutrition and exercise science - and this is when my relationship to my body and food changed completely.

So, the STORY: It was 2022, it was deadlift day, and I was on a calorie deficit. Deadlift days were my fave, but they were brutal. 🥵 There was a health food store on my way home, and I went in to grab a snack bar cause I was literally starving.

I love testing new products for my business, so that’s what happened. Grabbed a new bar, and I wasn’t happy with the taste to say the least. I almost cried😭 cause I “spent” quite a lot of calories on that raw bar.

The quote that instantly popped into my mind was:
“There should be a calorie refund for the things that didn’t taste as good as you expected.”

That was also the point when I decided, I want my desserts and treats to taste like heaven, cause I never want anybody to feel like that about my cakes. 🤣 That’s when I signed up for my raw dessert certification to pick up all the skills needed to create the most delicious, wholesome. plant-based desserts possible.

I get mentioning calories can be triggering for some. And, yes, there’s room for conventional cakes and cookies. Restriction doesn’t work in the long run. For a healthy mind, you need to find balance and the diet (here I mean the sum of food a person consumes) that works for you. A diet that doesn’t feel restrictive. But, as a scientist I do believe there’s place for calorie counting, too. It’s a tool I use and works for me when comes to building muscle or losing weight.

Now, I’m just looking forward to the days I can return to the gym. That’ll be a dream come true. 💫

A few random pictures from the weekend.

A weekend full of making raw tarts, creating content, and washing up all the dirty dishes (guess that’s part of the job, too 😅).

I’ve been reflecting on the creative process of this new project I started working on this weekend [I seriously can’t wait to let you in on this wee secret of mine - but I need a little bit more work to do].

So my POV:
Sometimes, we wanna force our ideas into existence, and we struggle to make things happen.
Then, there are times when that same idea can be birthed into existence with so much ease and joy - that’s when you know the time is there for that project to be born.

This project has been lingering in my world for half a year now, or probably a lot longer. 🤭

On the other hand, the last half a year has been the hardest 6 months of my life in many ways - it’s been a journey of letting go, and looking at the places where I’m full of BS 😝 so I could show up more as myself. It has also been a journey of learning patience, self-love, and resilience on a whole new level.

Happy Monday and Happy Week beautiful insta peeps 💫

“Sisterhood is the phenomenon that occurs when women quit seeing each other as mirrors, or reflections of themselves, and start seeing each other as one-of-a-kind works of art.

Sisterhood happens when women view each other as deep wells of support and inspiration - as teammates - instead of competitors.

Sisterhood happens between women who are secure enough to stop being afraid of each other, who do not feel that another woman’s different life choices are a judgment of her own choices.

Sisterhood happens when we become curious instead of defensive about our differences. Sisterhood does not require the same beliefs or thoughts or political parties or churches. Peace is not about becoming the same, it’s about becoming okay with being different.

There is so much untapped power in sisterhood.”
✍️ Glennon Doyle

I dream about a world where women (and men alike) lift each other up. A world where women empower other women… it’s so needed in the world.
I admire humans who continue to do this no matter what their circumstances are.

APRICOT BITES

This super simple recipe is about 5 years old, and offers you lots of room to be creative. What does that mean?
I’d love you to use this recipe as a framework…

You can add for example spices such as cinnamon, ginger to it, and/or shredded carrots, even your fave protein powder.
You can dip them in vegan white chocolate & sprinkle them with chopped walnuts.
The sky’s the limit.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup oat flakes
1/2 cup desiccated coconut (I use medium shredded coconut)
1 1/2 cup (200g) dried apricots, chopped (I use unsweetened)
pinc of salt & vanilla essence

Chocolate:
1 bar (200g) dark, vegan chocolate, melted
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted (if you wanna omit oil, add plant mylk. Consistency will change if you add mylk)
1 tbsp nut butter (I like almond butter in my chocolates)

Instruction:
1. Add all ingredients to food processor and blend until it forms a ball. Then shape them into balls, or mini rectangular bars. Set in the fridge while preparing your chocolate.

2. Melt your dark chocolate (I used double boiler method) with a teaspoon of coconut oil, once melted whisk in the nut butter.

3. Cover your bars with chocolate and sprinkle them with hempseed or cacao nibs.

4. Keep these bars in the fridge.

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𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙𝕒 𝕒𝕟𝕕 ℂ𝕙𝕠𝕔𝕠𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝔹𝕣𝕠𝕨𝕟𝕚𝕖 𝕄𝕠𝕠𝕟𝕔𝕒𝕜𝕖 [raw, plant-based]
as part of my RAW AROUND THE WORLD series.

Made with whole-food, nutritious ingredients like chia seeds, flex-seeds, sunflower seeds, ceremonial grade matcha and raw cacao powder.

Love the matcha & chocolate combination. 🌱🍫

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My love for lavender is endless.

I love it in my cakes. Like in this raw & plant-based 𝙒𝙝𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙤𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙇𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙏𝙖𝙧𝙩.

I love a lavender lemonade on a hot summer day.

It’s a staple of my evening ritual: meaning I bathe and sleep in it 🤣.

If I feel unsettled, then a drop on my wrist will do magic, too.

What’s your relationship to LAVENDER?

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Yeah… been there, done that 😅

Do you make your own birthday cake?

My birthday is in 2 months, but I’m already dreaming up the cake design and flavours for my cake. I want to try something I haven’t done yet… and fingers crossed it will work out 😁🥳, and I can show the cake to you.

Dessert’s served: Fermented 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗲𝘇𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗸𝗲 with a 𝗟𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗱 𝗠𝗼𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗲 frosting.

The frosting is airy and light for a raw cake, and the zinginess of it beautifully compliments the blueberry layer.

One of the basic steps to make your raw cakes even more BENEFICIAL to your gut health is to FERMENT your base nut cream.

🧁 Basic Base Recipe:

2 cups of cashews (soaked for 2-4 hours, rinsed)
2 capsules of probiotics* (open the capsule and use powder only)
1/3 cup water or if you have home-made plant mylk at hand even better

Blend roughly, and let it culture in a glass jar for 24-48 hours. I like to culture mine for 36-48 hours for a true cheezy experience.

🌱To use it as a SAVOURY SPREAD: Blend to a smooth consistency, and add your fave spices (salt, pepper, cumin, smoked paprika) chopped onion, garlic, parsley or coriander… sky’s the limit, and it makes a super delish spread.

*I use vegan probiotic capsules, more precisely lactobacillus acidophilus bacteria.

A moment of BE KIND TO YOURSELF [mindfulness practice] (part 3.)

Have you ever been told to “let go”? I was told so many times but never really was told how. 😅 Then I met the Sedona Method, and one of their tools to let go is called WELCOMING.

1. Let whatever feeling, thought you have in your world to come up to the surface. Now, welcome it! What does that mean? It means to stay open and present with it.

2. I like to imagine I’m sitting at a table and I let that thought/ feeling sit with me. But you do not even have to be that specific, just stay present with it.

3 What you find after a wee while, the feeling/ thought drops away, and what remains is space and peace.

4. To have some fun with it, I do it with positive feelings/ thoughts too. It just makes space for more joy and fun.

I love using this method and it’s been a game changer in looking after my mental health in the past few months. I’ve never recorded a video as such, but there’s always a first for everything, right?!?

Have you ever heard of this method? If you give it a go after my video, I’d love to hear about your experience.

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This review melted my heart, and keeps melting it.

When kids love your desserts, and they voice it too, that’s the best feeling in the world.

Thank you to all of you for taking your time to get back to me with your feedbacks. I’m grateful for them and for you.

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Mont Blanc Cake (plant-based, mostly raw)

Not the dessert you’re used to from me, but here we go, something different, and something totally delish.

🫐 Raspberry & Blueberry Chia Jam
🍰 Raw Cream Filling
🌰 Chestnut Frosting (this frosting is obv not raw)

A wee girl’s wish was a chestnut cake for her birthday, and we came up together with this flavour combo aka Mont Blanc cake. Hope she’ll love it 🥰.

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Happy International Women’s Day!

“Here’s to strong women.
May we know them.
May we be them.
May we raise them.”

I celebrate YOU all today, and every day. 🌷🌸🌺
MAY WE LIFT EACH OTHER UP.
I love love love witnessing when strong women come together, and have heart to heart conversations, when they hold space for each other and bring about change in the world (on any and every level).

I have a dream. It’s been tickling me for some time now and not sure how it will actualise itself into the world - but would love a place to be able to bring women together (and men are welcome too) to create magic in this world.
There’ll be raw cakes, too, I promise 😅🫶🏽🙏🏽.

REFLECTING BACK & GRATITUDE POST

Going through and organising my very first recipes I ever wrote back in 2022. I need to sit down and type up all my recipes 😅 — I feel a bit disorganised now looking at a pile of papers in front of me. I always loved creating desserts with a slight and unexpected twist.

1. Coconut, Strawberry & Strawberry-Chilli Jam
2. Middle Eastern Pistachio & Raspberry Cake with rose water and a hint of cardamom (this was a cake I created for my very first raw cake certification)
3. Mango & Blackberry - this cake is insane, can’t believe I haven’t made this lately
4. Cherry Ripe (Australia’s fave choco bar turned into a raw cake)
5. Pink Lemonade (super tangy for the lemonade lovers)
6. Mint Cheesecake Brownie
7. Lemon and Blueberry (the very first blueberry jam I ever created)
8. Lavender, Lemon with a Blueberry Jam Swirl

It’s been a beautiful journey filled with delicious cakes, a lot of experimenting, and a whole lot of drive and desire to further my raw dessert skills.

This tingling, tickling feeling I feel when I think about raw cakes never seems to fade. I’m grateful to have something in my life I feel so passionate about - what a gift it’s been.

Some of you are here since day 1, some of you just recently joined - thank you for being here and sticking around while I’m on a hiatus. Super grateful for every one of you for your ongoing support.

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Why I’m in love with mono-desserts?

‘Cause they can be fun, boho, cute, gorgeous and sexy looking, too. Either way they’re super delicious 😅. When it comes to decoration, the only limit is your imagination.

So happy to be able to spend a bit more time in the kitchen. 💫

This week’s challenge is to make a raw vegan Mont Blanc birthday cake (chestnut filling won’t be raw though). 🎂

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If you found your passion, and you daydream about your craft constantly, and dream up all the dreams, then giving up is not an option.

These pictures are from 2021, when I was preparing for my very first pop up market, and ready to fully LAUNCH PLANT CAKES. And, let me tell you, a lot has happened in the past 2-2.5 years - and the desire to spread my LOVE FOR RAW DESSERTS just keeps growing.

I was juggling so many things at the same time: 3rd year at uni doing a Sport Science degree, working part time, and daydreaming about my business full time 😅, plus you’d find me in the gym 3-4 times a week. Gym (training) and raw cakes were life.

Then, the opportunity came to DEMO LIVE one of my desserts on stage at the in Edinburgh last summer. I said yes without hesitation, even though it was way out of my comfort zone.

The only way to grow in life to new heights is to be uncomfortable and do things out of your comfort zone. So, this year, I’m returning to the FOODIES FESTIVAL in London town. I’m omg excited!

I guess the point of this post is to remind you to shoot for the stars, and go after your dreams - cause your dreams can take you to beautiful destinations.

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𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙢𝙤𝙣 & 𝘼𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝘾𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙖 𝙜𝙡𝙖𝙯𝙚

I’ll be working on a birthday cake for the next few days. The wee girl’s request was a chestnut-vanilla cake. So I’m making my first ever MONT BLANC cake. While I realise the chestnut filling wouldn’t be considered raw, I’m so up for the challenge.

Vanilla layer will be made of cashews & tigernuts, like the very cake in the pictures. I’m in love with the flavour profile of tigernuts and tigernut flour and using them in more and more of my recipes.

In the picture:

🍎 Caramelised apple and persimmon; used a dehydrator
🌰 The filling is made of cashews and tiger nuts

🌿Cakes as always are free from refined-sugar, gluten, dairy, soya. 100% vegan and made with whole-food, natural ingredients.

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A moment of “Be kind to Yourself” practice.

My second post as such, and this one is to bring awareness hopefully to the things we spend our time on.

1.
Give yourself 5-10 minutes to do this activity. Write down what comes up to the following question.

2.
Look back on your last week, and check what were those top 3 things/ persons you directed your attention & energy towards?

3.
These 3 things you spent most of your time and attention on, are basically the 3 things you valued “most” in your life in the past week.

4.
I found this a very eye-opening exercise.

My questions to myself were:
Are these 3 things/ persons really the most valuable in my life?
If not, can I shift my attention and energy towards other things and places - things that elevate and propel me forward & help me build a life I truly desire.

Hope you’ll find these posts helpful, and inspiring. Let me know. 🫶🏽

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