What a fruitcake!

With a pending trip to Israel and a lack of research, we decided to get together for a dinner party in hope to plan some of our trip. Recent attempts at eating healthier, coupled by a request to make a healthy dessert brought me here. Well, not quite. I was actually looking for a hazelnut and fig cake recipe that I had been wanting to try and stumbled across this instead. It was healthy and full of the Middle Eastern ingredients of saffron, honey, yoghurt, dates, hazelnuts and figs. So, in the theme of things...well, I thought anyway. I was told pistachios would have made it more Middle Eastern.

The picture from the original recipe was so pretty - bright yellow from the saffron contrasting with the purple of the figs, on the brown base of the hazelnuts. The recipe called for powdered saffron but I had strands and couldn't get it anywhere as near bright yellow. I also substituted some of the full fat yoghurt for low fat but the 'cake' was abit icey so next time I wouldn't. The base could be used as a cheesecake base as a wheat free alternative to digestive biscuits. Tasted like Ferrero Rochers, without chocolate. An easy, pretty dessert for the health conscious! Just add more honey for extra sweetness.

Hazelnut cake with Frozen Saffron Yogurt and Honey Drizzled Figs

Crust
2 1/2 cups (350 g) raw hazelnuts (save a handful for the topping)
1/2 tsp sea salt
15 fresh medjool-like dates, pitted
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp water

Filling
3 cups (720 ml) fat whole-milk turkish/greek yogurt, unsweetened
1 cup (240 ml) coconut milk
4 tbsp runny honey + some extra for topping
1 gram (0.035 oz) powdered saffron (2 envelopes)
8 small fresh figs, quartered

Method
Preparing the crust: Toast the hazelnuts on a baking tray on 180°C (350°F) in the oven, for 10 – 15 minutes or until skin cracks. Let cool for a few minutes, then remove skin by rubbing the nuts between a rough kitchen towel. Add hazelnuts (save a handful for the topping) and salt to a food processor or blender and pulse for about 10 seconds. The nuts should be chopped but not powdered. Pour the nuts into a separate bowl and set aside. Add the pitted dates, coconut oil and water to the food processor and run it on high speed until the mixture comes together to a sticky paste. Add the chopped hazelnuts and run until everything is combined into a sticky pebbled mixture. Place in a 20 cm (8-inch) spring-form cake tin and flatten it out with your fingers. Put in the fridge to chill while you prepare the filling.

Making the filling: Place yoghurt, coconut milk and honey in a medium size mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Stir in the saffron very gently with a spoon. Remove the spring-form cake tin from the fridge and pour the saffron filling on top of the crust. Then place the spring-form in the freezer for about 2 hours (you can keep it in the freezer for days but then you have to let it thaw for about 15-20 minutes before serving it). Top the cake with crushed almonds, fresh figs and drizzle with honey. Serve immediately and try to finish it all at once as it won't refreeze or look as nice the second time around.