Passionately Raw!

  This year I made a very special treat for the Halloween party. I tried to make it as raw as possible. To make it black I used raw black sesame paste (black tahini) and added just a little black cocoa powder - an ingredient that is popular with many pastry bakers. Black cocoa is a Dutch-processed or alkalized cacao. This process reduces the bitterness and gives the processed product a much deeper chocolate taste and the almost black color. Unfortunately, it isn't raw and the process also reduces the nutrients. This is why I also used raw cacao and raw cacao butter in this recipe.  If you do not want to use the black cocoa powder, the black color can be achieved with black tahini alone or with the addition of black food dye or even charcoal.  The "cheese" in this cake is a homemade, cultured macadamia nut cheese. The fermentation process adds the typical ricotta flavor and improves the texture. You will need at least two days to make the cheese. The nuts have to be soaked...