Dani Venn was a finalist on Masterchef in 2011 and appeared as a Masterchef Allstar in 2012 - not bad for a self-taught cook. Her new venture, The Wholehearted Cook is about taking a step back to cooking with whole foods, like our grandparents did, as part of a journey to discover what is good for us. Here she shares a version of a traditional baklava using raw whole foods.

Over the years I have created many manifestations of the baklava. Some, I'm sure, would make a purist shudder.

But it's my latest interpretation that I find the most intriguing, for it is a raw whole foods dessert that contains all the flavour elements of a traditional baklava but without the refined sugar or pastry.



Ingredients
Base
80g pistachios
80g walnuts
1 cup medjool dates (about 20)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup raw honey

Filling
350g cashews, soaked overnight or for an hour in boiling water
1 cup thickened coconut cream (see tips)
1/3 cup softened coconut oil
1 lemon, juice only
2 tablespoons raw honey
2 oranges, zest only
2 teaspoons rosewater
Extra nuts, dried rose petals and orange zest for garnish

Preparation
Line a 20 – 25cm loose based cheesecake pan with baking paper.

Process nuts in food processor until roughly chopped, you don't want them being too fine. Add dates to food processor or blender and process till a paste forms. Add nuts, cinnamon and honey and pulse until just combined.

Take base mixture and pour into the base of the pan and press out with your fingers to form a smooth, even base.

Rinse out food processor or blender, then add in soaked cashews, coconut oil and cream, honey, orange zest and rosewater and blend on high, scraping down sides as needed, until an extra smooth consistency is achieved. This might take some time depending on how high-powered your food processor or blender is.

Pour filling onto base and set in the fridge for at least four hours, but preferably overnight. Garnish with nuts, petals and zest to make it look pretty.

Remove from pan to serve. Keep cake chilled.

Find out more at www.thewholeheartedcook.com or follow Dani on Instagram @danivenn