Raw Cakes Mihalek

Expect the unexpected when raw cakes are presented for tasting for the first time. My journey to the point when raw cakes finally became a reality in our famous Slovenian family Confectionary Mihalek is detailed in this book together with 30 delicious proven raw cakes recipes with full size photographs and professional detailed instructions. It was a journey that led me to other countries, introduced me to new exciting ideas, and to like-minded people. People who later became close friends and colleagues. It was also a journey to become a mother of 4 beautiful and healthy children now aged from 22 to 9.

As my body told me to filter out certain tastes and textures, my studies began to show me how over-produced and ethically barren some of our present food production was. Crops are force-grown in an intensive way to multiply the yield; livestock and fowl are pumped with hormones; additives are used to enhance the taste and prolong shelf life; and artificial coloring is widely used.

As sugar became both more available and affordable, our nutritional habits changed. Over-consumption of sugar is considered to be responsible for the epidemic of obesity and many modern diseases.

The premise of this book is to demonstrate that if the sweets and cakes we usually buy from the shop are substituted with raw cakes and sweetmeats, such as the ones described in this book, a profound change can occur.

The industrial processing of food is unfortunately based on the largest, the fastest, and the cheapest preparation processes. This is not good for the consumer. Raw food presents fundamental nutrition for humans. It has been at our disposal from the very beginning of time. Thanks to the internet and public initiatives we are more and more informed and concerned about the mistakes of over-industrialized food processing. Lately with the return to an ecological way of growing and processing, things are getting better. It is important for us human beings that not only is the food that we eat grown ecologically, but that there is as little processing as possible.

Almost every housewife can tell you how to make a classic cake. The preparation of raw cakes is entirely different. It is a completely different technique which opens a new area in confectionary. It begins with the requirement that at no point in the process of preparing a cake, or other sweets, should the ingredient be exposed to temperatures over 42°C (108°F). The 100% raw cake takes this premise one step further; none of the ingredients can be heated over this temperature. We have to start thinking differently and change the whole paradigm about making cakes and sweets. Once we change our perspective, it will become very easy to turn off the oven which has served us in the preparation of delicious cakes all these years.

The first thing substantially different from classic sweets is the choice of ingredients. Raw cakes are made by grinding and mixing nuts, seeds, fruits, cocoa, algae and melted coconut fat or cocoa butter. Maybe some of the ingredients will be less familiar to you or quite unknown, but most mentioned in this book can nowadays be found throughout the western world in markets, or by importers of ecological food.

Raw cakes are dense in texture, making mastication a requirement. Important changes occur when chewing commences. The richness of the flavours and spices permeate the mouth unlocking a satisfying sweetness. The satisfaction is more profound, longer lasting, and the craving for another “sugar hit” is diminished. Enzymes are released to aid digestion and mood altering hormones naturally mimic happiness. The rich complex taste of the raw cake encourages moderation and engenders respect.