eat; raw strawberry and chocolate parfait

nouveauraw.com

Here it is!!! Get your tastebuds on, get your blender out and start soaking those nuts for a truely amazing trip into the world of a raw parfait!

As most of you have been hearing lately, I've been introducing raw foods to my brother (BTW, he took the photos below! Thanks big bro!) who is a little sick. A great way to introduce raw to someone new to it, is through raw treats. Everyone loves sweets and the best part of raw desserts is that they are packed with great things and every ingredient is actually great for you; antioxidents from the cacao, omega from the chia seeds and great fats from the cashews! 

This recipe is taken a little from Cafe Gratitude's I Am Grateful cookbook and a little by me playing around with stuff. I've made them in whiskey glasses but feel free to use whatever fancy glasses you want to. They are quite rich so this recipe allows for half filled glasses only. 

Makes 6 servings

What you need;
 Chocolate Cream
1 1/2 cups soaked cashews (four hours)
1 1/2 Tbs lemon juice
3 Tbs sweetener of your choice (honey, agave, maple syrup)
2 Tbs raw cacao powder
1/2 cup filtered water
pinch salt
Strawberry Puree
1 punnet of strawberries
1/2 cup orange juice (freshly squeezed if possible)
1 Tbs chia seeds
1 Tbs sweetener of your choice (honey, agave, maple syrup)
Almond Crumble
1 cup soaked almonds (overnight)
4 soaked dates (four hours)
2 drops vanilla essence or 1/2 a vanilla bean

Start with washing the strawberries and divide the amount in half. With a potato masher, mash half the strawberries in a bowl until you create a puree. Add the orange juice and chia seeds, stirring the seeds in well making sure they are coated. Add the sliced strawberries and set aside.

Whizz all the ingredients for the cashew chocolate cream in a blender until light, fluffy and smooth. Taste it and add more chocolate if you would like a heavier chocolate taste. Set aside.

To make the Almond crumble, simply pour the ingredients into a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles crumbs.

Before creating the parfait's, check the strawberry mixture. If the seeds have soaked up too much liquid, add a small splash of orange juice and mix. It shouldn't be runny nor too solid either.

Now for the fun! Start by dividing the crumble mixture in half and use one half to cover the bottom of each of the six awaiting glasses.

Do the same with the chocolate cream, dividing it in half and spreading one half between the glassses. You don't have to be too neat with each layer as parfait's are meant to be a little 'dollopy' looking.

Next, pour in the strawberry puree, dividing the whole mixture between the six glasses. Add the rest of the chocolate cream topping with the remainder almond crumble. I then threw in a few blueberries for decoration. You could add a mint leaf of whatever tickles your fancy to finish off the parfait!

YUMMMMMMMMM!

Buon Appetito!