Christmas Part 2

Time for cake!

So I gave you guys a sneak peak at what I had lurking 'round my kitchen the few days before Xmas and now you get see the whole lot! And more!
Last year I made my first raw christmas fruit cake and much to my LOVE of it, this year I made it again.

Isn't it just beautiful? (If I dare say so myself) But this year I decided to go one step further with it so everyone could try it, and made a second lot into tiny mini-christmas-cakes. All individually topped with a cinnamon maple pecan. I was really happy to find that everyone liked them as much as I did (provided they were fruit cake lovers in the first place of course).

I also tried out these babies - Raspberry Belgium Chocolates (a recipe I got from here) And they melt in your mouth! I do love the look of chocolate covered truffles (and go gaga over Heather's ones) but to be honest, I don't really get alot of enjoyment out of making them. A few here and there for sure but I've got to give it to Heather - these morsels take alot of time and patience - something I didn't have alot of left come Christmas Eve when I was still in the kitchen creating all these gems.

Then there were rows and rows of chocolate-peanut brownies with cashew frosting...

Mini fruit mince tarts (raw too) made from an oat and nut crust and filled with an ooey-gooey-yummy-scrummy date, apple, spices, etc filling! Ooh baby! These were delicious!



And then the Piste resistance. RUM BALLS. Ever since I can remember I have ADORED rum balls. Everytime I hear those tantilising words - RUM BALLS - my taste buds take me straight back to when I was younger. It was what I always bought from the bakery - any bakery, every bakery! So when I decided to make a raw version (with added rum of course) it had to be perfect!

It had to be moist and slightly chewy... with a cake-like texture though... a subtle melt-in-your-mouth and chocolate overtone with a distinct delicious rum scent... I had a look at a recipe for some inspiration but it was so far from where my taste buds were reminiscing. I had to add some cacao, taste it... still not right, add more oat flour for the 'cakiness'... a bit of this, a bit of that, let it chill and taste again...

And Oh My Golly Golly Golly Gosh.

Ladies and gentlemen we have a WINNER! Perfection! WOW!
(I'll admitt I kept most of these babies for myself) And then I arranged all my little gems into into about a dozen different shaped and sized boxes for gifts.

There's also rum truffles floating in a few boxes (not raw but definatley vegan) as my sister and mother are die-hard fans and I would be beated up if I didn't make them. Not cake-like at all but imagine pure rum chocolate ganache. They are divine. And ever so rich.

There are also some raw marzipan balls dusted in cacao. Here's one bigger box for one lucky man...

So after my smoothies, big green salads, and morning workouts, I definatley deserved to have my cake and eat it too! Infact... I'm still eating it ;)