Spring in Vermont means maple sugar season and lots of fresh maple syrup! Having purchased 2 gallons of grade A maple syrup from our neighbors down the road, I wanted to experiment with a maple dessert this past Saturday. I was aiming for a maple flavored cheesecake or a cake that tasted like local maple fudge. However, when we tried the cake on Saturday night, we discovered that it tasted more like a very sweet, yet mild tasting
coffee ice cream. Remember eating coffee ice cream as a kid? So although my cake didn’t achieve the main goal in mind, I was left with a pleasant surprise! Here's the recipe:
Maple Coffee Ice Cream Cake with Candied Pecans
Use a 9 inch spring form pan
Candied Pecan Crust
* 2 1/2 cups of pecans
* 1/2 cup of dates, chopped and soaked for 20-30 minutes
* 1 1/2 tablespoons of maple syrup
* 1/2 teaspoon of maple syrup extract (I use Frontier brand)
* 2 dashes of cinnamon
* 1 heaping tablespoon of coconut oil (not melted)
Process the pecans in the food processor until they have formed crumbs. Add the remaining ingredients and process until well incorporated. This should make a nice moist and sweet crust.
Lightly grease the spring form pan with coconut oil. Then press the crust into the pan. Place crust in freezer while making the filling.
I like to start melting the cacao butter used in the filling while I make the crust. Using the dehydrator works like a charm!
Filling
* 3 cups of soaked cashew pieces (a little more than 2 1/2 cups dry)
* 2 cups of homemade almond milk, lightly sweetened with maple syrup
* 1 cup of pure maple syrup
* 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
* 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
* 2 1/2 teaspoons of maple syrup extract
* 3 1/2 teaspoons of granulated maple sugar
* 3 tablespoons of organic soy lecithin
* 3/4 cup of melted cacao butter
Using a Vitamix, blend all the ingredients except the lecithin and melted cacao butter until smooth. Then add the lecithin and melted cacao butter and blend again until smooth. Pour on top of the crust and place in freezer for 6-7 hours. The batter is very thin and will need time to set up in the freezer. After 3+ hours, place the candied pecans on top of cake in a decorative manner. Once completely frozen, take the cake out of the freezer and remove the sides of the spring form pan. Place cake in the fridge
Candied pecans
* about 24 pecan pieces (pick out the best looking ones)
* 1/2 cup of maple syrup
* 2-3 teaspoons of granulated maple sugar
* couple dashes of cinnamon
In a small bowl, mix up everything except the pecans. Coat the pecans with the mixture and place on teleflex sheets. Dehydrate over night. In the morning, turn pecans over and dehydrate a few more hours. Use them to decorate the cake when it’s firm enough.
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I also made a maple cream recipe from Raw Food Real World. And finally I made Carmella's whipped cream recipe. Both were delicious! All details and more information has been posted on my blog tonight. My dessert photo album has also been updated and the photos are much bigger.
As there are only two of us with a small fridge/freezer, I made it in small glass dishes and was able to fit them in to our crowded fridge. I will have to organise the fridge one day. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you,
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