Sweetly Raw Dessert Party

You're invited to a Sweetly Raw Dessert Party... or at least an online version!

For ages I've wanted to put on a raw dessert party, but due to the super busy summer job I've held for the past 5 years, it wasn't possible. Now that I'm free from that position, party time has come. After days of preparation, I held the event for 14 people at my house yesterday afternoon. I had so much fun planning and executing the menu. Naturally, I wanted to make many more things than were feasible, but I'm happy with the menu I came up with. Since it was an action packed time, I didn't actually get photos of everything, but here is most of it... 

Sweetly Raw Dessert Menu

Vanilla Ice Cream 

Chocolate Ice Cream

Banana Ice Cream 

Blueberry Ice Cream

Strawberry Watermelon Sorbet

Chocolate Sauce

Strawberry Sauce

Brownie Chunks

Banana

Strawberries

Dehydrated Buckwheat

Orange Chocolate Cake

Apple Raspberry Pie
Watermelon Kiwi Lime Salad

Banana Coconut Oat Cupcakes with White Chocolate Banana Frosting

Moonie Pies: Vanilla & Pomegranate Goji Berry

Coconut Snowballs

Chocolate Truffles: Dark, Mint, Orange, Super Food, and Cinnamon Spice

Fruit & Nut Chocolate Clusters

Orange Goji Berry Chocolates

Chocolate Coconut Congo Bars

Blueberry Cardamom Mini Cheesecakes

Mint Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes

Lemon Ginger Mini Cheesecakes with Blackberry

Watermelon Strawberry Lime Mini Cheesecakes

Prep time... Choccies in Progress

Assorted Truffles

Coconut Chocolate Congo Bars

Truffles: Dark & Superfood 

Blueberry Cardamom Cheesecakes and Orange Goji Chocolates

Coconut Snowballs

Mint Chocolate Cheesecakes

Banana Coconut Cupcakes with White Chocolate Banana Frosting

Watermelon Kiwi Lime Salad

Moonie Pies: Vanilla and Goji Pomegranate

Fruit and Nut Chocolate Clusters

Apple Raspberry Pie

Orange Chocolate Cake

Decorated with Pansies!

Part of the spread

My friend Pam, enjoying her ice cream

Ice Cream Bar! 

I did a dessert demo: how to open a young coconut AND a chia strawberry pudding parfait.

Chocolate Ice Cream

Banana Ice Cream

Happy guest - my friend Angie

Flopping on the couch afterwards to enjoy leftovers. Ah...

Great time and great desserts (if I do say so myself)! 

Sweet Tooth: Pineapple Milkshake

Happy Friday! How's your week been? It's been a whirlwind around here. I've been preparing for a special event on Sunday - I'm having a raw vegan dessert party! This is something I've been wanting to do for years, and is finally happening. I've got a fun, over-the-top menu planned - you know - various chocolates, moonie pies, cake, truffles, balls, bars, pie, ice creams/sorbet with toppings to make sundaes, parfait...I can barely think straight at the moment, but lets just say it should be a mighty fine and scrummalicious time!

OH! And check out a recent video I filmed with Philip and Alex, where we make raw apple raspberry pie! This is one of the items on the dessert menu this weekend. It's quick, easy, and super delicious!

In the midst of the party prep, I found a bag of organic dried, unsulfured pineapple yesterday which had been sitting in the cupboard for a while. Looking a little more than dried, I decided to rehydrate it for a few hours, and voila, it was begging to be used in a recipe! Use this as a guideline... frozen banana would work nicely in here too!

Pineapple Milkshake

2.5 oz dried pineapple (~ 3/4 cup roughly chopped)*
1 cup water (or enough to cover the pineapple, plus a bit extra)
1/3 cup cashews
2-3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups ice cubes

1. Soak the dried pineapple in the water for at least 2 hours, or until is hydrates.
2. Blend the pineapple and soak water with all but the ice cubes, until smooth and creamy.
3. Add the ice and blend again until frothy.
4. Taste, add a bit more sweetener if necessary.

*Or try with fresh pineapple (about 1 cup) and omit the water and use a few more iee cubes.

Oldie??? Blueberry Sorbet from a post in August, 2008, after picking wild blueberries! Since then I've adjusted the recipe slightly.

Blueberry Sorbet

2 cups blueberries
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

1. Blend all ingredients until completely smooth.
2. Chill the mixture for a few hours.
3. Process in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturers instructions.
4. Alternatively, pour into ice cube trays and freeze.

Note: The mixture should seem a little too sweet before freezing it. The freezing mutes the sweetness.

Have a fabulous weekend! I'll report back next week with goodies from the dessert party, including a video! Stay tuned...

Blue Mountain Organics Raw Brownie Review

It's time for a little dessert review! I recently sampled all 9 of Blue Mountain Organics' brownies and make a fun dessert with them!

Check out my video to see the verdict...

Sweet Tooth: Watermelon Strawberry Shake

Yay for the weekend! I don't have another cool ice cream cake to share with you, but it's necessary to balance the rich desserts with lighter ones. Here are two refreshing, watery treats, sure to cool you down in the hot weather (hopefully it's hot where you are - it should be nice here in the coming days).

Watermelon Strawberry Shake

This doesn't require a recipe, but here are some approximates if you want a guideline.
I like the extra kick of the lemon oil, but it's great without it.
For ice pops, freeze the mixture in popsicle molds!

3 cups chopped watermelon
1 cup chopped frozen strawberries
Lime juice, to taste
1-2 drops lemon essential oil, optional

Blend all ingredients together until smooth and frosty.

My oldie comes from last July, 2009... here's what I said in that post... For the first time ever, I've tried lemon balm in a recipe. This tangy refreshing ice cream is packed with the lemony tasting, soft, fuzzy green herb. Lemon balm, part of the mint family, has been used throughout the ages to reduce anxiety, stress, pain, and indigestion. So I say, eat up!

Lemon Balm Berry Ice Cream

1 1/2 cups cashews

1 cup water

1 cup packed lemon balm leaves

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 cup raspberries

1/2 cup agave

1/3 cup lemon juice

2-3 drops lemon essential oil*

If you'd like little green specs, blend all but the lemon balm until smooth and creamy.
Add the balm and blend briefly. 

Chill and process through an ice cream machine.

*Substitute lemon zest to taste.

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Raw Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream Cake

Raw chocolate anyone??? I've just created a deeeelicious new cake!

My mom's birthday was almost a month ago, but since I was down in the US, I couldn't very well make her a birthday cake at the time - instead she was left drooling over all the amazing cakes that were rolling in for the contest. Since one of our very best friends, Denyse, was visiting this past weekend, I figured it was the perfect time for a belated cake - which my mom left entirely in my hands, but "like mother, like daughter", I knew exactly what to whip up.

This one is a rich, tasty, chocolate bombshell - chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream with chunks of chocolate peanut butter cups throughout, all covered in a dark chocolate ganache, topped with more peanut butter cups. Whew! This one's not for night time enjoyment unless you want to be up around the clock. To boot, it contains all the textures I love in a dessert: dense chewy cake and nut butter filling, smooth cold ice cream with hard chocolate, crunchy cacao nibs, and silky ganache.

While at first glance it might look complicated, it's actually quite simple. If you've already made an ice cream cake, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Raw Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream Cake

For a 6" spring form pan cake, you will need:

-1 recipe raw vanilla ice cream
(from The Ultimate Raw Ice Cream Cake ebook)
-1/2 recipe dark chocolate cake 
(from moonie pie recipes)
-Chocolate peanut butter cups - add a spoonful tahini, for super peanut butter flavor
(Just Desserts ebook)
-Choco peanut butter chunks
(Same as the cups above, but spread the dark chocolate into a plastic wrap lined container - chill briefly until firm. Spread the peanut butter mixture on top, followed by another layer of chocolate. Chill until firm and chop into pieces).
-Dark chocolate ganache
(Chocolate sauce recipe with more coconut oil and cacao powder added, omit the almond butter).

Choco Nut Butter Chunkies

A fountain of chocolate ganache.... who can resist? 

Chunks of goodness in vanilla ice cream

Choccie nut butter cups!

Yummm!!! Give it a try!

What's your favorite cake flavor combo??

Nature at it's Finest

A word of warning - not a stitch of food will be featured in today's post - but you will see lots of pics, and a funny video! As I mentioned in my previous post, I've finally invested in a high quality camera (Canon Rebel XS). I'm in the beginning stages of learning how to use all that it has to offer, but it's taken spectacular photos thus far... and it's opened up a whole new world. While nature has always been super important to me, I've never been overly drawn to photograph it (although I do love taking food pictures outside). On my little photo adventure last week, I discovered just how amazing every flower petal, leaf, rain drop, and bug is! My camera is able to capture the beauty of these generally overlooked things in a way my old cam couldn't. Not only that but on a particularly difficult and emotional day, the act of getting creative in nature lifted me out of my funk. It's another creative outlet and healing modality!

Here are some of the shots I've taken...May you enjoy as much as I do!

Two toned pink lupins... I looove these!

Purple lupin- They line our roads in various colours this time of year. 

White lupins

A wild rose - these are in such abundance right now!

Light pink rose... see the water droplets in it? 

A rose with two buggies in it :)

Some kind of wild flower, anyone know what it is?

I stumbled upon a lady bug! I haven't seen one in years!

I had no idea a dandelion could be so beautiful! I love it's featheriness!

Blue Bells in the grass

A chive flower... have you ever looked closely at one?

Remember a number of posts ago when I posted some pictures of the bear who came to visit? I took a little video and turned it into this little video yesterday. I'm a first timer when it comes to editing (normally my Boo Bear aka, Philip does it for me), but it turned out. I still laugh every time I watch it :)

Questions? Email heather@sweetlyraw.com