raw cake pop challenge

I am so excited to present my entry for the Raw Cake Pop Challenge, a fantastic raw vegan dessert recipe challenge hosted by Lisa from Vegan Culinary Crusade and Nicole from A Dash of Compassion. The term "cake pop" first entered my vernacular about two months ago. I'd first heard of the latest Starbucks treat in a Toronto Star article, but it was mostly brought to my attention by this particular contest. A few weeks ago, my man tried the three cake pop flavors offered in Starbucks, but found them unappealing. It was with this information (and the disdained look on his face after tasting the SB pops) in my back pocket, that I set out to create a healthy, yet sumptuous raw vegan cake pop.

I am always up for a raw vegan dessert challenge. But, how to recreate a SAD (Standard American Diet) based recipe with raw, living, plant-based ingredients? Well, considering that many raw desserts already mimic the consistencies and flavors of mainstream desserts, I thought this wouldn't be too difficult. 

However, life does throw those curve balls (or curve 'pops'?). This week, my region was struck with a violent windstorm which left us suddenly without power for 8 hours one day, leaving me to dream up my cake pop recipe ideas with no power to create them into an actual form. Once things got back on track, things were rolling ('popping'?) smoothly, until, after one batch of cake pops, my food processor decided to fade, leaving me no choice but to improvise with other kitchen equipment (the versatility of a personal blender knows no bounds in times of crisis, my friends!). 

However, without these life (and kitchen) experiences behind me, I would not have the pleasure of presenting to you three decadently delicious and sweetly satisfying raw cake pop recipes: Luverly Vanilla, Cacao Fudge, and Mulberry Maven.

For these recipes, I chose to emulate more traditional cake base flavors with slight modifications in terms of flavors and appearances, putting a delightful raw spin on these popular culinary delights. Please read on to enjoy the recipes:

Luverly Vanilla Cake Pops
Yields: approximately 20 cake pops

Cake Pop Filling
1 cup cashews
1 cup coconut ground in a coffee grinder + 1/2 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
1/4 + 1 tbsp cup maple syrup
3 tsp lucuma powder
2 tbsp melted coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preparation:
To make the cake pop cake filling, process all of the above listed ingredients together in a food processor using an ‘s’ blade. Place the processed mixture in a medium-sized mixing bowl and chill for approximately 30 minutes in the fridge or freezer. Shape the mixture into small round balls and chill in the fridge or freezer for another 20-30 minutes. Pop in the cake pop sticks and chill for another few minutes.

Dark Cacao Coating
2/3 cup melted cacao butter
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup cacao powder

Preparation:
To make the Dark Cacao Coating, melt the cacao butter in a medium-sized mixing bowl over a pot filled with warm water.  Using a sifter, sift the cacao powder in a small mixing bowl and set aside. Once the cacao butter is melted, mix in the maple syrup, vanilla, cacao powder. Whisk until the overall mixture is a smooth, liquid consistency. Dip the cake pops in the chocolate and stick into foam board to dry. Dip cake pops in desired toppings (for this flavor, I used coconut sugar, walnuts, and powdered coconut).

the inside of the Luverly Vanilla Cake Pop: 

moist and decadently raw

Next up - recipe # 2:

 

Cacao Fudge Cake Pops

Yields approximately 20 cake pops

Cake Pop Filling
2 cups walnuts
½ cup dates, soaked
½ tsp maca powder
3 tsp powdered goji berries
¼ cup maple syrup
seeds of 1 vanilla bean
3 tbsp buckwheat flour *(optional: to thicken the mixture if necessary)

Dark Cacao Chocolate
(note: this recipe and quantity was used to dip both the Cacao Fudge Cake Pops and Mulberry Maven Cake Pops. In other words, this recipe will make a large enough quantity to dip both batches, or 40 cake pops).

2/3 cup melted cacao butter
1 cup cacao powder
2 tbsp dark agave syrup
1 tsp vanilla
dash of lucuma powder (for good measure)

Preparation:
To make the Cacao Fudge Cake Pop filling, grind goji berries in a coffee grinder until a powder-like consistency. Set aside. Process the walnuts until they are a fine and crumbly consistency. Add in the dates, maca, goji powder, maple syrup, seeds of one vanilla bean, and process until mixture is soft and dense. Add in the 3 tbsp of buckwheat flour if the mixture is too wet (this may change depending on the individual preparation of the recipe). You might also find yourself patting the mixture with a cloth to remove some of the excess oil from the walnuts.

Chill mixture in a large bowl in the freezer for at least thirty minutes. Roll mixture into small balls and set aside on a sheet of parchment paper. Chill mixture in the fridge/freezer for another twenty minutes or so, and then place pop sticks in each round mixture.

To make the Dark Cacao Chocolate, melt the cacao butter in a medium-sized mixing bowl over a pot filled with warm water.  Using a sifter, sift the cacao powder in a small mixing bowl and set aside. Once the cacao butter is melted, mix in the maple syrup, vanilla, cacao powder. Whisk until the overall mixture is a smooth, liquid consistency.

Dip each cake pop in the melted chocolate mixture, swirling to remove excess chocolate. Dip cake pops in desired toppings (for this batch, I used a variety of goji berries, mulberries, coconut sugar, et al).

and last, but certainly not least - recipe #3

Mulberry Maven Cake Pops
Yields: approximately 20 cake pops

Cake Pop Filling
1 ½ cups almonds, ground into a flour
½ cup dried mulberries, ground into a flour
3-4 tbsp maple syrup
¼ tsp ground lavender flowers *(optional)
1 tbsp lucuma powder
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla

1/2 batch of Dark Cacao Chocolate (see recipe above)

Preparation:
Process the almonds into a flour using a personal blender. Set aside in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Process the dried mulberries into a flour using a personal blender and add into the almond flour mixture. Combine the two 'flours' with the maple syrup, lucuma powder, coconut oil, and ground lavender flowers (optional). Mix ingredients together with a mixing spoon until well-incorporated.

Chill mixture in a large bowl in the freezer for at least thirty minutes. Roll mixture into small balls and set aside in a small muffin tin. Chill mixture in the fridge/freezer for another twenty minutes or so, and then place pop sticks in each round mixture. Dip each cake pop in the chocolate, swirling to remove excess chocolate. Dip cake pops in desired toppings (for this batch, I used mulberries, shaved coconut, coconut sugar, et al).

the inside of the Cacao Fudge and Mulberry Maven cake pops: 

moist, chewy, and delicious. 

My overall verdict: I really enjoyed devising these different cake pop recipes, and found the overall process quite enlightening. If I had to choose, I would surmise the Luverly Vanilla to be my overall favorite in terms of preparation and flavors. I really like the hints of vanilla coupled with the caramel tones of the lucuma powder. The cashew-coconut consistency also creates a light texture base.

However, I also did grow quite fond of the Cacao Fudge Cake Pops; it was so moist and chewy, almost like a brownie cake. They were also not overtly chocolatey, and the levels of sweet-dark cacao helped to temper the overall taste and flavors.

And of course, the Mulberry Maven was so lovely and sweet, thanks to the dried mulberries (my current obsession). Coupled with the lucuma, this cake pop filling had a nice caramel tone which suited the darker chocolate coating. These were the sweeter option of the three, and I would suggest cutting back on the maple syrup if you wanted to lessen the sweetness.

I hope these photos capture the brilliance of the cake pops in terms of color and preparation. Each is intricately delicate and there is much attention to detail, which truly is the beauty of raw food desserts.  The whole process is a tad labour intensive, but the finished product is definitely worth the effort.

Thank you to the lovely ladies for hosting this fun dessert challenge, and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's amazing entries! Glad to be in such great company with such talented raw chefs. 

But, the question remains: 

what to do with all of these cake pops?

I think it's gift-giving time!