Recipe
Blueberry & Lemon Mousse Cake
A no-bake cake with a date and coconut base and a light blueberry, lemon and cashew mousse. It is bright and creamy without being heavy, and it is made entirely from whole foods.
Serves 12 · Hands-on time 30 minutes · Soaking and setting overnight, plus 4 hours
Gluten-free · Dairy-free · No refined sugar · Vegan if you swap the honey for maple syrup
From my kitchen
Why I love this one
I serve this cake on retreats. It is still dessert, and it should feel like one. What I like is that every ingredient is doing something useful as well as tasting good.
- Whole-food sweetness. The sweetness comes from dates and a little honey, and it arrives alongside the fats, fibre and protein in the cashews, coconut and hemp seeds.
- Blueberries. Their deep colour comes from anthocyanins, the polyphenols your gut bacteria thrive on. They bring good fibre too, and using them raw keeps the vitamin C intact.
- Hemp seeds. A complete plant protein with a good balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fats, tucked quietly into the base.
- Cashews. They give the mousse its creaminess without dairy, and bring magnesium and copper with them.
- Lemon zest. Much of a lemon's flavonoid content sits in the peel, which is why the zest goes in as well as the juice.
- Raw honey. Because it is unheated and unfiltered, raw honey keeps its natural enzymes, antioxidants and traces of pollen. This cake is never baked, so none of that is lost. A local honey also carries the flavour of the landscape it came from.
It is rich, so a small slice is satisfying. I like to serve it after a meal rather than on its own, with fresh mint tea.
Ingredients
What you need
You will need a 23cm springform or loose-bottomed cake tin, a food processor, a high-speed blender and a whisk.
For the base
- 90g pitted Medjool dates
- 70g desiccated coconut
- 35g shelled hemp seeds
- 30g coconut oil
- Seeds of 1 vanilla pod (or 1 tsp good-quality pure vanilla extract)
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
For the mousse
- 400ml can full-fat coconut milk, chilled overnight
- 150g raw cashews, soaked overnight
- 150g blueberries
- Finely grated zest of 2 unwaxed lemons
- 100ml lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
- 110g raw runny honey, local if possible, or maple syrup
- 75g coconut oil
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
To finish
- 175g blueberries
- Edible flowers, such as scented geranium, borage or viola
Method
How to make it
- 1
The night before. Put the can of coconut milk in the fridge. Cover the cashews with cold water and leave them to soak.
- 2
Prepare the tin. Line the base and sides with baking parchment.
- 3
Make the base. Gently melt the 30g coconut oil. Pulse the dates, desiccated coconut, hemp seeds, vanilla and salt in a food processor until the mixture is crumbly and holds together when pressed. Add the oil and pulse again. Press firmly and evenly into the tin, then chill while you make the mousse.
- 4
Blend the fruit. Blend 150g blueberries with the lemon zest, lemon juice, honey (or maple syrup) and salt until you have a smooth purple liquid.
- 5
Add the cashews. Drain and rinse them well, add to the blender and blend until completely silky. Scrape down the sides once or twice.
- 6
Add the coconut oil. Melt the 75g coconut oil, let it cool slightly, and blend it in.
- 7
Whip the coconut cream. Open the chilled can without shaking it and scoop the set cream into a large bowl. You need about 240g, so top up with a little of the thinner milk if needed. Whisk until soft and airy.
- 8
Fold together. Pour the blueberry mixture over the whipped cream and fold lightly, just until the colour is even. Stop there, as overmixing knocks out the air.
- 9
Set. Pour over the base and smooth the top. Chill for at least 4 hours, or overnight, until firm.
- 10
Serve. Release from the tin, peel away the parchment, and top with the remaining blueberries and the flowers.
Kitchen notes
Good to know
- Make ahead. The cake keeps in the fridge for up to 5 days. Add the fruit and flowers just before serving.
- Freezing. The cake freezes well.
- Cleaner slices. Put the cake in the freezer for 30 minutes before cutting, and use a hot, dry knife.
- Coconut milk. Use a full-fat can without added gums or emulsifiers, or the cream will not separate and whip.
- Flowers. Use only unsprayed flowers grown for eating.
- Allergens. Contains tree nuts (cashew) and coconut.