Kiwi cashew slice

August 2, 2015

Our vege deliveries tell me it's kiwi fruit season, so I bookmarked Emma Galloway's recipe for raw kiwifruit + ginger 'cheesecake' the moment I saw it. With melting oil and maple syrup going on, it's not strictly 100% raw, but it's that little bit more workable.

I blended this one up on a Sunday morning, with some equipment that was distinctly inferior to Galloway's. My food processor struggled to break down the dried dates in the base layer, so mine was rather coarse (pre-soaking the dates might yield better results). It didn't fare much better with the cashews in the filling, even though they'd been soaked overnight - there were soft but discernible flecks of nut throughout the mixture. The food processor was completely incapable of pureeing the sly spinach leaves that colour the third layer, so I transferred this last mixture to my spice grinder for a finer result. I added an extra kiwi fruit, too, to intensify the flavour and work through my fruit stocks that little bit faster.

For all my skepticism, this slice has been lovely. The base was crumbly, but the larger date chunks were like chewy caramel. The topping is smooth and almost fluffy, with a subtle twang of ginger. Some fresh kiwi fruit on top completes a gradient of dense sweetness through lighter creaminess to wake-up juicy sourness. We've snatched snacks of it throughout the week, and I've held some over in the freezer to look forward to later.

Kiwi cashew slice
(very slightly adapted from My Darling Lemon Thyme)

base
1 1/2 cups dried dates, pits removed and roughly chopped
2/3 cup raw almonds
1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted

filling
3 cups raw cashews
3/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons minced ginger
handful of baby spinach leaves
3 kiwi fruits, peeled

extra kiwi fruits to garnish

Cover the cashews with water and soak them overnight. Drain the water.

Line a large slice tin with baking paper. Grind together the base ingredients in a food processor until they resemble coarse crumbs. Press them into the base of the slice tin, using the back of a spoon to smooth it all out.

For the filling, blend together the cashews, coconut oil, lemon juice, maple syrup, vanilla, salt and ginger until very, very smooth. Pour half of the mixture out onto the slice base and smooth it over with a spoon. Place the slice in the freezer while you perform the next step.

Blend the spinach leaves and 3 kiwi fruits into the remaining cashew mixture until it is smooth and green. Retrieve the slice from the freezer and pour the green mixture evenly over the slice. Refrigerate the slice for 5 hours, or freeze it for 2-3 hours. Garnish with fresh kiwi fruit slices when serving.