This cake is a cake surprise, because you may not believe at first what the ingredients are. It´s amazing, because it is only fruits and vegetables. Yes you read it right :) Vegetables. I was so stoked about the idea that I had to try it.
The main actors here are chickpeas, avocados, bananas, coconut and cacao.
I like to sprout the chickpeas about two days before I make the cake. Therefor I soak them for one night (8 hours) and then put them in a sprouting device and rinse them 2 or 3 times a day. When they have a white tail,I cook them for about 10 minutes. There is a big discussion about, if it is advisable to eat sprouted chickpeas raw or not. Chickpeas contain a toxin called lectin, before they are sprouted. Some say this toxin is gone after 2 days of sprouting, others recommend to sprout them way longer (up to 7 days) or cook them for 5-10 min, so the toxin is definitely gone. As I am not sure yet about what fits for me, I will stay on the save side in this recipe. You can also cook the chickpeas for one hour after soaking them. The soaking process is the only thing you can not bypass, unless you use chickpeas from the tin. Which is perfectly possible (my english is not the best, but you understand everything I guess :)).
You will need a blender and/or a food processor for this recipe. Well, if you find other ways, tell me in the comments. I am always interested in innovative mixing possibilities (as this one here: how to create a human powered bike blender)
Base
1 cup chickpeas
1 cup coconut flakes
1 cup dates
1/4 cup coconut oil
Put everything together into your food processor and mix until it is a dough like consistency.
Chocolate Creme
3 small avocados (or two big ones)
1/4 cup agave sirup
1/3 cup cacao powder (use raw cacao powder, if you can afford it)
1/4 cup coconut oil
Blend all ingredients together with your blender, handheld blender or food processor until very smooth. I haven´t tried it yet, but maybe a fork works as well (might take some more time though…)
Layering and Decorating
3 bananas
cacao nibs
coconut flakes
Press half of the dough into the bottom of a spring form pan. Put half of the chocolate creme on top of that. Put this into the freezer and wait for 1 hour. Now press another layer of the other half of the dough on top of the chocolate cream. Cut the bananas and put them on this layer (save some banana slices for the decoration). Put the other half of the chocolate cream on top of that. Garnish with some banana slices, coconut flakes and cacao nibs.
I would put the cake into the freezer for at least another hour, to let is sit. You can also store it there if you want to eat it some days later.
This cake has a special story, because it landed upside down on the kitchen floor… It was a big mess. We were scraping all the good chocolate creme from the floor back into the form. But somehow it looked beautiful in the end.
Be aware, it is a pacman cake :D
