Frosted Fudge Cake (RAW)

This is Ani Phyo's RAW version of a chocolate fudge cake, topped with a creamy, dreamy frosting. I took one look at the picture in her book "Ani's Raw Food Desserts" and knew that I had to have it...immediately. So that is exactly what I did, I went out that day, bought all of the ingredients and am SO HAPPY that I did. This is probably one of my new favorite RAW food desserts because of how simple it is to make, AND how much it looks like the 'real' thing, and tastes better (because you know its good for you). I was most impressed with the frosting, which seriously could fool anyone into thinking they are eating regular frosting. It is fluffy, and chocolate-y, but is shockingly made with an avocado! The original recipe uses raspberries as a third layer, but I opted for strawberries since they are at their peak right now. Try this, even if just to do something different, and I think you will be most impressed!

Ingredients (serves 8):
Fudge Cake:
3 cups walnuts
2/3 cup cacao powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 cup dates

Fudge Frosting:
1/3 cup dates
1/4 cup agave
1 medium avocado, peeled
1/3 cup cacao powder

Your favorite berries, optional

1) For the cake, blend the walnuts, cacao powder, and sea salt together until a fine, but crumbly mixture is made. Add the dates and blend until all of the ingredients are combined, and a large ball is formed. Press the mixture into a spring form pan (I find it is the easiest to work with for this recipe). Set aside.
2) For the frosting, blend all of the ingredients together on high until smooth (make sure to scrape down the blender so that all of the avocado chunks are blended). Spread on to the cake, and top with your favorite berries. Enjoy!

* If you are serving to guests, I would DOUBLE the cake and frosting. That way you can put a layer of frosting between two layers of cake, as well as spread over the entire cake.