{recipe} Papaya Raisin Spice Cakes

This recipe is from Nudie Foodie (find her on Facebook: facebook.com/nudiefoodie), whose tasty journey to develop a recipe book leaves my mouth watering every time I see one of her new foodie creations. Her Papaya Raisin Spice Cakes are, as she calls them, “the perfect bridge between Winter & Spring… warming Spices meet tropical Papaya.” That may be true, but boy am I thrilled that here in the heat of summer in Brazil, I can snag all the ingredients to make this for myself this week! And with all the notes Nudie made on kids and how to serve them, I’ve got some great ideas up my sleeves on tricking my stepkids into having more healthy food!

INGREDIENTS

* 1 1/2 c. peeled, seeded, and chopped Apple (I like Braeburn or Fuji apples, but any sweet apple will do.)
* 1/3 c. Raisins, soaked in 1/3 c. pure water until plump, or overnight in the fridge.
* 1 T. Agave
* 1 t. Lemon Juice
* 1 t. Lecithin powder
* 1/2 t. alcohol-free Vanilla Extract
* 1/4 t. ground Cinnamon
* 1/4 t. ground Allspice
* 1/4 t. ground Ginger
* 1/8 t. Himalayan Salt or fine sea salt
* 1 c. sprouted and ground Golden Flax Seed (I like to use Bio Sprouts by Bio International, but fresh ground golden flax seed may be substituted.)
* 1/2 c. very ripe, cubed Papaya

TO MAKE:

Strain raisins, reserving both soak water and raisins.
Add chopped Apple along with raisin soak water to Vita Mix or blender. Blend smooth.
Scrape down sides.
Add all remaining ingredients except raisins, ground flax, and papaya.
Blend high until smooth.
Pour batter into a large mixing bowl. Add ground Flax and mix thoroughly using a spatula, removing all lumps. Gently mix in Raisins, followed by Papaya.
Using a 1/8 measure (such as a coffee scoop or a protein powder scoop), remove 1/8 c. batter at a time and place on teflex sheet on a dehydrator tray. I like to use a butter knife to get the batter out of the scooper. Add any left over batter (less than 1/8 scoop) to other cakes. Pat down each cake approx. 1/2 inch thick and 2-3 inches across, using a butter knife or a spoon.
Dehydrate 4-8 hours or overnight until ready to flip onto a tray without teflex.
Dehydrate again until the underside begins to “crust” a bit and is no longer gooey, approx. 2-6 hours. Slit the underside (i.e. bottom) of each cake gently using a sharp paring or serrated knife. Return cakes to dehydrator.
Dehydrate an additional 3-12 hours until done. The Cakes are done when they can be squeezed gently (avoiding the fruit) with no gooey or doughy center, only a soft but firm center. Total dehydrating time: approx. 20-24 hrs.
Serve. Store leftover cakes in the refrigerator.

* I find that making these cakes around three o’clock the day prior, or anytime the night before, leaves sufficient drying time, with no fear of needing to drag yourself out of bed during the night to check on them.

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TO SERVE:
I love to eat these with peeled and sliced sweet apples and raw tahini.

Make sandwiches by first warming the cakes in the dehydrator (approx. 30 minutes if cold), then spreading the tahini on the underside of each cake, and sandwiching them with thin apple slices. You may sprinkle them with more cinnamon if you’d like. Serve any remaining apple sliced, and to the side. Place sandwiches in the dehydrator for a few minutes to warm before serving.

Enjoy!

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A NOTE ON KIDS: Although I have yet to try this recipe with Children, I do believe they would Love these sweet & spiced Cakes! They would not only enjoy eating them but making them in the kitchen with you! Allowing them to make the Sweet Cake sandwiches would also be great fun. For children, I might suggest replacing the tahini with Almond Butter (for more sweet, less bitter) and maybe giving the nut or seed butter a drizzle of Honey before sandwiching the Cakes together.

NOW, ABOUT THE “COOKIES” LABEL that these Sweet Cakes are so commonly pinned with… Typically I would correct politely with “These are Sweet Cakes, not Cookies”, but whether you’re making them or eating them with your little tykes, you’re definitely better off calling them Cookies. And what Kid wouldn’t want Cookies for Breakfast!?

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PLEASE TAKE NOTE! We were psyched when Nudie Foodie agreed to join forces with uncooking101.com to bring you best of the raw and living food world! We LOVE (seriously) Nudie’s recipes and want to keep a good relationship with her. Out of respect for how awesome sauce Nudie and her creations are, PLEASE do not repost her recipe without her direct permission. You may, however, and we even hope you will, post the link to Facebook or anywhere you like to get your friends over to the recipe. Thank you!

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