Mint Pomegranate Raw Cake

I’ve been really into pomegranates lately – crunchy, juicy, sweet little rubies. Anybody else obsessed with this delicious fruit? Cracking into a pomegranate the other week, I knew I had to use pomegranate in a raw cake…I became obsessed with creating a delicious raw dessert featuring these yummy juicy pomegranate arils.

Mint & pomegranate raw cake

I actually started out making an orange & pomegranate raw cake and while it tasted nice, I wasn’t sure about the combination of orange and pomegranate. I’ve put that recipe into the “maybe” pile…I might tweak it later on down the track.

But when I made this mint & pomegranate raw cake, I knew I was onto something…the mint cake paired perfectly with the sweet, crunchy pomegranate surprises hidden throughout the cake!

I’ve only ever made raw mint dessert recipes with mint extract, which isn’t exactly raw…why don’t more raw mint dessert recipes use actual mint leaves? This cake used a handful of mint leaves from my garden, and I really enjoyed the flavour – it wasn’t overpowering like recipes that use mint extract (sometimes it’s like eating toothpaste 😐 ).

Pomegranate arils (by the way – arils are the name given to the red juicy seed sacs – the edible part of the pomegranate) are a great source of fibre, vitamins C & K, folate, copper and potassium. Just in case you needed more reasons to eat some pomegranate 😉

Mint Pomegranate Raw Cake

This raw cake is flavoured with fresh mint leaves and studded with crunchy pomegranates throughout the cake. Vegan, gluten free, refined sugar free.

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 10 serves

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 3 hrs

Total Time 3 hrs 10 mins

Ingredients

  

Base

• 1/2 cup pecans
• 1/2 cup dates
• 1 tbs lime juice

Cheezecake

• 1 1/2 cups cashews, soaked for at least 4 hours
• 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves (or use 1 tsp mint extract, or as desired)
• 1 cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup dates
• 1 tbs lime juice
• 2/3 cup water
• (Optional: 1 tsp wheatgrass powder, for colour)
• 1/2 cup pomegranate arils

Instructions

 

• Make the base by blending the pecans, dates and lime juice together (in a high speed blender or food processor) until sticky.
• Press the base into the bottom of a silicone loaf pan (or line a pan with baking paper).
• Blend all the cheezecake filling ingredients (except pomegranate arils) until smooth and creamy.
• Stir through the pomegranate arils (reserve a few to sprinkle on top) and pour on top of the base.
• Sprinkle the reserved pomegranate arils on top and press down lightly.
• Chill until firm (I like to freeze the cake for about 3 hours, and then keep in the fridge after that time).
• Slice into squares or as desired.
• Keep chilled.