Loveable (raw)yum

This is my - semi raw - take on a Swedish classic called Kärleksmums. Chocolaty, slightly salty, sweet, crunchy, creamy and PACKED with plant based protein!

The recipe is from my second book The new green protein where I call them “Kärleksfulla (raw)mums”. That’s not all, it’s also my first ever recipe shared in a live television show! This very morning that happened! So, let’s just say that from this day on this cake will be quite special - not only because it’s yummy and works for as well fika as an afternoon snack but also because it reminds me to sometimes take a step back and enjoy the feeling of reaching milestones. And appreciating where hard work has taken me. Well done!

So, I’ll probably make another batch as soon as I get home (the friendly people at SVT enjoyed it all) and spend the rest of the evening with a couple of blankets, lit candles and all my new cookbooks that have finally reached me!

I know you wonder about the recipe. Here it comes!

Loveable (raw)yum

12 pieces

Base

2 dl / 0.8 cups toasted whole buckwheat *

1 dl / 0.4 cups pepitas

1 dl / 0.4 cups raw cacao

10 fresh dates, pitted

2 Tbsp cold pressed coconut oil

1-2 Tbsp water

Ganache

2 Tbsp cold pressed coconut oil

1/2 dl / 0.2 cups raw cacao

3/4 dl / 0.3 cups water

8 fresh dates, pitted

1 pinch unrefined salt

1/2 dl / 0.4 cups shredded coconut

How to

Mix all the dry ingredients until a fine crumble using a food processor, it’s nice to keep some of the buckwheat whole as that will give an extra crunch! Add dates, oil and water and mix in to a dough. Press out the dough in a small baking tray, put in the fridge.

Melt the oil on low heat. Mix all the ingredients for the ganache, except for the shredded coconut, until completely smooth. Preferably use a high speed blender if you have one - or continue mixing using a food processor - this might take a bit more time.

Spread the ganache over the base, sprinkle over the shredded coconut. the cake in the fridge for at least 20 minutes before serving. I even keep mine in the freezer as I love my bite properly chilled!

ENJOY!

• Toasted buckwheat: Put the buckwheat in a fine mesh strainer. Bring some water to a boil and then pour over the buckwheat. Rinse with cold water and let drain for a few minutes. Toast in a dry pan, on medium heat, until golden and crisp. Let cool. 

Recipe from The new green protein. Photo by Fanny Hansson.

Tahini and caramel mousse truffles with raspberries

Carob is a seed that comes from a brown pod of a tree of the same name, originally from the Mediterranean. The flavour is a bit similar to cacao - but with a more caramel touch to it. Except from the great flavour it's said to have quite a few health benefits such as; containing good fibers and minerals, contains a good amount of antioxidants and the seed is also naturally low in fat. Carob can normally be found in well stocked food stores, health food stores and online. However, if you cannot get hold of any carob, raw cacao would work just as fine. 

I like the truffles best properly chilled - close to frozen. Therefore I tend to always store them (if there are any left that is...) in the freezer. Which is good to make sure they stay fresh for as long as possible anyway!

The combination of a sweet yet light base, decadent caramel mousse and a dark chocolate top layer with hints of goji berries is just a prefect combination - time to get baking!

 

Tahini and caramel mousse truffles with raspberries

About 16 truffles

Buckwheat and coconut base

2 dl / 0.8 US cups whole buckwheat, soaked for 8 hours or over night

2 dl / 0.8 US cups grated coconut

8 fresh dates, pitted

1 pinch sea salt

Caramel mousse layer

1/2 dl / 0.2 US cups light tahini

1 dl / 0.4 US cups coconut cream

1 ripe avocado

1 1/2 dl / 0.6 US cups carob powder (to be found in well stocked food stores, health food stores and online)

1/2 tsp sea salt

8 fresh dates, pitted

Chocolate layer

1/2 dl / 0.4 US cups cold pressed coconut oil

1 dl / 0.8 US cups cacao (preferably raw)

1 pinch sea salt

1/2 dl / 0.4 US cups goji berries

How to

Drain and rinse the buckwheat carefully. 

Mix all the ingredients for the base in a food processor until everything comes together and gets a smooth texture. Cover a small baking tin with plastic film. Press the dough into the tin. Put in the freezer. 

Peel and deseed the avocado. Mix all the ingredients for the mousse in a high speed blender until completely smooth (could also be done in a good food processor, but might take some more time). Spread out the mousse over the base, put back in the freezer. 

Heat the coconut oil on low heat, you want it to be liquid but not hot. Add the cacao and salt and whisk together. Let cool. Drizzle over the mousse layer, making sure every bit gets covered. Add the goji berries on top. Put back in the freezer for at least 1 hour. 

Take out the cake from the freezer 15 minutes prior serving. Cut in to smaller pieces. Serve topped with fresh raspberries and fresh mint.

Enjoy! 

Photo by Fanny Hansson. Recipe originally published in The Gothenburg-Post/Två dagar in August 2018.

Buckwheat chocolate bliss balls with blueberry and coconut

I really love almonds, nuts and seeds. As a snack, on top of a salad, on my morning porridge, mixed to a nut butter and in raw desserts. Nuts contain LOTS of greats nutrition, and they also contain a lot of fat. Good fat, but still, even good things can be to much. Therefore I like to sometimes use toasted buckwheat whenever I make raw desserts or bliss balls for afternoon snack. Buckwheat groats contains lots of great nutrition, but less fat then nuts and seeds. And also - the toasted buckwheat gives a delicious crunchy texture, and it's gluten free. 

So, I came up with a simple recipe for a perfect and delicious little ball with buckwheat instead of the commonly used nuts or seeds. This buckwheat bliss ball is the perfect “fika” but also a great afternoon snack. I made them the other day, during one of the retreats here in France this summer - and everybody loved them. The chocolate together with the blueberry is a really tasty combination. And the tiny bit of sea salt that I always add makes all the difference. 

A few things to have in mind is: add more cacao for an even more chocolaty flavor, add more blueberry power for even more of a berry taste, and more dates for a sweeter touch. Mix it until you make it - so to speak! 

Enough writing. So, here is the recipe for these little ones, hope you like them! 

Buckwheat chocolate bliss balls with blueberry

Makes about 20 bliss balls

Ingredients

2 1/2 dl dried whole buckwheat groats (buy toasted ones if you find in your store, then you kan skip the first instruction below on how to toast them yourself)

3/4 dl cacao 

2 tbsp blueberry powder 

A pinch of flakey salt 

10 fresh dates, pitted 

2 tbsp cold pressed coconut oil 

1-2 tbsp water

Shredded coconut for rolling

How to

Put the buckwheat in a fine mesh strainer. Bring some water to a boil and then pour over the buckwheat. Rinse with cold water and let drain for a few minutes. Toast in a dry pan, on medium heat, until golden and crisp. Let cool. 

Mix buckwheat, cacao and blueberry power until some of the buckwheat has been crushed. I like my bliss balls to have quite a few whole buckwheat groats left as I like the crunchy consistency, but you can also mix until a flour like consistency. Add dates, coconut oil and water, mix until a dough. You might want to add a bit more water to get the dough to stick together. 

Form the dough in to about 20 balls, roll in shredded coconut. Put on a plate and let chill in the fridge for at least 30 minites before serving. Allowing time in the fridge (or freezer if you cannot wait to dig in!) will make them even more firm and - if you ask me - even tastier!

Crispy kale with nori and sesame

Kale. I like (love) kale in every possible way you can have it. Therefore I was beyond happy yesterday when I visited the amazing Ugglarps Grönt, a renown farm shop in the southern part of Sweden where I was wandering around the unbelievable brassicas fields. There they grow not only kale but every type of brassica that you could think of. Got a lot of inspiration for the upcoming season ot say the least.

Thinking of,  and writing about, kale I wanted to share with you one of my favourite ways to have it - baked until perfectly crisp! To get the kale really crisp you need to have a little trick down your sleeve. Scroll down to read more! 

Crispy kale with nori and sesame

Serves 1-6, all depending on how and when you serve it (as a Friday snack when hanging out with yourself, topping on a salad etc)

Ingredients

250 grams kale

2 tbsp cold pressed coconut oil

2 tbsp sesame seeds, preferably a mix of white and black ones

1 tbsp nori flakes 

1 tsp flakey salt 

How to

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius. 

 Wash the kale and remove the stalk. Tear the leafs in smaller pieces and put on a oven tray. Dry the kale carefully (!) with a clean kitchen towel. This is the secret part, by drying the kale completely before you massage it with the oil the kale will bake and not steam, which will happen if you have wet kale. Baked kale = really crisp. Steamed kale = impossible to get crispy. 

Blend sesame seeds, nori and salt. If you can't find nori flakes you can finely chop a nori sheet, or even better mix in a food processor. Massage the dry kale with coconut oil until every part is covered. Sprinkle with the sesame and nori mixture. Give it a toss.  

Bake in the middle of the oven for 10-15 minutes, until the kale is crisp. Make sure to stay close as the kale can easily burn if in the oven for to long. Toss it around every now and then to get evenly crisp kale. Let cool.