Tag: cake

Paleo Strawberry Shortcake

You’re going to love how easy this paleo strawberry shortcake is! With the use of almond flour, it allows you to indulge in a guilt-free dessert, and who doesn’t love that?!

Most gluten-free shortcakes recipes use ingredients that aren’t much better than wheat flour and white sugar. Our shortcake recipe uses more nutrient-dense ingredients such as almond flour. Almond flour is free of gut-irritating thickeners which include xanthan gum, corn starch and refined sugar. In this recipe, we substituted milk with coconut milk. However, we kept the butter because fat from grass-fed cow butter is full of beneficial fatty acids.

Once baked, the shortcakes go nicely with jam, yoghurt or ice cream. But, if you’re not a big fan of sweetness, you can always decrease the amount of coconut sugar and increase the nutritional yeast. They make for a great savoury biscuit and pair perfectly with gravy, soup or Chilli Con Carne.

30 minutes (makes 13 – 15 small shortcakes)

Ingredients for the cakes

  • 2/3 cup potato starch
  • 1 ½ cups almond flour
  • 1 tbsp tapioca flour
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tbsp coconut sugar
  • 2 tsp nutritional yeast
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • ¼ cup of coconut milk
  • 2 eggs

 

Components for toppings

  • 200ml double cream (preferably from organic/free-range cows)
  • Strawberries from the Fruitful Day Box

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
  2. In a mixing bowl add the dry ingredients; potato starch, almond flour, tapioca flour, salt, baking powder, coconut sugar and nutritional yeast. 
  3. Whisk the eggs separately, set 1 tbsp aside, then stir into the mixture.
  4. Add the butter and start bringing the mixture together into a dough with your hands. Add the coconut milk slowly until the mixture comes along – you might not need all of it.
  5. Flour a surface with potato starch and handling the dough as little as possible, roll out until it’s about 1 inch high.
  6. Using a cookie cutter or bench scraper, cut the biscuits into circles or squares and then arrange on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
  7. Brush the tops with the egg wash set aside and then bake for 15 – 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest.

Arrangement for the toppings

  1. Pour cream into a bowl and whisk with a hand whisk or handheld beater until it forms a whipped cream consistency that can be spooned or piped onto the shortcakes.
  2. Wash strawberries, remove stalks and slice into four slices. You can leave some the larger pieces for the top of the scone.
  3. Cut the shortcakes in half, spread or pipe cream onto the bottom half, add strawberries, cover with the top half and repeat.

 

 

Vegan Mango, Citrus and Coconut Cheesecake

We hit a big milestone this week, 15,000 followers on Instagram!  That was so exciting for us as we put a lot of love into our account and we are ever so grateful for the love back.

Last week we introduced you to Michelle who is behind all of our recipes.  You’ll be hearing more from her soon.

In the meantime, to celebrate our milestone, we wanted to share a new cake recipe with you. If you like citrus flavors combined with chocolate, you’ll love this Vegan Mango, Citrus and Coconut Cheesecake recipe!  This is a great way to make the most of the citrus season and as always, we have the most delicious mangos in our boxes, which will give it a delicious sweet touch. 

In case you prefer to leave out the chocolate, it’s also possible to omit the cacao nibs and cacao powder for a nutty, mango, citrus and coconut cake.  Yum yum yum.  Either way, we know you’ll enjoy this one!!!

Thank you once again to all of our amazing followers and in case you aren’t already part of the gang, come join us at https://www.instagram.com/fruitfuldayuae/

Vegan Mango, Citrus and Coconut Cheesecake (makes one 20cm cake)

9 hours (including time to soak nuts and set)

Ingredients for the base

  • 1 cup mixed nuts and seeds from the Fruitful Day Box
  • 1/3 cup cacao powder  
  • 2 tbsp shredded coconut (fresh is the best)
  • 1 cup dates
  • A pinch of salt
  • 3 tbsp cacao nibs
  • 5 drops food grade citrus essential oil

Ingredients for the filling

  • 2 cups cashews from the Fruitful Day Box
  • 1 cup of mango from the Fruitful Day Box
  • Zest of 3 oranges from the Fruitful Day Box
  • ¼ cup citrus juice (grapefruit/lemon/orange) from the Fruitful Day Box
  • 1/3 cup melted cacao butter
  • 3 tbsp coconut cream
  • 10 drops food grade citrus essential oil

Ingredients for the garnish

  • Zest of 1 of orange from the Fruitful Day Box
  • 1 400ml can of coconut cream
  • 2 tbsp cacao nibs

METHOD for the base

1. Blend all dry filling ingredients; mixed nuts and seeds, cacao powder, coconut and salt in a food processor.

2. Add wet ingredients; dates and essential oil and blend until it comes together as a dough.

3. Add cacao nibs and mix with hands into the dough – if you blend the nibs in the food processor they will become too small and you’ll lose the great crunch texture they give.

4. Line the base of your cake tin and then press the dough down evenly into the bottom.

METHOD for the filling

1. Soak cashews for at least 4 hours or, if possible, overnight.

2. Drain and rinse cashews

3. Put all filling ingredients; cashews, chopped mango, zest, juice, melted cacao butter, coconut cream and essential oil into a high speed blender and blend until smooth.

4. Pour filling mixture over the base mixture and set in the freezer for 4 hours or overnight.

5. Garnish with coconut cream – to do this leave the coconut cream in the fridge for 2-4 hours, open the can and then scoop only the cream from the top leaving behind the water.

6. Garnish with zest and cacao nibs. 

Raw Vegan Lime & Cherry Tart

We promised you 7 recipes in 7 days and we think you’ll love this 2nd one!  Desserts are a weak spot for many of us, but they don’t have to be a guilty indulgence. If you plan ahead, you can actually fill your desserts with whole foods that will enrich you in some way.

Our Raw Vegan Lime & Cherry Tart is inspired by LA’s well-known vegan Cafe Gratitude.  What makes it different than a typical vegan cheesecake is that the crust is made primarly with fresh grated coconut rather than nuts.  There are also NO filler ingredients like potato starch, thickeners like guar gum or alcohol sweeteners that are hard on your stomach.

In case you missed our first recipe in the series, click here to learn how to make apricot and orange granola bars.

Raw Vegan Lime & Cherry Tart (makes one small 12cm tart – you can double the recipe to make a large tart) 

30 minutes (not including chilling time)

Raw Vegan Lime & Cherry Tart

INGREDIENTS for the crust 

  • 3/4 cups of soaked cashews (soaked overnight or for at least 4 hours) from the Fruitful Day Box
  • ½ cup desiccated coconut
  • ¼ cup macadamia nuts
  • 28g dates from the Fruitful Day Box
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • Pinch of salt

INGREDIENTS for the filling 

  • 3/4 cups of soaked cashews (soaked overnight or for at least 4 hours) from the Fruitful Day
  • ¼ cup fresh shredded coconut
  • Juice of 3 limes from the Fruitful Day Box
  • ¼ cup of maple syrup
  • 1/8 tsp turmeric
  • 1/8 cup coconut milk
  • 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 7 tbsp melted coconut oil
  • 1 tbsp melted cacao butter
  • Two handfuls of cherries from the Fruitful Day Box

Raw Vegan Lime & Cherry Tart

METHOD for the crust 

  1. Process all ingredients except the dates in a food processor.
  2. Add dates and process until the mixture comes together to form a dough.
  3. Line your tart dish with cling film or grease with coconut oil.
  4. Press crust into the base of the dish until it forms an even curst that rises up the edges by about 2cm.
  5. Leave to set in the fridge.

Method for the filling

  1. Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender until they are smooth. You may need to add more coconut oil or cacao butter depending on how strong your blender is.
  2. Pour the filling into the pie crust.
  3. Remove stems from cherries, slice in half and pit.
  4. Use these cherries as a garnish on top of the tart.
  5. Set in the freezer for – 2 hours.

Lemon & Grapefruit Curd

With Ramadan fast approaching, we are committed to sharing as many recipes with you as possible.  Whether you’re fasting or not, these recipes are easy to make ahead and fuel you for the day. Today’s recipe is a lemon and grapefruit curd, which is delicious on toast, hot cross buns, or even as a tart filing. Best of all, it is free of any refined sugar!

A word about grapefruit, admittedly it’s not the most popular fruit in our boxes, but it has so many health benefits it’s still important for us to include! To begin with, a grapefruit contains the average adult’s full daily vitamin C requirement. Several studies have also shown numerous other benefits such is helping with weight loss, boosting immunity, and fighting cellulite. We’re pretty sure even if you’re not a grapefruit lover, you’ll love this curd as a healthy alternative to your usual jam.

Come back soon for our Ramadan recipes! One of our favorites is an apricot and orange granola bar free of sugar, corn syrup, wheat or canola oil. Next time you’re in the grocery store check the ingredient list of the granola bars on the shelf and you’ll realize just how much better is to make these on your own.

Lemon & Grapefruit Curd
(makes 1 cup curd)

Lemon & Grapefruit Curd

 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

  • ¼ cup lemon juice from the Fruitful Day Box
  • ¼ cup grapefruit juice from the Fruitful Day Box
  • ½ cup honey
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 2 eggs
  • Pinch of salt
  • 6 tbsp ghee

METHOD

Lemon & Grapefruit Curd

  1. Place a small amount of water in a saucepan on medium heat. Let the water simmer but not boil.
  2. In a glass bowl mix the lemon juice, grapefruit juice, honey, egg yolks, eggs, salt and ghee. Whisk until combined.
  3. Place the bowl over the saucepan creating a bain-marie.
  4. Continuously stir the mixture until it reaches 76 degrees C. If you don’t have a thermometer just keep stirring until the mixture thickens. This will take up to 10 minutes. It may seem as though it will never thicken, however, at the point where the eggs are cooked it will suddenly thicken and this is when you’ll know it’s ready.
  5. Pour the mixture through a sieve to strain out any lumps and chill.
  6. This curd can be used on toast, hot cross buns, as a tart filling or poured over a vanilla cake.

Birthday Blueberry Cheesecake

It was our 3rd birthday yesterday so we wanted to celebrate with a blueberry cheesecake recipe to end the week!  Don’t worry though, we haven’t gone too crazy, this cake recipe is a vegan, refined sugar and gluten free recipe.  If you skip roasting the cashews, it’s even raw too.

We’re still a young business, but we’ve already learned so much in our 3 years.  When we started the business, it was only going to be a Corporate fruit box delivery service, but it’s turned into so much more. We’ve expanded into homes, gifting, and even events!  Along side the business growth, we’ve also added 3 beautiful children to the Fruitful Day family. We still have a long way to go, but we know that with such amazing customers and supporters by our side, this is just the beginning of a fruitful journey.  A big THANK YOU to each and every one of you who has been there for us along the way.

Now back to our recipe… blueberry cheesecake!  We just want to quickly mention some of the health benefits of blueberries as they’re always a favorite in our discovery box. As one of the most nutritious, antioxidant-rich types of fruit in the world, here are 7 reasons to include more blueberries more in your diet*:

  1. High In Antioxidants
  2. Helps Fight Cancers
  3. Amps Up Weight Loss
  4. Boost Brain Health
  5. Alleviates Inflammation
  6. Supports Digestion
  7. Promotes Heart Health

 

So now you can have your cake and eat it too GUILT-FREE.

Blueberry Cheesecake

Birthday Blueberry Cheesecake

(makes one square or round cake of 20cm)

30 minutes (not including soaking and setting time)

INGREDIENTS for the crust

  • 1 cup cashews
  • ¾ cup dates
  • ¾ cup cacao powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp coconut oil

INGREDIENTS for the filling

  • 2 cups cashew
  • 6 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
  • 6 tbsp cacao butter (melted)
  • 8 tbsp coconut cream
  • 2 cups blueberries from the Fruitful Day Box
  • 6 tbsp maple syrup

METHOD

Birthday Blueberry Cheesecake

  1. Soak filling cashews in water for at least 4 hours or overnight.
  2. Roast crust cashews for 8 minutes at 160 degrees on a baking tray. (You can omit this step for a totally raw cake, however, it does add great flavor to the crust.)
  3. Blend all the dry crust ingredients in a food processor.
  4. Add the dates and coconut oil and blend until a dough forms.
  5. Line your cake dish and press the crust mixture into the base evenly.Blend all filling ingredients except for a handful of blueberries which you can use as blueberry chunks in the filling. Pour the filling over the crust, sprinkle the extra blueberries over the top, stir them in and then smoothen the top with a spatula. (For a white and blue layer – blend all filling ingredients except the blueberries. Pour half this mixture over the crust and smooth out evenly with a spatula. Add the blueberries to the remaining half of the mixture and blend. Pour this mixture over the white layer and smoothen out with a spatula.)
  6. Set in the freezer for 4 hours or in the fridge overnight.

 

*Source: Dr Axe, Top 7 Health Benefits of Blueberries

Energy February: Upside-Down Orange Cake

If you’ve been following our blog this month, you’ll know we’ve been focusing on foods that can help you boost your energy levels. Choosing your ingredients carefully is the difference between the right kind of sugar, carbohydrates, and fats, which boost your energy levels and the wrong kind, which will leave you feeling tired and hungry a short time later.

Our last recipe of the month is an upside-down orange cake. Many people love to eat cake mid morning or mid afternoon as an energy boost when they are hitting a low. However, traditional cake made with flour and sugar is high glycemic which means it will spike your blood sugar levels quickly and sharply, however, make you feel tired and hungry later in the day. This cake made with almond flour and maple, is much lower on the glycemic index and will be sure to satisfy your sweet tooth without playing havoc with your blood sugar levels and appetite. 

If you’ve received blood oranges in your box this week, we recommend swapping out the oranges for blood oranges in the recipe for a stunning finish!

Upside-down Orange Cake (one 20cm cake)

INGREDEINTS

  • 3 tbsp coconut sugar
  • 3 tbsp grass fed butter 
  • 1/3 cup (65g) ghee/butter
  • 1 ¾ cups (175g) almond flour
  • ¼ cup (30g) arrowroot flour or any gluten free flour blend
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 3 eggs
  • ½ cup (120ml) maple syrup/honey
  • 2 tsp vanilla powder/extract
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • 2 Oranges from the fruitful day box

METHOD

Upside-down Orange Cake (one 20cm cake)

  1. Preheat oven to 165 degrees C. Grease or line a cake tin and set aside.
  2. Zest the oranges and then slice into 1cm slices. Cut the peel off each slice leaving a slither of the pith to hold the orange together.
  3. Heat the coconut sugar and butter in a pan on low heat until the sugar is melted. Pour this mixture into the bottom of the prepared cake tin and spread evenly.
  4. Arrange the orange slices over the butter and sugar mixture.
  5. In one bowl mix the almond flour, arrowroot, salt and baking soda.
  6. Separate the egg whites from the yolks and in another bowl mix the yolks, maple syrup, melted ghee, vanilla, lemon juice and orange zest.
  7. Beat the egg whites with a hand mixer or kitchen aid until they form soft peaks.
  8. Mix the egg yolk mixture into the flour mixture and then fold in the egg whites.
  9. Pour this cake mixture over the oranges in the cake tin.
  10. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Check the cake after 8 – 10 minutes and cover if it has began to brown. As soon as you see browning you need to cover for the remainder of the cooking time.