‘Clever Cakes’ Recipe ( aka Fake Snickers)
Updated: Sep 16, 2020
Don’t worry too much about the super food powders and ceremonial grade cacao if you don’t have any of those lying about. The cake is wonderful anyway and just have a practise before spending a bomb on superfood powders.
I’m a big fan of tasting and exploring what I feel like at the time. This is simply a rough guide and you can add lib to make it suit your wants and needs nutritionally. You may want to change the nuts and seeds, alter the nut butters or even add some oats to the base to give some healthy carbs.
I’ve been tweaking my raw cakes recipes for years, but the combination of maca, matcha and guarana in the base brings an element of clarity and calmness with energy and power! The hemp or buckwheat groats bring a level of crunch and an injection of zinc to the mix, for immune strength and support in repairing tissues from your skin to every cell in your body.
The middle layer has that cheeky ‘feel good’ factor that nut butters always give, with the added dollop of goodness from the magnesium in the cashews to aid recovery, reduce anxiety and support the nervous system.
The top layer is pretty epic; it’s made even more beneficial if you choose to invest in some ceremonial grade cacao and grate it into your raw chocolate. Cacao is a stand alone brain food, it works on the dopamine pathways in the brain by assisting in the production of neurotransmitters made in the gut. These travel to the brain to help us feel happy and complete.
Yes ladies, chocolate is officially good for us!!
These should be eaten in the early part of the day to support the sympathetic nervous system and get us going!
This would be a wonderful breakfast option or 30 minutes post training to aid recovery.
Ingredients:
Bottom layer
Chia seeds (2 tbsp)
Matcha powder (1tbsp) optional
Maca powder ( 1.5 tbsp) optional
Guarana powder (1 tbsp) optional
Hulled Hemp Seeds or Buckwheat groats ( 30 g) optional
Honey/date syrup/coconut blossom (1/4 cup)
Coconut oil (100 g)
Pumpkin seeds (50 g)
Dates or date paste (200g)
Almonds (100g)
Sesame Seeds (50g)
Sunflower Seeds (50g)
Dedicated coconut (50g)
Middle layer
Cashews or peanuts (300g soaked overnight in water)
Coconut oil (50 g)
Peanut butter (100 g of smooth or crunchy, with no palm oil)
Honey/ date/ coconut syrup (1-2 tbsp, optional)
Top
Cacao powder (120 g)
Ceremonial grade cacao (3 tbsp)
Coconut oil (400 g)
Vanilla paste (1 tsp)
Pinch of salt
Equipment:
Food processor or blender.
Bowl/pan - anything to mix in really
Saucepan
Whisk
Scales
Baking paper
Flat Square or rectangle shaped baking tray which is quite deep to cater for layers
Method:
Clear a flat space in the freezer ready to let your cakes harden between layers. Find a large baking tray. There may be mixture left over depending on what size of tin you use. That’s fine, save the remainder in the freezer for next time, nuts don’t freeze they just stay fresh.
Line your baking tray with greaseproof or parchment paper.
If you don’t like using your hands directly on the mixture, you can use a sheet of parchment to flatten and get a better finish on the bottom and middle layers.
Remember to soak your cashews in water over the night to get the creamiest middle layer. Always soak for at least 2 hours and preferably in filtered water.
Bottom Layer:
Blend almonds and sunflower seeds together to make a flour to help bind. Tip into a bowl.
Melt the coconut oil in a pan and blend together the dates ( deseeded) or date paste. Add to the dry mix.
Add in any optional super powders and hemp/ buckwheat groats to the mix.
Give the pumpkin seeds a quick blast so they remain chunky and add to the mix.
Add the final sesame, chia and desiccated coconut to the mixture, using your fingers knead everything evenly together so when you squeeze it together it sticks and feels a bit bouncy.
If you feel you need it slightly damper to work with, add 1/4 cup of water, this will be absorbed by the chia seeds so don’t worry.
Taste....... if it isn’t sweet enough or too bitter with the matcha add 1/2 tbsp of honey, date syrup or vanilla paste.
Flatten the base layer into the tray - try to make it as flat as possible.
Put in the freezer for 10 minutes
Middle Layer:
In the meantime crack on with the middle layer.
Strain the cashews and add them to the blender with the melted coconut oil and nut butter of your choice. Blend until smooth.
If you don’t feel you have the creamiest nuts you can add a little nut or coconut milk ( 1 tbs at a time till until a stiff but smooth consistency happens).
At this point taste, if you would prefer a little more sweet, add some vanilla paste or powder, date or honey. Be mindful if you have sweetened the bottom layer, don’t sweeten the middle also, or visa versa!
Make the second layer of your cake, get the surface as flat as possible and pop it back in the freezer whilst you make the raw chocolate!
Top Layer:
Melt the coconut oil and remove from heat.
Whisk in the cacao powder and grated cacao if you have it.
Add a pinch of salt if salted chocolate tickles your fancy and sweeten just slightly with the vanilla paste. Please note if you are training a lot you will be losing electrolytes through sweat and should replenish with good quality sea or pink Himalayan salt.
Check for taste before confirming to yourself ‘This Is Good For Me’, and pour over the second layer to make a silky smooth finish on the top!
Put directly back in the freezer for the chocolate to set.
When it comes to cutting the cakes, take out of the freezer for 15 minutes for the chocolate to soften and avoid cracks in the cacao ...... Don’t forget to enjoy and find productivity in your day becomes second nature with these little beauties!