A perfect Valentine's Day delight!
There's absolutely nothing wrong with having a sweet tooth or looking forward to a delicious dessert to complete a healthy meal but with science now telling us sugar may actually be worse than salt for raising blood pressure, it makes good sense to try and find recipes that deliver healthier but still delicious desserts, some of which may even be completely sugar-free.
At my health retreat Yeotown we like our puddings as much as the next foodie so the challenge my chefs love to embrace is that of devising desserts that satisfy the craving for a sweet something to finish the meal but avoid refined sugar altogether.
And with our Rockin' Raw Raspberry Pie - a lip smacking mouth watering and clever little take on a traditional Austrian Linzer torte - we've done just that because although it is sweet, sweet, sweet, there's not a grain of refined sugar anywhere near this dish. Plus it's raw!
This really is the perfect pudding for anyone wanting to boost their energy levels and sense of wellbeing and don't worry if you don't feel that you're a whizz in the kitchen because I've included a link to a step-by-step video guide that holds your hand through each of the processes so you can be sure you'll turn out a delicious and successful refined sugar-free dessert every time. Click here to watch the video.
It's delicious and great for keeping you sweet, happy and healthy. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
For the raspberry topping:
400g raspberries
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 small dessert spoon of raw agave syrup (light) or raw manuka honey
For the raw 'pastry' nut base:
1 cup Hazelnuts
1 cup Pecans
80g Dates, stoned and roughly chopped
1 dessert spoon creamy coconut butter
Juice of half a lemon
Equipment:
You will need one loose-bottomed tart tin, 9" or 10" diameter.
Food mixed/blender to chop the nuts
Method:
Make a raspberry and chia seed jam which will become the filling of your torte. Crush 200g of raspberries in a bowl and then add the dessert spoon of agave syrup or honey. Stir one tablespoon of chia seeds and one tablespoon of warm water into the mix and set aside for 15 minutes whilst you make the nutty base. This mix will thicken as the chia seeds soak up the raspberry and agave or honey juices.
To make your raw 'pastry' nut base, blitz the halzenuts, pecan nuts and roughly chopped dates in a blender. Be careful to do this in stages to avoid turning the mix into a nut butter. Blitz in short 2-3 second bursts until you are left with a mix the texture of coarse crumbs.
Add one generous dessert spoon of creamy coconut butter to the date and nut base mix. If you are taking the coconut butter from the fridge, you will need to soften it and warm to room temperature. Once softened, mix with the nuts. Add the juice of half a lemon and mix again.
You are going to line your pie tin with this nut mix by gently pressing the mix onto the base of the tin and up the sides to make a small edge. Use the back of your spoon to do this. If the nut mix starts to stick, simply coat the spoon back with a little rapeseed or olive oil. Once you have shaped your base, put it in the fridge for 10 minutes.
Take the base out of the fridge and spoon your raspberry and chia seed 'jam' filling into the tin. Spread out evenly and decorate with the remaining 200g of raspberries.
Put the Rockin' Raw Raspberry Pie into the fridge for at least two hours before serving. Once you are ready to serve, gently release the sides but leave the pie on the base to serve. Enjoy!
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