Can I just say how impressed I am by this cake?
I had a whole bunch of leftovers from the last “raw” cake I made so I took the opportunity to make a chocolatey version too, cause you know, you gotta have chocolate. I pretty much improvised so there are all kinds of good stuff in this one. It tastes a bit like coconut, a bit like peanut butter, banana, and chocolate of course. And just the right amount of espresso. That might sound like a lot of stuff, but to me, it’s perfection.
And let’s talk about the texture. This cake is so creamy and smooth, like a mousse cake. I would never in a million years guess that a piece of this cake is actually pretty good for you. Almost too good to be true, right?!
If you compare this cake to the last one I made, this one is definitely more like a mousse cake while the other one is a bit more like ice cream. I love them both and I’m sure I will make them again and again.
NO BAKE CHOCOLATE VEGAN MOUSSE CAKE
This cheesecake is completely gluten-free, dairy-free and egg-free
Makes 1 small cake (18 cm/5 inches) but you can of course double the recipe ro make a bigger one!
Serves 8
INGREDIENTS
CRUST
1/2 cup (100 g) pitted dates
1/2 cup (85 g) almonds
1/4 cup (25 g) shredded coconut
1 tbsp cocoa powder
pinch of salt
1/2-1 tbsp espresso or strong coffee
FILLING
1/2 cup (85 g) cashew nuts, soaked in water overnight then drained*
3 tbsp coconut oil
1/3 cup coconut milk (full fat)
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2-3 tbsp maple syrup (to taste)
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 tbsp espresso or strong coffee
1 banana
CHOCOLATE SAUCE
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tbsp maple syrup
TOPPING
Cocoa powder
Chopped pistachios or nuts of choice
Shredded coconut
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Soak the dates in warm water for 15 minutes then drain. Put almonds in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the dates, coconut, cocoa powder, salt and pulse until a paste forms. Add espresso as needed and pulse until paste is smooth.
2. Press mixture into a 6 or 7 inch springform pan with the bottom covered with plastic wrap (if you don’t have a springform pan, use a pie tin or a regular cake pan covered with parchment paper). Put the pan in the freezer while you prepare the filling.
3. Put coconut oil, coconut milk, cocoa powder, maple syrup, peanut butter and coffee in a sauce pan and heat very gently until mixture is quite loose and all ingredients have melted (this step is to make the filling a bit looser – or it will be too thick to mix smooth in the food processor/blender).
4. Pour the ingredients from the sauce pan plus the cashews and the banana into a blender or food processor and mix until mixture is as smooth as possible. Pour the filling into the crust, cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 2-4 hours or until filling is set.
After the mixture was set, I actually stored the cake in the fridge instead and it held up fine! It was more like a mousse cake. Delicious! So if you know you will eat the cake within a day or two – store it in the fridge, if you want to save it longer store it in the freezer.
CHOCOLATE SAUCE
1. Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Powder some extra cocoa powder on top of the cake.
Drizzle sauce over cake and top with chopped pistachios and shredded coconut if desired.
*If you’re in a hurry you can let the cashews soak in very hot water for 1 hour instead of overnight
WOW this looks incredible – this has been SAVED and I will definitely try this out.
With love from London, Hayley ♥
http://thelifestylemenu.co.uk/
Oooh that looks awesome! Love that it is vegan 🙂 I agree, cashew cakes are always so creamy and smooth…this variation looks like no exception!
Absolutely stunning! Great recipe as well, will definitely give this a try.
Looks like pure heaven. I've been meaning to try raw cheesecakes / chocolate cakes for so long and you are inspiring me to do it! And your photos, as always, are so so beautiful. Thank you for sharing this beauty, Linda!
Great paleo un-cheesecake! Love it!
splendid photo
Love, love this cake! Photos are magical! 🙂
Um….. WOW!!!!!!!
Oh Linda! Another gorgeous cake.I always wish I could just crawl into my computer to have a slice of your cake. I've never tried to make a raw cake before, but it seems as if this one would be worth a try.
love, hope
Looks delicious and oh so beautiful! Can't wait to make this for Easter brunch- now if only I can figure out how to get my hands on a food processor! 😉
Oh my goodness your photos are straight up DREAMY. <3
This one is on my to do list!!!
Looks so good and I love that it's vegan!
I've just gone dairy free and this is a beautiful beautiful site
You are absolutely right – it does sounds almost too good to be true raw cake 🙂
Wow, this looks so amazing and I'm impressed by the ingredients! Beautiful photos, as usual!
WOW; it looks just amazing ♥
theyoungyoko.blogspot.com
Oh my! Chocolate and espresso!!? How can you go wrong…
OMG! I'm speechless
Linda this recipe is absolutely stunning and delicious.
The photos are so beautiful.
I love the crust ingredientes, especially the dates. The filling and everything looks yummy
too.
Pinned, of course.
Thanks for share the best recipes with us.
You are the best and my inspiration.
This looks so delicious! Between this one and the last one you had on here . . . decisions, decisions! 🙂
Haha, it's not an easy choice! 😀
I actually can't believe that all that good ingredients can deliver such a beautiful mousse cake. I love that it's vegan – well done – gorgeous pics as always.
Greetings from South Africa
Anina
Right?! Too good to be true 😉 Thanks so much Anina!
Amazing pictures.. and amazing cake!
I'm loving this ingredient list, especially the lack of sugar. I've got to try this to believe it! Delicious…
omg!!! These pictures are amazing and the cake looks amaziiiing!!!
https://aspoonfulofnature.wordpress.com/
WOW!!!
All of those pictures are magically beautiful dear Linda! Respect <3
Thank you lovely! <3
Hi Linda! Thanks for sharing this fantastic recipe! I follow you on Instagram and your photos are just absolutely breathtaking… really stand out from the rest. They're just exquisite. Well done and keep doing what you do! 🙂
How kind of you, Fathima, thank you! Have a wonderful day :-*
Dear Linda, Dear All,
I baked this cake last nigh, and I encourage all of you to do the same. It is seriously the best chocolate cake I have ever made. Thank you for this recipe, Linda! The pictures are stunning, as usual 🙂
This makes me so happy, Marie! Thank you for your lovely comment! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Såå fina bilder!!
Åh, tack Hilda!
Just made it for my birthday! It's amazing! I used pistachos instead of cashew and almond milk worked perfectly!
Linda It's absolutely awesome! I love your recipes I like make something like this but in a light way.
http://www.samyskitchen.wordpress.com
Thank you Samy <3
This looks insanely delicious, Linda!!! mmm!
How much is one cup in dl??
It's amazing! I have to eat dairy free and this cake is perferct for a chocaholic like me!!
What can I use instead of cashew?
Thanks
FANTASTISKA BILDER OCH RECEPT!!! HURRA!
Linda, how come, you are never nominated in Saveur Blog Awards?? Don't understand that… they don't like you for some reason…
P.
I have no idea why, though the competition is fierce and there are lots of great blogs out there… :-* If they don't like me for some reason I'm not sure what I did!
Thank you for not one, but two gorgeous dairy-free cakes! I can't consume dairy and seeing your last two posts has made my day. Can't wait to give them both a go; the chocolate mousse cake looks especially delicious.
Yay!! I'm so glad they made your day 🙂
Hi,
This looks amazing.Can I replace the banana for something else in the filling
Your photos are amazing and this cake looks soo good!
Thank you so much Amanda! 🙂
I really like your photos! This looks so good!
Thank you! 🙂
Linda, I love your cakes (and your icecream-book)! I am from Austria and went to Stockholm for five days last year with my daughter. Since then, she and I have been fans of everything Swedish – style, clothes, furniture, food! Especially food. I´ve been following your website for more than a year now and just love your recipes. This mousse cake looks fabulous!
Eva (ichmussbacken.com)
How fun! Sounds like you enjoyed Stockholm a lot!! Thank you so much for your sweet comment! x Linda
This cake looks absolutely stunning! I'm planning to make it for my 18th birthday party 😀
The only problem is that one of my friends is allergic to coconut… What could I use instead of the the shredded coconut in the crust? Do you think rolled oats would work?
I'm sure rolled oats would be delicious! As for the coconut oil I'm think maybe melted butter would work? I haven't tried it though. Best of luck! 🙂
Hi Linda!! This cake looks amazing! I want to do it for a friend's birthday, but I have a long travel in-between… I'm thinking of doing it and storing it in the freezer… Do you think this could be stored for two or three weeks?
Thanks a lot, you're so inspiring!
Hi Linda!! This cake looks amazing! I want to do it for a friend's birthday, but I have a long travel in-between… I'm thinking of doing it and storing it in the freezer… Do you think this could be stored for two or three weeks?
Thanks a lot, you're so inspiring!
I'm so happy to discover your page and your so lovely cooking photos . It some like Art! I enjoy it! Thanks to "Marine is cooking" ,She has talk to your page and invite us to read you .That's it! 😉 Have a nice day 😉
Hi Linda,
For the espresso or coffee ingredient, did you just use dry powder or already made coffee? I've never used this in a recipe, but I can't wait to try it. Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
Hi Linda,
For the coffee or espresso ingredient, did you use dry coffee or already made coffee? I've never used this in a recipe before. I can't wait to try this, Thank you for sharing it.
Cake is just looking delicious. Thanks for making my day.
It looks delicious. I want to eat that cake now!
So awesome! I will probably make this for my mums birthday 🙂
Looks delicious and according to the comments it´s gonna taste like a piece of heaven 😉 I was wondering if I could leave the banana out as I don't personally like banana at all. Do you think it would ruin the whole beautiful thing?
Best regards and thanks for your lovely blog!
Thank you for your lovely comment! 🙂 I'm actually not sure how it will turn out if your leave out the banana.. It would probably be ok but I can't say for sure. Please let me know if you decide to try!
x Linda
Hi, I’m not OP but I also do not like bananas. I substituted the banana with one avocado and I loved it that way! I also used sweet almond butter (left out the syrup to make it not too sweet) instead of peanut butter, as I was was not sure how well avocado and peanut butter would harmonize. I’m aware, that it changes the recipe a lot but maybe it is an idea for people not liking bananas. 🙂
Btw. I did the whole thing in muffin forms and got 8 servings.
Thank you a lot for that inspiring recipe! Also: amazing photos!
Hi there, is there anything I could substitute the coffee for? I don't like coffee flavour at all but would love to make this for my brother who is gluten and dairy intolerant. Thanks!
You could definitely use water or plant based milk instead! 🙂 Hope you will enjoy it!
Dear Linda, I have now made this cake 3 times and I absolutely love it! Thank you so so much for this gorgeous recipe! If you haven't tried it, you MUST! I tried adding another little extra layer with just Banana, cashews, honey, cinnamon and vanilla – adds a little freshness to the heavy chocolate I find 😉 Thanks a lot!
I made this dessert for Christmas and honestly it is probably one of the best thing I have ever eaten. It is hard to not demolish the whole thing at once. Thank you, it is perfect. Will bookmark this. I hope you don’t mind sharing your page on my website.
I’m so excited to hear that Carina, thank you! I don’t mind at all 🙂
I made this recipe over the weekend. It came out beautifully and so delicious!!! More vegan recipes please and THANK YOU!
Hi Stephanie, SO glad to hear that! Will definitely think about more vegan recipes! 🙂 x