Raw Raspberry-Coconut Birthday Cake

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Happy Birthday Natural Always!
It's already one year ago since Natural Always was founded. This one year was great, obviously hard work and at the same time a lot of fun and filled with lots of new experiences! I can't wait for the future to come, to share with you all the new recipes I created and still have in my mind. I'm totally looking forward to continuing my mission of showing you how to find happiness through a healthy plant-based lifestyle step-by-step and in an easy way. On this occasion I especially want to thank all my lovely subscribers and readers for sharing their love and passion with me and for reminding me of doing the right thing. I also want to thank all those of you, who believe in and support me in doing what I'm passionate about and love to do. Thank you all very much!

For this special celebration I present you this Raw Raspberry-Coconut Birthday Cake, which is my favourite desert consisting of only simple ingredients which I absolutely love such as raspberry, coconut, cashew, almonds and dates to name the main ones. Trust me, each bite will melt in your mouth, it's soooo heavenly delicious that you always want to make this cake for any occasion to come! Although there is some time needed for preparation as the base and the whole cake need to go in the freezer for some time, it's so easy to make. Moreover, this Raw Raspberry-Coconut Birthday Cake is filled with only healthy and natural ingredients – as always. 

Raw Raspberry-Coconut Birthday Cake

Ingredients
Base:
45g desiccated coconut
150g fresh dates, pitted
70g raw almonds
1 tbsp raw cacao powder
a pinch of sea salt

Filling:
250g raw cashews (soaked overnight or for 3 hours in hot water)
50ml raw honey (vegan option: agave nectar/maple/date syrup)
125ml coconut oil, melted
200g coconut yoghurt without flavour (my favourite brands: harvest or coyo)
50ml fresh lemon juice
1 tsp bourbon vanilla powder
200g fresh raspberries (if frozen raspberries are used: thaw them completely before use)
fresh raspberries or figs, sliced (for decoration)

Line the base of a springform (20cm) cake tin with baking paper.
Combine all ingredients for the base in a food processor and blend. If mixture is too dry, add a little water (be careful: only a little!). If everything is well combined, press mixture firmly into the cake tin until mixture is evenly spread and base becomes level. Then put the cake tin into your freezer.

In the meantime start preparing the filling: warm the honey and coconut oil in a water bath until well combined and liquid. Drain and rinse the soaked cashews and place them together with the honey-coconut-oil-mixture, vanilla powder, lemon juice and coconut yoghurt into your food processor. Blend on high level until mixture becomes a creamy and smooth consistency. 
Pour half (only half!) of the filling over your base using a spatula. Add fresh raspberries to the remaining half of the filling and blend again on high speed until smooth and creamy. Then gently spread the second half of the mixture on top of the first layer and level with a spatula. Place the cake tin again into the freezer for 3-4 hours. Depending on your schedule it's also possible to leave it in the freezer overnight.

Take out the cake tin from the freezer half an hour before serving. Decorate the cake with extra raspberries – sliced figs are delicious as well. 
Try to lose the cake with a sharp knife running around the edge. Before cutting the cake into slices, make sure to run a sharp knife under hot water. 

Serve, smile and enjoy because life is wonderful!

Note: Another positive thing besides its great taste is that you can store this Raw Raspberry-Coconut Birthday Cake in your freezer for up to 3-4 weeks.

(Makes: 12 slices; Soaking time: min. 3h/overnight; Preparation time: 45min; Freezing time: 3-4 hours)

Happy Birthday Natural Always and thanks a lot to all my dear readers and lovely friends – I'm so grateful and happy!

Lots of love, 
Fabienne.

 

Raspberry Chia Jam

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Today I introduce you to the simple and incredibly delicious Raspberry Chia Jam. This beautiful jam doesn't only burst with its amazing colour, its deep and soft flavour rounds perfectly off your breakfast or dessert. I absolutely love to spread it on the Heart-Warming Banana Bread, mixed into my Good-For-You Granola, added to plant-based yoghurt or on top of my legendary chia puddings to whom I will introduce you sometime soon. Last but not least: guess what! – It''s super-healthy and good for you.

The raspberries play the major role as they not only add this wonderful pink colour, but are real superfoods. Obviously the other main ingredient are chia seeds – my favourite superfood, I try to consume on a daily base. Seriously, I recommend warmly to all of you to eat one tablespoon of these magical seeds a day, and you certainly won't need to see any doctor for a long time. 

Raspberries: Bursting with colour and flavour, raspberries not only taste delicious, they're also considered as a "superfood". Berries in general contain some of the highest levels of antioxidants of all fruit and vegetables. Moreover, they're an excellent source of vitamin C, which is needed for healthy immune function, collagen production and to promote healing. 

Chia Seeds: Chia seeds are among the healthiest seeds on earth, wherever you use these powerful seeds you won't go wrong. Hands down this powerful seeds are amazing due to its great range of use in the kitchen and their ability to transform your dish into a great health booster. How my mom used to say with apples, I say: "1 tbsp chia seeds a day keeps the doctor away!". In fact, chia is the richest plant source of omega-3 fats containing around 32% omega-3-fats, which are essential for cardiovascular health, needed for healthy brain and nervous system function, and for soft, supple and youthful looking skin. With chia seeds you will glow from the inside out, and who doesn't want that?

Agave Nectar: Agave nectar is a natural sweetener and a good alternative to traditional sugar as it contains some fantastic health benefits. Agave has anti-inflammatory and immune boosting properties, which was already used by the Aztecs some time ago to treat wounds because of its antibacterial benefits. Additionally, agave nectar contains inulin – a type of fiber – which is known to support weight loss due to its low impact on blood sugar and its ability to decrease appetite. Reducing the risk of certain cancers and increasing the ability to absorb nutrients are further advantages of agave nectar. In nearly all recipes you can easily replace sugar with this magical sweetener. The only important thing you need to consider when replacing sugar in recipes is to reduce the amount of agave nectar by one third, as agave nectar is liquid instead of dry.

Raspberry Chia Jam

Ingredients
500g raspberries (fresh or frozen)
1 tbsp agave nectar (or: maple/yacon/raw date syrup)
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 vanilla bean
pinch of cardamom (optional)
3 tbsp chia seeds

(Makes: 600ml of raspberry jam; Preparation Time: 30 minutes)

Combine raspberries in a saucepan, add lemon juice, agave nectar and simmer on medium-high heat while stirring frequently until everything is combined well. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, mash raspberries with a fork, but leave some whole pieces for extra texture.
After 5 minutes, stir in the chia seeds and cook while stirring frequently until mixture thickens for about 10-15 minutes.
When mixture has become thick in consistency, remove saucepan from heat. Stir in preferred spices such as the inside of a vanilla bean (equals 1/4 tsp of real bourbon vanilla powder) and cardamom. If you have a very sweet tooth, add more agave nectar to your taste.

Let mixture cool down. Then fill jam into small sealable jars and store these lovely pots in the fridge for up to 1-2 weeks.

Tell me where you'll spread your jam on. I can't wait to hear about your inspiring ideas.

I'm sure you will find half an hour sometime soon to try out this health-boosting Raspberry Chia Jam.
Happy Sunnday!

Lots of love,
Fabienne

Welcome to Natural Always!

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Cheer with me to my new blog Natural Always with this Straight-to-Heaven Blueberry and Raspberry Smoothie which can be enjoyed either for breakfast as a protein kick into the day or also as a light dessert on a late summer night. That's the secret drink I sipped on which kept me going while working days and nights on the production of this blog. This wonderful creamy smoothies not only delivered me with a lot of creativity, they literally taste like heaven. 

At the time my taste buds were spoiled, they provided me with lots of valuable superfoods. This smoothies burst full of antioxidants provided through the chia seeds and either the raspberries or the blueberries. Superfoods have lots of health benefits and one of my absolute favourite are chia seeds. Hands down this powerful seeds are amazing due to its great range of use in the kitchen and their ability to transform your daily breakfast into a great health booster. How my mom used to say with apples, I say: "1 tbsp chia seeds a day keeps the doctor away!". Seriously, 1 tbsp chia seeds treats your body with more calcium than a cup of milk, more omega-3-fats than a piece of salmon, and more antioxidants than a handful of blueberries. In fact, chia is the richest plant source of omega-3 fats containing around 32% omega-3-fats, which are essential for cardiovascular health, needed for healthy brain and nervous system function, and for soft, supple and youthful looking skin. With chia seeds you will glow from the inside out! 
Chia seeds are also a good source of dietary fibre, which is needed for bowel health and protein providing the body with essential amino acids for growth and repair. Chia seeds contain calcium – beneficial for bone health, and provide other minerals such as iron. magnesium, zinc and B vitamins, which will naturally boost energy levels and health. Also known as a cancer prevention chia seeds are real superfoods. Start today, the best way to add chia seeds to your diet is to sprinkle a tablespoon over muesli and porridge, or as I did here add this goodness to your smoothies or salads. You can even bake and do other wonderful things with them as I will show you in future posts. I simply love chia seeds.

Beautiful berries such as blueberries and raspberries bursting with colour and flavour, not only taste delicious they're also considered as superfoods. Of all fruit and vegetables they contain the highest levels of antioxidants. Blueberries and raspberries are also an excellent source of vitamin C, which is needed for healthy immune function, collagen production, and to promote healing. 

Coconut milk as an amazingly nutritious dairy alternative contains lots of vitamins such as B, C and E, whereas it is rich in iron, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium.  

Moreover I always try to use local and organic ingredients in order to eat the best quality, nutrient dense food for optimum health without any chemicals, preservatives and additives. The best way to remove toxins from your diet is to eat organic foods whenever possible. If you only buy some organic products, in this recipe you should buy organic (frozen) blueberries. In this recipe I prefer frozen berries to enjoy it cold, which is extra refreshing. 

This recipe needs some preparation in advance, though doesn't require any effort at all. Just mix the chia seeds with the coconut milk, stir and put it in the fridge overnight. Next morning you'll be so cheered to wake up to this nearly prepared deliciousness, nevertheless how late you went to bed the other night. It doesn't only cheer you up, it will definitely help you to perfectly start your day with lots of nutrients, proteins, fibre and omega-3-fats. Just grab your blender and be happy!

Straight-to-Heaven Blueberry (and Raspberry* ) Smoothie

Ingredients:
1 tbsp chia seeds
3 tbsp coconut milk
40-50g frozen blueberries (raspberries*)
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp raw date syrup (or: agave nectar, maple syrup)
pinch of ground cardamom (natural grounded bourbon vanilla*)
for decoration: mint leaves, blueberries, (raspberries*) 
(Serves 1; Preparation time: 1h/overnight, making: 10 min)
*The Raspberry Straight-to-Heaven Smoothie follows the same recipe as the version with blueberries, and is only substituted by raspberries and natural grounded bourbon vanilla.

In advance: mix chia seeds with coconut milk, stir well and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (better: overnight) until mixture is gooey. 

In a food processor combine the chia-cocconut mixture together with the frozen blueberries (*raspberries), lemon juice, agave nectar and cardamom (*natural grounded vanilla). Blast on high until everything is smooth. Decorate and serve immediately.

Note: the consistency of the smoothie should be more like a pudding, so usually I spoon out everything and use a beautiful straw for decoration.

I hope you enjoy your trip to heaven and of course my new blog!

Cheers to you with lots of love, Fabienne.