I know that an indulgent peanut butter and chocolate loaded cake seems a little out of place in January when everyone seems to be surviving on juice and green smoothies but I am one of the unlucky few who have their birthday in January. So while everyone else has kale on their mind all I can think about is cake! On Friday I turned the ripe old age of 21 so of course this occasion demanded a cake and not just any cake. Even though I am now 21 and officially a fully fledged adult when it came to choosing a cake flavor all I wanted was my childhood favorite treat; a Snickers. Considering that this was a monumental birthday a Snickers bar simply would not suffice, this demanded an indulgent cake and lets be honest cake can’t get much more indulgent than a Snickers cheesecake. Three layers of pure adulterated peanut butter lover heaven. With a crunchy salted chocolate peanut base, a smooth peanut butter date caramel layer studded with crispy peanuts and an indulgently creamy peanut butter cashew cheesecake layer all topped with lashings of chocolate this is food heaven! This is definitely a special occasion cake and not one for breakfast even though I must admit that I did have a not so little nibble of it for breakfast, it is my birthday after all…….
Cacao is a superfood not solely for its mood lifting powers but also for its nutritional profile. Cacao is rich in the antioxidant flavonoid which is also found in grapes. These flavonoids may prevent anything from Alzheimer’s Disease to cancer though the research is not conclusive yet. In addition cacao has been shown to reduce blood pressure as well as possibly increase longevity. As wonderful as cacao is it does contain caffeine so unless you want to experience sleeplessness and anxiety it is probably best to not eat the whole cake!
- 1 cup peanuts (you can use roasted or non roasted; my favourite is roasted + salted)
- ½ cup dates
- ¼ cup cacao powder
- 1 tbsp honey or maple syrup
- 1 + ½ cup cashews overnight or for 4-5 hours
- 3 tbsp peanut butter
- 3 tbsp raw honey or maple syrup
- 5 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
- 1 + ½ cup dates soaked
- ¼ cup water or unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Pinch salt
- 2 tbsp peanut butter
- 200g sugar free dark chocolate
- Peanuts
- For the base place the peanuts, dates, cacao powder and honey or maple syrup in a blend and pulse until you have a dough.
- Place the dough in your cake tin and flatten.
- Place in the freezer to set.
- Drain the cashew nuts and place in the blender along with the peanut butter, almond milk and honey or maple syrup.
- Blend for 5-7 minutes until you have a smooth mixture.
- Remove the tin from the freezer and smooth the cashew layer over it.
- Place back in the freezer.
- Drain the dates and place in the blender along with vanilla, water or almond milk, salt and peanut butter.
- Blend until smooth.
- Remove the tin from the freezer and smooth the date caramel over the cashew layer.
- Place back in the freezer for an hour or two to set.
- Remove from the freezer.
- Melt the chocolate and smooth over the date caramel layer.
- Scatter a handful of peanuts over to decorate.
- Enjoy!
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