Today is Saint Patrick’s day and I made a chocolate cake for the occasion. This is a wholesome, nutritious and not too sweet cake that can be enjoyed any time. It also tastes great with or without icing. If you like your cake with a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream, this is the perfect cake for that.

However, to celebrate the day, I wanted to make a green icing but without food colouring and without butter or cream. I made this icing with raw cashews, seedless green grapes, mint leaves, lime juice, macha green tea powder and a drop of pure mint extract. And, there’s also only 3 tablespoons of sugar in the entire icing.

Have a great day! 🍀

Chocolate Mint Cake

• 5 fresh medjool dates, pitted + 3 tbsps water
• ¼ cup pure applesauce, no sugar added
• ½ cup 100% cacao powder + boiling water to make one cup
• 1 cup wholewheat pastry flour (see image below)
• ½ cup ground almonds with skins (almond meal)
• 1/3 cup “Mascabado” granulated sugar cane*(see below)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ cup boiling water
• 1 tsp vanilla

*I use Mascabado granulated sugar cane for its rich taste. It’s sooooo delish!!

Procedure

One 9×9 inch (22×22 cm) square pan

Oven: 180°C or 350°F

Line the bottom of pan with parchment and lightly grease sides with vegetable oil.

Put dates in a narrow microwaveable bowl with 3 tbsps of water. Push dates into the water. Cover and microwave on high for 10-20 seconds. Remove, keep the water and add the applesauce. Process with a handheld blender to make a caramel. Set aside.

To the ½ cup of powdered cocoa add boiling water to make one full cup of chocolate liquid. Pour this into the date and applesauce mixture and mix with a fork until well blended. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, add and mix the flour, ground almonds, granulated sugar cane and baking powder. Into this, pour the chocolate mixture and mix well with a fork.

Mix baking soda with ½ cup boiling water. Add this and the vanilla to the chocolate mixture and mix well with a fork.

Pour and spread mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Bake on middle rack in pre-heated oven for 25-30 minutes. Let cake cool completely before icing.

Icing

• 8 grams mint leaves, stems removed
• Juice of 1 green lime
• 1 cup raw natural cashews (160 grams), softened in microwave (see procedure)
• 1 cup (180 grams) green seedless grapes, stems removed and rinsed
• 3 tbsps icing sugar
• ½ tsp macha tea powder
• 1 drop pure mint extract
• Sifted macha green tea for topping (option)

Procedure

Put mint leaves in the lime juice and let them soak for a while in fridge. Meanwhile, put the cashews in a small bowl and cover them with water. Put a lid on bowl and microwave on high for 3 minutes. Remove, strain water and rinse cashews in a sieve under cold running water until they are completely cool. Put the soft cashews and grapes into a high-speed blender and whiz on low gradually increasing to high scraping the sides with a blender plunger until creamy. Add the mint leaves with lime juice and whizz for a good 3 minutes using the plunger until very creamy. Pour mixture into a small bowl. Add icing sugar, mint extract and macha tea powder. Mix with a fork. Cover and store in fridge to chill. Spread icing on cake when it has cooled down completely. Sift macha tea on top. Store cake and leftovers in a covered container in fridge. Enjoy!