A PURPLE CAKE FOR EMILY

Blueberry ‘Cashew’ Cheese Cake

Several years ago Emily asked me to create a recipe for a healthy purple cake without the addition of food colouring. The creamy filling is purple coloured with fresh blueberries sitting on a chewy chocolate base. This cake is for Emily and Alyahna. I hope that your amazing efforts continue to flourish and bring support to those most in need... the beautiful children of this world. Note: You will need a basic food processor to make this cake to blend the cashews and make the base.

Ingredients

Base:

• 1 cup Brazil nuts or other nuts
• 1 cup desiccated coconut
• 1/2 cup pitted dates
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil optional, helps to hold the base together
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon good-quality cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon cocoa nibs or an extra tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Filling:

• 1 cup cashews soaked 3 - 4 hours
• approx. 3/4 cup creamed coconut see note below
• 4 tablespoons honey
• 1 1/2 cups approx 200g blueberries (or other fresh or frozen berries)
• Juice of 1/2 lemon

Instructions

• Line the base of a 20cm spring-form cake tin with baking paper.
• Base: Process the nuts and coconut into a course meal. Add the remaining base ingredients and process until the mixture holds together when squeezed. Press firmly into the prepared cake tin, using a spatula to smooth. Chill in the freezer while you prepare the filling.
• Filling: Rinse the soaked cashews in a sieve. Tip into the clean food processor bowl, add the creamed coconut and honey and process until smooth. This will take 2-3 minutes with the machine running, stop several times to scrap down the sides. Once creamy add the berries and lemon juice and blitz until smooth and the mixture is a vivid purple colour.
• Assemble: Remove the base from the freezer and pour over the berry filling, spreading evenly. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours to set. To serve, garnish with extra berries. Eat within 2 days.

Notes

Creamed Coconut: This is basically the thick cream part of a can of coconut cream. You will need to use a natural brand without the addition of emulsifiers. The day before making the cake put a can of coconut cream into the fridge upside-down. When ready to make the cake open the top of the can, tip out the milky liquid (reserve for using in a curry etc.) and scoop out the thick coconut cream (creamed coconut) to blend with the cashews. Depending on the brand you will get about 3/4 cup, use all of it, the more the better.

This recipe is dedicated to an inspiring woman. A woman who faced with a huge loss has forged on with strength and humility to give back to others. This woman is Emily Sanson-Rejouis. Some of you may be familiar with her story. For those who are not, Emily, her husband and three young daughters were living in Haiti in 2010 when the devastating earthquake shook the city of Port au Prince.

Emily, who was at work at the time of the earthquake, was unharmed. In the mayhem she returned to the apartment building her family lived in to find it had collapsed with her family trapped inside. With the aid of several men she was able the save her youngest daughter Alyahna (1) from the rubble. Her other two daughters, Kofie Jade (5) and Zenzie (3), and her husband Emmanuel did not survive the earthquake.

After a mammoth effort from the rescue team in Haiti the bodies of Emmanuel, Kofie Jade and Zenzie, were flown home to Nelson for the funeral. As I was 8 months pregnant on the day of the funeral we got there early to get a seat. I remember watching the crowds flooding into the Nelson Cathedral. This tragic loss had been felt by the larger Nelson community and many people came to give their support to Alyahna and Emily.

There was not a single dry eye as Emily stood before us and spoke with complete honesty of her loss, her sadness, and the love she had for her children and husband. In Emily’s own words ‘you cannot control everything that happens to you in life but you can control how you respond to it. In my darkest hours I have pledged to Emmanuel, Kofie-Jade, Zenzie and Alyahna to rise like a phoenix from the ashes – to Never Give Up.’

In the 3 years that have passed since the earthquake Emily has put her energy into creating Purple Cake Day. A charity event that supports children around the world to get the education they need to break the poverty cycle and create a better future for themselves, their families, and their communities. Purple Cake Day is about kids helping kids. In the first year they raised money to build a school for children in Haiti, last year for Nepal, and this year they are raising money for children in Kenya. Purple Cake Day is to be held tomorrow, 8th March, read more about it and how you can get involved on the website. You can read Emily’s story here.

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