mother's day ice cream cake

happy mother's day! the month of may is flying by! it's such a nice time of year with the foliage and warm weather - i wish it would slow down just a smidge. i've been on the go a few weeks now and am in need of a recharge day (or three.=)



amidst babysitting, gardening, family visits and spring cleaning, i found time to plan and execute a three-layer ice cream cake for my mom. the pansies and pea shoots were inspired by my blog friend aimee from bitt of raw.

bottom layer up: coffee coconut ice cream, blonde crunchies, chocolate ice cream with chocolate-covered almonds, chocolate buckwheat crunchies, vanilla ice cream.

two years ago, i made a similar cake since my mom likes chocolate, coffee, almond and coconut. both were pretty good, but i prefer the fruitier cakes.

my mom's biennial pear tree will be producing fruit this year and i plan to pair them with local raspberries or blueberries to make a variation of pearberry bliss. i'm also excited to make fruit roll-ups with organic strawberries from muth. yay for fruit season!

oh, and john ate the first of our eight strawberries today, declaring it perfect! also, he made us a new 4 by 6 foot bed! garden update coming soon...

ice cream cake ebook giveaway

thank you for the sweet comments on my strawberry banana ice cream cake post. i wish i could share a slice with all of you! what i can do is guide you in making your own and offer a chance to win the ultimate raw ice cream ebook by heather pace.

the bottom layer of this cake is simply frozen banana pureed in the food processor until light and fluffy. after smoothing the banana into a 7-inch springform pan and placing it in the freezer, frozen strawberries with a few squirts agave nectar and lemon juice went in to the food processor next (i didn't bother to rinse it.)

while one layer was freezing, the next was being made. (i was also able to clean up a little and get some laundry done=). dehydrated buckwheat was mixed with maple syrup, cacao nibs and powder for chocolate buckwheat crunchies, and fresh coconut, cashews, macs, coconut butter, vanillla and agave was blended for the vanilla layer. the recipe needs tweaking before posting, though i will share this decadent peanut butter sauce that is the perfect compliment to this cake.

peanut butter sauce

3 T peanut butter (unsweetened and unsalted)
1 T melted coconut oil
1 T water
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 T maple syrup (or liquid sweetener of choice, to taste)
pinch of salt

blend all ingredients until smooth.

kelli's notes: if you use sweetened/salted peanut butter, it may be best to omit the last two ingredients. it's so good, you might want to double or triple the recipe.=)

fun swirly top

last year around this time i was an ice cream cake-making machine; once i started, i couldn't stop!

heathy introduced the raw food world to these sensational creations with an ebook and a challenge to create our own. compared to other desserts, i find raw ice cream cakes to be fairly easy to make and insanely fun to create. another plus is they're a bit less expensive because fruit and buckwheat crunchies take the place of pricey nuts/dates often used in raw desserts. (if you grow or pick your own fruit, even better!) and who doesn't enjoy a slice of cool ice cream cake on a warm spring/summer day?!=)






entry #1: rawspberries and cream

entry #2: chocolate strawberries and banana

entry #3: café almond biscotti

final, 2nd place-winning entry: pearberry bliss

wouldn't you like to create a raw ice cream cake of your own?  

heathy's ultimate raw ice cream cake ebook is available for purchase here. enter for a chance to win a copy by leaving a comment below telling me what kind of ice cream cake you'd like to make. for one extra entry: blog, facebook or tweet about this giveaway.

the winner will be selected randomly and announced monday, may 16th, 2011. this giveaway is now closed.

happy cake-creating!

raw for dinner

last night's dinner was sort of a finish-up-what's-in-the-fridge meal. i do my best to keep raw pizza crusts in the freezer for easier dishes like this one.

my fungus was about to grow more fungus, so i used 'shrooms for the pizza topping. they were marinated in equal parts shoyu and olive oil with a splash of agave and dehydrated for about an hour. there was a little bit of eggplant caponata left swimming in a lot of dressing - i blended it with a handful of soaked cashews, sun-dried tomato and garlic for a two-in-one tomato/cheese topping.

half of a zucchini leftover from my ramekin raw lasagna was spiralized for a small side of "pasta", topped with the aforementioned tomato/cheese sauce. the lettuce from our garden was served with a maple balsamic dressing john whipped up. (he likes to help in the kitchen so he can get fed quicker because he loves me.=)

on a whim i made a strawberry banana ice cream cake for dessert. more details on this fabulous frozen delight to follow!=)

coffee coconut ice cream with irish moss

utterly delicious, and dairy-free!

1 1/4 C strong black coffee
1/4 C coconut flakes
1/2 C young coconut meat
1/4 C coconut water
3 pitted dates
3 heaping T irish moss gel
1 T raw coconut butter
1 T maple syrup
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
love


blend first two ingredients well. add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. process in an ice cream maker or simply place in freezer, stirring every so often.


top with raw chocolate shavings and enjoy the buzz!


if coffee isn't for you, replace with water and add a bit more vanilla, to taste.

+

2 oz soaked irish moss
1 C water


rinse irish moss well and soak overnight in the fridge. chop into pieces and process in a high speed blender until completely smooth and gel-like, stopping to scrape down the sides. store in fridge about a week or so.


+nouveau raw posted a great guide for irish moss gel here.

++edit: here is a great source for raw irish moss. (pure joy planet)

gluten-free waffles and ice cream

having enjoyed nature's path cereals, john and i decided to give their gluten-free waffles a try. they were in the freezer section of our whole foods and from what i remember, vegan and fairly inexpensive.

though we never ate them with maple syrup like we'd planned.

all six waffles were:

slathered in peanut butter/loaded with strawberry-banana soft serve/sprinkled with powdered sugar

...which was totally fine by me.=)

artichoke hearts•pickles•kraut•kale salad with hemp seeds

banana soft serve with raspberries

•

banana soft serve with raspberries

+

peanut butter
=

heaven

=)

coconut bliss review and a free pint giveaway

the lovely beings at luna and larry's organic coconut bliss sent me three coupons for free pints of their organic coconut-based, animal-friendly ice cream! woohoo!

perfect timing, as ice cream and other cold treats are in order this time of year. it's so uncomfortably hot and humid around my way that even edgar prefers hanging out in the fridge!

edgar says, 'it's gross out!'

*

so john and i picked up a pint of vanilla island (my choice) and chocolate hazelnut fudge (his choice) which was available at our local whole foods. (chocolate peanut butter and cherry amaretto sounded very tempting, as well. next time!=)

creamy coconutty heaven

it is agreed that both flavors are fantastic! i like the chocolate hazelnut fudge better, which is funny because i don't usually care for chocolate ice cream! it's just so perfectly sweet and chocolatey, with a welcoming hint of creamy coconut... and the pools of fudge - divine!

john was a big fan of both, especially the vanilla. he loved the way the coconut complimented the vanilla bean. the coconut flavor for me was nice and creamy, but it took away from the classic vanilla bean taste. being the vanilla aficionado that i am, the search remains for the perfect dairy-free vanilla bean ice cream.=)

*

what i love about luna and larry's is that their coconut milk comes from an organic family-owned farm in thailand. i also love the story of the company's inception, which you can read here.

 ***

since we love you and wish for you to experience coconut bliss, we've decided to give away one of our coupons for a free pint of luna and larry's organic bliss. the winner will also recieve the adorable bliss storybook and a sticker (not pictured).

want to enter?

simply leave one comment below telling me which flavor of luna and larry's organic coconut bliss you would choose with the coupon.

(click here for a list of flavors and check here to be sure it is carried in your area.)

the winner will be picked tomorrow night at midnight (wednesday, july 21st at 12pm est) by mr. random number generator.

happy entering!

=)

the ultimate raw ice cream cake challenge: pearberry bliss

edit: this cake won 2nd place! woohoo!=)

PearBerry Bliss

the idea for this ice cream cake was inspired by a pearberry parfait i made in march for our friend, yahya. a nice, ripe pear is one of my favorite fruits, and i love all shades of purple.

the trinity of tart blackberry, sweet pear, and raw cacao is heaven to my taste buds... i just had to recreate it in ice cream cake form.

allow me to take you through the process...=)





1. the sketch

the original plan, until i bought a spearmint plant.

pearmint sorbet with chocolate sounded really yummy, so i went with it. the vanilla ice cream with pear chunks square was omitted, and pear sorbet (minus mint) took its place.

2. blackberry ice cream

heathy's berry ice cream recipe with chocolate chips. irish moss subbed soy lecithin. 


3. the pear sorbet center

frozen chunks of pear and banana blended in the food processor.

4. blonde crunchies

heathy's recipe for vanilla flavored buckwheat crunchies. 


5. pearmint sorbet

chunks of frozen pear and banana with a few spearmint leaves, blended in the food processor 'til smooth and creamy. 


6. chocolate ice cream center

heathy's chocolate ice cream recipe. (once again omitted the soy lecithin and subbed irish moss gel, my new favorite emulsifier and anti-aging cream.=)


7. sampling the leftovers =)

***

the sketch called for a pearmint sorbet and blackberry sauce swirled topping.

*blended blackberries, agave, and lemon juice strained through a nut milk bag to remove the seeds.

once again my fruit mixture turned an unpleasant color. (stinkin'oxidation!) luckily i had lots of blondies leftover, so i coated the top of the cake.

(see my new 4x4 and 2x2 beds in the background? we're planting tomorrow=) 

 

***

major kudos to heathy for 1) creating such amazing ice cream cake recipes and 2) hosting such an awesome challenge. what a blast it's been, and summer hasn't even officially begun!

and high fives to all who participated! each and every cake looks delicious and is incredibly creative.  whaddya say we all meet up and do a slice swap?=)

the ultimate raw ice cream cake challenge: café almond biscotti

this decadent ice cream cake was made for my sweet momma to enjoy on mother's day. she loves coffee and almonds, so john came up with the delicious idea to use newman's own café almond biscotti flavored coffee for an almond coffee ice cream cake.

 a delicious idea, indeed!

the bottom layer is coffee ice cream made with a strong cup o' joe and 1/2 cup of hazelnut milk. there are chunks of chocolate covered almonds throughout.

in the middle is heathy's chocolate buckwheat crunchies with chopped almonds. the top layer is heathy's vanilla and chocolate ice creams. i attempted to swirl the two layers, but the chocolate wasn't behaving.=)

all three ice creams were made with 1/3 cup irish moss gel in place of soy lecithin. i found this makes a creamier ice cream.

i made the raw biscottis using a few recipes to guide me. they contain almond pulp, almond meal, dried coconut, agave, vanilla, and coconut oil. i dipped them in chocolate and coated with crushed almonds. heathy's whipped cream is holding the biscottis in place.

my very talented sister also made our mom an edible gift - a cupcake bouquet!

my mom loved her gifts but said she was most happy to spend the day with her three children. isn't she sweet?! =)

the ultimate raw ice cream cake challenge: chocolate strawberries and banana

so yesterday i was spazzin' a little because i thought i had ruined my ice cream cake. i wasn't too upset because i knew it would taste great; just a bit disappointed it wasn't as pretty as my rawspberries and cream.

the top of the banana layer turned a really unpleasant tannish hue overnight! then my chocolate sauce for the strawberries was bumpy after overheating (an annoying habit i seem to have!). "serenity now!"=)

i accepted the fact the cake was not going to be a good-looking one and kept reassuring myself that what is most important is the taste.

but as it turns out, the cake looks fine. no, it looks great! i'm really happy with it, and so were those who sampled a slice. =)

i've learned a little lesson here: that i need to stop being so critical and hung-up on appearance. i do this with my physical appearance, as well. i am learning to accept what is (so what if have some gray hair?!) and just go with it.

after all, things always seems to have a way of being great in the end, no matter how "ugly" they may appear.=)

oh yeah, and it's what's on the inside that counts. (especially if it includes raw chocolate=). 

the cake is made of heathy's strawberry ice cream, but i started with a heaping tablespoon of goji berries before adding the strawberries. (so yum, and gave me an idea for anotherrr cakeee=). i also added frozen strawberry chunks soaked in agave and lemon juice to the layer.

the banana ice cream was just a few frozen bananas blended with cashews, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and a lil coco oil. (though i should have just kept it simple and blended nanners only. another lesson learned: keep it simple!)

in the center is heathy's chocolate buckwheat crunchies and a layer of strawberry sauce (simply strawberries blended with agave and lemon juice).

*my spring form pan is 7" and from kitchen kapers, a store found in nj, pa, and de.

that's not all, folks... i may be creating another ice cream cake for my mama this weekend! they're addicting, i'm tellin ya! =)

if you want to see some other amazing ice cream cake entries, click here and here, and for a sneak peek at nelly's which is still in the works, here.

so excited to drool over more entries - i'm becoming obsessed with these cakes!=)