Ani Phyo’s Raw Food Desserts
Think that luscious chocolate cake will blow your diet for the week? Think again. The antioxidant properties of pure cacao desserts like these can actually be good for you, according to raw food chef Ani Phyo, who swears you can eat a piece of her Raspberry Ganache Fudge Cake (pictured above) every day and not get fat.
All chocolate comes from the same place, a berry called a cacao pod, which contains 30 to 40 beans. But there the similarity ends: Low antioxidant conventional cocoa powder is processed with salt to help it dissolve more easily in liquid, while real cacao powder, which is basically ground, raw beans with the fat removed, is a virtual superfood! Real cacao chocolate is full of powerful antioxidants that help neutralize free radicals and supply nutrients like potassium, zinc, magnesium and iron for radiant skin, healthy hair and strong nails. A 2003 study found that a quarter-ounce of cacao each day actually lowers blood pressure, while the caffeine increases alertness and tryptophan makes us feel happier.
No wonder you still want that cake.
So have a piece! Ani only uses cacao in creating this and other chocolate desserts that are part of her amazing book, Ani’s Raw Food Desserts: 85 Easy, Delectable Sweets and Treats. And she believes the stuff not only makes us happier, but healthier. “The desserts in my book are more than treats: They provide healthy, whole food nutrition that you can include in any diet as a meal, snack or dessert,” Ani explains. “Eating more of my desserts will help you become healthier. A traditional slice of cake includes flour, sugar, eggs, butter and trans fats. Mine is made from delicious, vitamin- and antioxidant-rich nuts and fruit. Plus, who wants to cook?”
Not us. EcoStiletto’s found and editor Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff convinced Ani to come to her house and cook for her so we could shoot this how-to video. (Seriously, you have to see it to believe how easy it is to make this cake, and you have to make it to believe how awesomely delicious it tastes.) Then we begged Ani to give us the recipe, so we could share her raw-food secrets with you.
Ready?
Using organic, preferably farmer’s market ingredients, combine three cups of walnuts*, two-thirds of a cup of unsweetened cacao powder or carob powder and one-fourth of a teaspoon of sea salt in a food processor and pulse until coarsely mixed (avoid over processing). Add one cup pitted Medjool dates and pulse until well mixed. Shape into two stackable cakes of desired shape and set aside.
To make the frosting, combine one-third cup semi-soft pitted Medjool dates with one-fourth cup agave syrup in the food processor until smooth. Add one-half cup ripe avocado flesh and one-third cup cacao and process until smooth.
To serve, frost the top of one of the cakes with half of the frosting and top with one-half cup raspberries. Stack the second cake on top and frost the top and side. Serve immediately, or put in the fridge for a few hours to firm up, where it can keep for up to three days.
Even with a recipe this easy, the lazybones among us can skip the food processing and grab a box of Ani’s Raspberry Ganache Raw Chocolate Cake Mix (it’s the world’s first raw food cake mix, natch). Mix up the frosting, add raspberries, and you’re done!
Just in time to savor that second piece.
