Raw Vegan Chocolate Orange “Jaffa” Cake
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It is Friday the 13th, so I decided post a "live on the edge" decadent chocolate cake today. I am sharing this recipe in honour of my friend Olivia, who LOVES jaffas! For those of you who are not familiar with "Jaffas", they are iconic Australian chocolates with a chewy chocolate centre that is covered with an orange flavoured reddish coloured confectionary. "Jaffas" get their name from the Jaffa Orange. These sickly sweet little balls are part of Australian and New Zealand cultural folklore for the sound they make when you roll them down the aisles at the movie theatre. This was, of course, before multiplexes and carpeted floors! You are not a proud Aussie until you have rolled a jaffa down the wooden floor of an old fashioned movie theatre.
"Jaffas" are Olivia's favourite guilty pleasure. She is home in bed sick today, so I am going to take her a few slices of this sinfully delicious cake to cheer her up! It is hard to be away from home at the best of times. But when you are lying in bed, spiking a fever, and paying homage to the toilet bowl, you just want your mum! I can't deliver that, so I am taking the next best thing! A little slice of home :)
So here it is! Vitamix Recipe #13: Raw Vegan Chocolate Orange "Jaffa" Cake. You don't need to know what a "Jaffa" is to enjoy this cake. You just need to be a fan of chocolate and oranges! I actually never liked "Jaffas" and LOVE this cake! It is rich and chocolately with just the right amount of orange. The creamy texture melts in your mouth and the crust is rich and chewy. But the best thing about this cake is how quick and easy it is! You just throw the crust ingredients in your food processor and press down into the tin. Then you throw all of the filling ingredients in your high speed blender (I use a Vitamix), pour over the top and freeze. It only takes 10 minutes to make the cake and overnight to freeze. The next day you have a delectable rich chocolate orange cake that would please even the most discerning chocoholic. I always serve it with raw vanilla cashew cream, shaved vegan chocolate, and orange zest. Oh, show me the way to Piggy Heaven!
Give this raw vegan chocolate cake a go and let me know what you think. Oink Oink!
**This photo was taken by my amazing friend Suzie Stitt from Wild With Garnish.
Raw Vegan Chocolate Orange “Jaffa” Cake
- Crust Ingredients:
- 1 cup raw almonds
- 1/2 cup chopped pitted dates or more if needed
- 1/4 cup raw cacao powder
- Filling Ingredients:
- 3 cups raw cashews soaked for 2 hours
- 1 cup organic unrefined coconut oil
- 3/4 cup raw agave nectar
- ½ cup raw cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1/4 tsp natural alcohol free orange flavour
- pinch Celtic sea salt or Himalayan salt
- To make the crust:
- Place the almonds, dates and cacao powder in your food processor until well combined.
- Roll this mixture into a ball (you might need a few more dates).
- Grease a 9 inch springform cake tin with coconut oil.
- Press the crust into the bottom of the pan and set aside.
- To make the filling:
- Place all of the filling ingredients into the blender (I use a Vitamix) and blend until rich and creamy. You will need to use your tamper.
- Pour the filling into the tin.
- Cover this tin with aluminum foil and place in the freezer for at least 8 hours.
- Before serving, allow the cake to defrost for an hour and then place in the fridge.
- **Note: because of the coconut oil this cheesecake will melt if left out in the heat.
- To serve - remove cake from tin, cut into slices and serve with raw cashew cream, shaved raw vegan chocolate, and orange zest. YUMMO!
Piggy Cooking Tips
selecting and storing raw cashews
“Raw” cashews are widely available in pre-packaged bags as well as bulk bins. Always purchase from a supplier where there is a high turnover to ensure freshness and quality. Look for plump cashews that are uniform in colour. Avoid the limp and shrivelled ones. Cashews should smell nutty and sweet. If they have a sharp or bitter smell they have gone rancid. To preserve the precious oils, store cashews in a sealed glass jar in the fridge for up to six months. Always soak cashews before using to remove the enzyme inhibitors and make them more digestible.
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Piggy Grunts!
Add Your GruntI plan on making it today if I can find all of the ingredients at the stores close by. I already know I’ll love it!
I’m trying to convert my white-bread-loving, meat and potatoes, boyfriend.
Fantastic site and amazing recipes, by the way!
Thank you Tess !!! My Jaffa obsession has been unearthed. And this cake did indeed make my day the other day. I loved it! Thank you. This cake was almost fudge like and I sufficiently stuffed myself. Your the best, thank you so much. Piggies…indulge yourself and try this recipe for yourself. It was amazing!
Oh, you are SO welcome Olivia!
From a “jaffa aficionado” that means a lot!!!
This was totally amazing! I had a group of girlfriends over for a Raw Tea Cake Party to celebrate the end of my nutrition course and make a raw cake feast for them to sample the delights of healthy treats. They couldn’t believe it was so simple and delicious! Thank you, as ever.
An absolutely pleasure Caroline.
Thankyou for trying so many of my recipes.
I really appreciate the support and all of the shout outs on Facebook.
This cake is so easy and so delicious, the only problem is not making it every day! LOL!
If only I could have chocolate, am allergic to it. Has anyone ever tried this with carob??
Sorry Alyssa, I don’t know how I missed your question. I have not tried this with carob. I don’t see why you couldn’t make it work. You will probably have to add more sweetener. The great thing about raw cakes is that they taste the same after freezing. So, you can blend and taste as you go, keep tweaking, so no disasters. Please let me know how you go. I might give it a go next month when I get back from vacation too :)
WOW. This cake should be universally illegal. Lock up your children. If you have a devilish sweet tooth & yearn for some rich, chocolate pie in the sky then BEWARE - (And I don’t want to sound dramatic here) But this cake will change your life. It’s that simple. Seriously, this is a WINNER. Whether you know what a ‘jaffa cake’ is or not is irrelevant. You owe it to yourself and your loved ones to russell up this demon & spread the chocolatey love around.
Thankyou!!!!!
I have to agree.
This cake is pretty spectacular…..
even if I DO say so myself.
SO easy and SO delicious!
Glad you enjoyed it so much.
LOVE your comments. HILARIOUS!!!!!
Lovee this.
Just found it on a glutenfree mom that knows.
I will try this one for sure ;)
xo
http://www.lifeologia.com
I am so happy I found you! I just made your raw Jaffa cake! It is the most amazing thing I have ever tasted!! Thank you :)
Oh Wonderful! Thankyou for your lovely comments here and on Facebook.
I am so glad you enjoyed this cake.
It is SOOO easy and SOO good!
Great to connect with another Melbourne girl :)
Hi, Just found out about your website today, looks amazing! I had a question about the alcohol free orange flavour for this. Can you use orange blossom water or is this not suitable? If not where do you get orange flavouring from? I havent checked my health food store but I dont recall seeing anything like this before aside from the orange blossom water. Thanks..
Hey Lisa,
In the US you can find orange extract in health food stores next to the vanilla extract. You CAN use orange blossom water in this recipe but I have not tried it personally. I would start with a very small amount, blend, and taste. The beauty of this cake is that the taste doesn’t change when you freeze it. So, whatever it tastes like in the blender will be the same as the finished product. So you can’t mess it up if you start small and keep adding. Let me know how you go.
Thank you for the advice. I made this yesterday and after the freezing had in fridge overnight - tried it today and tastes amazing! Very impressed - its my first raw cake that Ive made. Ive tried raw cheesecake before at a vegan restaurant and this is just as good! I left out the orange flavour and just used extra zest, may add a bit more even next time but still beautiful flavours. Cant wait to try the other raw cheesecake recipe!
I just had a question re the freezing part - any idea if it would still set just being in the fridge? Had a few pieces of ice form on the top even though foil over it which is fine unless I was serving it to people as when I took the pieces of ice off it discoloured the cake a little bit. But I guess I could just hide it with some fruit or something else??
I am so glad you enjoyed the cake!
If you fridge is on a very cold setting you could try setting it in the fridge. Although, it doesn’t quite set well enough, and it harder to cut. It needs to be really solid to cut properly. I take your point about the ice crystals on the top when freezing. That has happened to me once too. I topped the cake with chocolate-covered strawberries! LOL! Alternatively, you could try freezing if for a couple of hours and then placing a sheet of baking paper on top underneath the foil. Enjoy!
Thanks for that! Just one more quick question - how long do these cakes usually last for? Im assuming its best to keep it in the freezer if its not going to be consumed straight away or does it keep for a little while just being in the fridge?
It will keep in the fridge for about 5 days. But, if you are not going to consume it straight away keep it in the freezer. I wouldn’t leave it there too long though, so it doesn’t get freezer burn.
Just tried this today after thinking about how delicious it looked all week! I replaced the almonds with 1/2 cup of walnuts and 1/2 cup of cashews because I am allergic to almonds. The base was very easy to roll into a ball and perfectly biscuity when it came out. Reactions of family have been great too - my sister says it tastes way better than an ordinary cheesecake, it’s healthier without losing any of the creaminess or the richness. And it was so simple to make too. 10/10 recipe! Thank you!
Thankyou for sharing your blend of this recipe Georgia. It sounds DELICIOUS. I am so glad it was a hit with your friends and family.
Well this is phenomenal!! I made this 3 hours ago for my moms birthday. I was planning on leaving it in the freezer for the full 8 hours but it’s 1 am right now and I ate 2 pieces already. It’s so incredibly good!!! Thank you!!
LOL! I LOVE it. I did the same thing the first time I made it. I was watching Groundhog Day at midnight happily devouring my third slice! HA! SO glad you enjoyed it.
Does the coconut oil have to be melted before you put it in the vitamix?
You will get the best results if the coconut oil is in a liquid state before you add it to the blender. Enjoy :)
this looks spectacular!
Thanks!
I was really really pleased with the way this cake turned out.
It is absolutely delicious!
I can’t wait to hear what you think :)
I just made this the other night and WOW! Smooth, creamy, chocolatey, everything a cheesecake should be except…no cheese! No dairy! It is outstanding and easier than a typical cheesecake too. The only problem I had was the crust. I couldn’t get it to stick together even after adding more (and more) dates. I used regular almonds - would soaking them first help? I ended up sprinkling the crust on top with the Vanilla Cream. It was fabulous and I will definitely make this again and again! Thank you
Blender Girl!
Hey Jeannie,
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment here, and thankyou for your lovely comment on Facebook.
I am sorry you experienced problems getting the crust to hold together. It does depend on the nuts you use. I DO always soak my almonds and dehydrate them beforehand. However, you really don’t need to. If you don’t want to add more dates, I have found that a little bit of coconut oil or water helps too. Just a little, until you get the right consistency.
I hope this helps. I am so pleased you enjoyed this cake. I LOVE it!