Unbelievable Raw Chocolate Avocado Torte

Look at this rich, chocolaty, intense gooey chocolate torte. Doesn’t it look tempting. I bet you are wondering how much butter, cream and melted chocolate it contains, well the answer is none. This torte is gluten free, dairy free, egg free, vegan, paleo friendly and raw! Sounds unbelievable? Yes it is unbelievable…unbelievably good!

The torte is made from pureed avocado, mixed with raw cocao, agave syrup and a little coconut oil. This is sat on a delicious nutty base of almonds and dates, topped with fresh raspberries and coconut shavings.

I have been reading a lot about new paleo diet friendly and raw food cafes and restaurants opening recently. A couple of weeks ago when I needed to create a vegan dessert for a friend, and decided to take it one step further and see if I could create a raw vegan dessert and as I was going to eat it too, this also meant it had to be gluten free too. The challenge was on.

After a hunt on the internet (there are some amazing raw food desserts on blogs out there) I settled on a chocolate mousse made with avocado and raw cocao. I wanted it to have a different texture and chose to set it on a base I’d seen used for a cheesecake of pureed dates and almonds.

The avocados need to be nice and ripe so they are soft and creamy to puree with the cocao to create a luscious creamy dreamy rich chocolate mousse. You need to add some maple syrup or agave to sweeten it and I also added some coconut oil to ensure it had a firmer set. I was a little dubious how it would turn out. Seeing the vibrant green of the pureed avocado was a little strange to think it would soon be a dessert, but once blended with the rich bitter cocoa it soon started to look much more inviting. I had to keep tasting to adjust the sweetness until I was happy with it.

I decided to make individual portions inside ring moulds for easy preparation. Once assembled I was really happy with how they turned out. I loved the nutty, sticky, sweet base. It was a lovely contrast to the rich and creamy bitter chocolate topping.

On the day I made it I could still detect a little raw avocado taste underneath the chocolate flavour, I was a little worried the dessert hadn’t quite worked, but I didn’t want to waste the dessert so decided to just go with it and hope for the best. The next day when my friend came for dinner, I found that after a night in the fridge the flavours had mellowed and mingled together and the only flavour with pure rich intense chocolate. Hurrah! My friend loved it and couldn’t believe it was made with avocado.

Being made with all natural and raw ingredients this dessert is actually surprisingly healthy. Avocados are quite high in calories and fat, but it’s the right kind of good monounsaturated fat and packed with over 20 vitamins and minerals, much better than cream which is full of saturated fat and not a lot else. The almonds, dates and raw cocao also bring their own health benefits, so this is one dessert you can indulge in without feeling guilty.

If you need a show stopper of a dessert that caters for many allergies or just fancy trying something a bit different then this dessert is for you! I can’t wait to make it again, maybe flavouring the chocolate topping with mint, orange, coffee or almond liquor.

Sorry for the quality of the finished dessert, it was dark when we ate it.

Unbelievable Raw Chocolate Avocado Torte

For the crust

120g skin on almonds

100g pitted dates

Pinch of salt

20g coconut oil

2 tsp water

For the chocolate topping

2 large avocados, 300g flesh

40g raw cocao powder

60g agave syrup or maple syrup

15g coconut oil

Decoration

150g fresh raspberries

Fresh slices of coconut

Method

Wrap the base of 4 x 10cm/4inch round ring moulds with clingfilm and place onto a tray. Line the inside of each with a strip of greaseproof paper.

To make the crust, put the almonds and a pinch of salt in a food processor. Process until the nuts are ground down into a coarse texture, but not turning into a paste. Add the dates and process again until the dates and almonds are well combined. Add the coconut oil and water and pulse to create a thick sticky texture.

Divide the base mixture between the 4 ring moulds and press down well into an even layer. Chill in the fridge while you make the topping.

To make the chocolate topping, skin and stone the avocados and put the flesh in a food processor and process until smooth and creamy. You may need to scrape down the sides every so often.

Sift the cocao powder over the top and add the agave syrup and coconut oil. Process to create a velvety thick puree. Taste and add more agave syrup to taste (don’t worry if you can still detect avocado at this stage, it mellows after a chill in the fridge overnight).

Once you have the sweetness and texture you are happy with, spoon the mixture over the top of the nutty bases and chill in the fridge overnight.

When ready to serve, peel the clingfilm from the base of the tarts and place onto a serving plate. Remove the outer ring and carefully peel away the greaseproof paper. Use a small pallet knife to smooth out the sides and top into an even layer.

Arrange fresh raspberries and thin shavings of fresh coconut over the top.

Eat and enjoy.

Makes 4 tortes

Eat within 3 days of making, best made the day before