Diabetes Ice Cream Cake
No, this isn't a cake that will give you diabetes; this was a creation for a recent party I held to "celebrate" my 15 year type 1 diabetes anniversary.
The filling is based on chocolate ice cream, as when I was diagnosed (at age 10 and pretty ignorant of all things diabetic), my very first thought was that I could never again eat chocolate ice cream. The shape is (meant to be) that of a pancreas and, as a pancreas is pinkish in colour, the topping is pink.
This recipe contains no refined sugars and uses all natural ingredients, so it is healthier than your average ice cream cake. More importantly, it's really delicious.
The cake itself is quite easy to make, however, crafting the cake tin does take a lot of effort. You may prefer to make the cake in a normal cake tin, especially if it's not for a diabetic occasion, although the pancreas shape will impress guests! Remember to reduce the quantities if you are making a normal sized cake, as this recipe yields about a thick 40cm x 20cm cake, which served about 40 people.
I started on this cake two days before serving it, however, it could probably be started early on the same day (if serving it late) as the hazelnuts need at least 2 hours to soak and the cake at least 4 hours in the freezer. To be safe, it would be best to start the day before, soak the hazelnuts overnight and allow more freezer time for the cake just in case.
Preparation Time: 30 minutes (plus 60 minutes to make the tin)
Soaking Time: At least 2 hours
Freezer Time: At least 4 hours
Makes: 1 cake
Ingredients
Crust
1 cup walnuts
1 cup almond meal
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 scant tsp honey
1 tsp vanilla essence
Pinch salt
Filling
4 cups hazelnuts
9 tbsp cacao
5 tbsp honey
500ml coconut cream
2 pinches salt
Topping
1 punnet strawberries
2 bananas
Cake tin
Heavy duty foil
Thick cardboard
Masking tape
Scissors
Pencil and rubber
Method
Place the hazelnuts in a large bowl and cover with water. Leave to the side. Peel the bananas, wrap each in cling wrap and place in the freezer.
Prepare the cake tin. I followed this post , which has brilliantly thorough instructions, images and videos. My steps here will be bare, so please read her post.
Draw your shape on a piece of thick cardboard (I used the side of a box).
Cut it out with scissors, place masking tape on one side and cover with foil. Repeat on the other side. Cut the foil about 3-5cm around the shape.
Make the sides by taking a long piece of foil and folding it over three times while leaving a 2 inch buffer at the bottom. I used two pieces of foil together, to make it stronger. Cut the "buffer" into roughly 2cm strips. Do the same to the extra foil around the cardboard "pancreas".
Place the foil side perpendicular to the cardboard base and twist two of the strips together at a time. Sometimes you may find you can twist three strips together.
Once you have done this for the entire shape, cut off any excess foil and place lots and lots of masking tape on the outside and inside. Do this in small strips so it properly covers the space between the base and the sides.
I was worried about the cake mixture touching the masking tape, so I placed a large piece of foil in the cake tin and carefully pushed it in against the tin so it formed the same shape. It meant the cake would have creases and not be smooth, but, then, no diabetic's pancreas is perfect!
Place the crust ingredients in a food processor and blend until the mixture is well combined. Spoon into the cake tin and flatten with the back of a spoon. Leave the cake in the fridge to firm up while you prepare the filling.
Wash the processor and drain the hazelnuts.
Place the filling ingredients in the processor and blend until you achieve a smooth consistency. It will have a somewhat grainy texture.
Take the cake out of the fridge and spoon the filling over the crust. It will probably be quite uneven, but this doesn't matter as it will be later covered by the topping.
Place in the freezer for at least 2 hours, or until frozen.
When the cake filling is frozen through, wash the strawberries, cut off the tops and quarter them. Take the bananas out of the freezer and roughly chop.
Blend the strawberries and bananas. Take the cake out of the freezer and pour the topping over it. Place back in the freezer for at least 2 hours.
Take the cake out of the freezer half an hour before serving to allow it to soften a little. If you have made a pancreas cake, either pull the cake out with the inner foil covering or pull away all the foil from around the cake, if you don't mind destroying the cake tin.
You may like to garnish it with fresh herbs. Enjoy!
Categories
#cake
#ice_cream
#ice_cream_cake
#dessert
#nutella
#chocolate
#hazelnuts
#nuts
#diabetes
#gluten_free
#dairy_free
#raw
%recipeyum
224257 - 2023-07-17 08:06:58
