This is an experimental recipe, born from an unlikely ingredient list from Post Punk Kitchen’s, “Vegan Chopped” dessert competition. The “mystery” ingredients that had to be used were mango, unsweetened dried coconut, beets, and crisped rice. Beyond that, participants could add any additional ingredients, and create as the spirit moved us.
In this recipe, crisped rice replaces the copious amounts of nuts usually used in raw crusts, resulting in a lighter, lower calorie, crispy delicious torte base. The filling, or faux-mage (that’s fake cheese for you non-francophones 🙂 is made up of two layers – one featuring beets, the other, mango. The result is a light, (mostly) raw, gluten free dessert that is cool and refreshing on a hot summer day. Not only that, but it’s actually quite nutrient dense, and not overly caloric. (I just had a piece of it for breakfast.)
The competition deadline is today – Monday, July 15th at 3 pm. I had a busy weekend and a day at the lake yesterday, which gave me lots of time to plan, but little time to execute. So here it is! This came together this morning in about 40 minutes of active time, and an hour (or 3) of freeze time.
This all happens in a food processor and there’s no need to clean the bowl between layers. Have at it! (And wish me luck.)
INGREDIENTS
2 fresh mangoes
3 medium beets
1 cup unsweetened, dried coconut
1.5 cups crisped rice (organic brown if you can find it)
10 fresh dates – pits removed
1/4 cup walnuts
4 T coconut oil – divided
6 T agave nectar – divided
1 cup cashews – soaked for an hour, rinsed, and divided
2 T chia seeds
Juice of one lemon
- Lightly oil an 8” spring form pan or equivalent with coconut oil.
- In the bowl of the food processor, process crisped rice, dates, walnuts and dried coconut until crumbly and sticky. Press into spring form pan and place in refrigerator.
- Mango layer. Place the flesh of two mangoes, 1/2 of the the soaked cashews, 2 T of the coconut oil, and 2 T of the agave nectar in the bowl of the food processor and process until smooth.
- Pour mango layer over the crust, smooth out the top, and place it in the freezer to set up while you work on the final layer.
- Beet layer. Peel and roughly chop the beets. Place them and all remaining ingredients (chia, lemon juice, remainder of coconut oil, 1/2 cup cashews and agave nectar) in the food processor and process until smooth. You may need to add a little water – I added about 1/4 cup.
- Pour beet layer over mango layer, cover, place in freezer, and allow to freeze completely before serving. *
* If you have the time and you want your layers to be more clearly delineated, let the mango layer freeze completely before you add the beet layer on top. I was in a time crunch and added the beets before the mango was set, so they mixed a bit, but it’s still a pretty sexy dessert.
Cut into bit size squares to serve as a refreshing appetizer at your next barbecue.
Hind sight note: The mango layer could stand to be bulked up with one more mango.