Vegan no bake chocolate mousse cake

Can I just say how impressed I am by this cake?
I had a whole bunch of leftovers from the last "raw" cake I made so I took the opportunity to make a chocolatey version too, cause you know, you gotta have chocolate. I pretty much improvised so there are all kinds of good stuff in this one. It tastes a bit like coconut, a bit like peanut butter, banana, and chocolate of course. And just the right amount of espresso. That might sound like a lot of stuff, but to me, it's perfection.
And let's talk about the texture. This cake is so creamy and smooth, like a mousse cake. I would never in a million years guess that a piece of this cake is actually pretty good for you. Almost too good to be true, right?!

If you compare this cake to the last one I made, this one is definitely more like a mousse cake while the other one is a bit more like ice cream. I love them both and I'm sure I will make them again and again.

NO BAKE CHOCOLATE VEGAN MOUSSE CAKE
This cheesecake is completely gluten-free, dairy-free and egg-free

Makes 1 small cake (18 cm/5 inches) but you can of course double the recipe ro make a bigger one!

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS
CRUST
1/2 cup (100 g) pitted dates
1/2 cup (85 g) almonds
1/4 cup (25 g) shredded coconut
1 tbsp cocoa powder
pinch of salt
1/2-1 tbsp espresso or strong coffee

FILLING
1/2 cup (85 g) cashew nuts, soaked in water overnight then drained*
3 tbsp coconut oil
1/3 cup coconut milk (full fat)
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2-3 tbsp maple syrup (to taste)
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 tbsp espresso or strong coffee
1 banana

CHOCOLATE SAUCE
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tbsp maple syrup

TOPPING
Chopped pistachios or nuts of choice
Shredded coconut

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Soak the dates in warm water for 15 minutes then drain. Put almonds in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the dates, coconut, cocoa powder, salt and pulse until a paste forms. Add espresso as needed and pulse until paste is smooth.
2. Press mixture into a 6 or 7 inch springform pan with the bottom covered with plastic wrap (if you don't have a springform pan, use a pie tin or a regular cake pan covered with parchment paper). Put the pan in the freezer while you prepare the filling.
3. Put coconut oil, coconut milk, cocoa powder, maple syrup, peanut butter and coffee in a sauce pan and heat very gently until mixture is quite loose and all ingredients have melted (this step is to make the filling a bit looser - or it will be too thick to mix smooth in the food processor/blender).
4. Pour the ingredients from the sauce pan plus the cashews and the banana into a blender or food processor and mix until mixture is as smooth as possible. Pour the filling into the crust, cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 2-4 hours or until filling is set.

After the mixture was set, I actually stored the cake in the fridge instead and it held up fine! It was more like a mousse cake. Delicious!

CHOCOLATE SAUCE
1. Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Drizzle over cake and top with chopped pistachios and shredded coconut if desired.

*If you're in a hurry you can let the cashews soak in very hot water for 1 hour instead of overnight