At this time of year our pantries seem to accumulate containers of brownies, cakes and cupcakes from end-of-year work festivities; whether work dos, Christmas bake sales or home baking from the neighbours.
If you’ve got random bits of cake laying around, chuck them in the food processor with some melted chocolate and voila, you have “cake dough”. This can be moulded into whatever shapes you desire – for the sake of this recipe, we’re rolling them into balls and flattening into discs as a base for a peppermint cream tree.
The peppermint cream is incredibly melt-in-your-mouth smooth and creamy, and is made with coconut milk and cashews.
It’s a wholefood-based way to make what resembles (and tastes like) buttercream, and it’s also dairy free with no sugar added.
Here’s one to make for your next Christmas party!
Peppermint Cashew Cream Trees with Chocolate Cake Dough
Course: Baking, Desserts, Recipes, SnacksCuisine: Dessert10
small trees40
minutesThese cute trees are a great way of using up all the leftover cake from Christmas parties and home baking from the neighbours!
Ingredients
300g cake (any mild-tasting cake will do)
100g dark chocolate
500ml canned coconut milk
1 cup raw cashews, soaked in boiling water for 30 minutes and drained
50g cornflour
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 tsp liquid stevia (alternatively use ¾-1 cup sugar)
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
1/2 tsp salt
Finely chopped peanuts, to garnish
Edible stars (you may make your cake dough stars – see notes)
Directions
- To make the cashew cream, blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth. Transfer to a container and chill for 6 hours or overnight to set.
- To make the cake dough, roughly crumble the cake into a heatproof bowl and add the dark chocolate. Heat in the microwave or over a double-boiler until the cake’s oils and chocolate have melted.
- Transfer to a food processor and pulse until a dough forms. Roll roughly ⅛ cup amounts of the dough into balls and place on a tray lined with baking paper. Gently flatten each with your palm. Refrigerate for 20 minutes to harden.
- When ready to assemble, transfer cashew cream to a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle. Pipe swirls onto each cake dough disc, to resemble trees. Sprinkle over a light dusting of finely chopped peanuts, to resemble snow. Garnish each with an edible star and serve. Store leftovers in the fridge.
Notes
- To make your own edible stars, you can make a yellow cake dough using white chocolate instead of dark chocolate (or a little coconut oil for dairy free), and colouring with turmeric or yellow food colouring. Roll the dough out and stamp with a small star cutter.