vanilla torte with chocolate "buttercream" frosting & maca slices

I fashioned this recipe after something called a Dobos torte. A reader asked me to make a raw version of it just as I was brainstorming what to make next... (fate or coincidence?) Whatever your beliefs, I think this turned out pretty yumtastically.
Yes, I do invent words.

Luckily most of you won't know what a Dobos torte is so I'm off the hook for not recreating it that well. It's supposed to be a vanilla sponge cake, thinly layered with chocolate buttercream and topped with hard caramel slices. I didn't make enough layers because (a) this cake doesn't need that many layers to make it filling and satisfying; I didn't want to make each slice a challenge to eat because it was too much and (b) I just didn't make enough cake or frosting. I'M NOT PERFECT, OKAY.

I chose to make maca slices on top because I couldn't think of anything to make a raw HARD caramel from. Date caramel is out-of-this-freaking-universe-delicious but it's not the right consistency for this. So maca powder blended with coconut oil, which turns solid here at room temperature (thanks, chilly Northern climates) did the trick and looks fairly decent, in my own subjective opinion. What say you?

If you'd like to use avocado instead of cashews, go ahead. I would have done that but my avocados chose to go rotten without telling me. What jerks. Just because they're sexy, beautiful and everyone loves them - they think they can do whatever they want. (Okay but actually I was just oblivious and let them go bad. Shut up.)

vanilla torte with chocolate "buttercream" & maca slices: 

Cake:

1 cup oats

1 cup buckwheat groats

1-2 cups dates

Seeds from 1 vanilla pod 

Frosting:

1 cup cashews (or 1 avocado) 

1/4 cup cacao

1/4 cup melted liquid coconut oil

1/4 cup maple syrup, date paste, or other sweetener

1/2 teaspoon vanilla 

Maca slices:
2 tablespoons each of maca powder, liquid coconut oil, and maple syrup 

To make the cake: pulse the oats and groats in your food processor until they are small crumbs. Add the dates and vanilla and process until it all sticks together slightly. Put in a bowl and set aside. 

To make the frosting: if you're using an avocado just throw everything in and blend. If not, pulse the cashews in your food processor until they become very fine crumbs, basically cashew butter. Add all the other ingredients and blend until smooth. Put in a fridge. 

Make the maca slices: blend the ingredients together then spread into a circle the same diameter as your cake. Let it harden in the fridge, this might take an hour or so. 

Assemble the thing: on parchment paper, press about 1/3 of the cake mixture into a thin circle layer with your hands. You can use a pan to help you shape it or draw a circle and use that to guide you. Transfer this carefully onto your presentation plate. Spread on 1/3 of the frosting evenly. Make another layer on the parchment paper and transfer it onto the first layers of cake and frosting. Continue until you run out. Cut the maca circle into eight slices and place on top of your cake. THEN EAT IT.