I have to confess…until a few months ago I did not know that there were an increasing number of folks in the world who were following a totally ‘raw foods’ diet! My first reaction was – wow, that’s great – so healthy and ‘no need to cook’! I looked over a lot of raw food bloggers’ websites and saw how creative they were getting with their raw food recipes! Gosh, it is mind boggling! Personally for me I don’t think I can manage a complete raw food diet since I would crave for warm food from time to time! However, hats off to those who can pull it off and doing well with it.
So anyways as I have started following more raw food bloggers on my instagram, I continue to get inspired by their creations. One of these was the ‘raw cheese cake’ which is only made using nuts, dried fruits and other fruits! Watching numerous such vegan ‘cheese’ cakes and reading their recipes, I have been meaning to try making one for a few weeks now. The fact that I am currently on a AIP (autoimmune protocol) version of the Paleo diet was one reason – cos I am not allowed to eat nuts on this diet :(. However, last week was hubby dear’s birthday. Him being a lover of cashew nuts , I thought why not give this raw cheese cake a try?
I looked for recipes and found that the basic recipe was pretty much same – nuts and dates for the crust or the base. And then a cashew nut cream filling. Then you can use your imagination for flavors – I decided to use mixed berries to create a two layer cake. And then topped it with a lot of fresh berries. I also decided to do the crust only with shredded coconut and dates. I was so proud of my creation! Our rhododendron had just blossomed too and the color of the topping of the cake perfectly matched with the light purple flowers! What a beautiful evening it was – my husband absolutely loved the taste of the cake! He said it was better than any dairy cheese cake that he had before! The kids also loved it. I also had a couple bites – I had to see the result of my efforts, you see? 🙂 – Creamy, mildly sweet filling combined with the wonderful coconut crust made for a delectable dessert! Simply superb is my verdict.
You can watch the video for a mango version of this ‘cheese’ cake below. Basically, for the topping you can add any type of fruit/s to get different versions of this ‘cheese’ cake. Thus far I have made plain (just vanilla flavor), mixed berries, mangoes, strawberry. I am planning on kiwi and peach next!
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- 9 dates
- 2 tbsp coconut oil melted
- Pinch sea salt
- 2 cups cashew nuts soaked overnight
- ⅓ cup coconut oil
- ¼ cup plus 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp coconut cream
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 1 cup mixed berries
- Soak cashew nuts in warm water and let sit for at least 24 hours.
- Line the bottom and sides of an 8 inch springform pan with parchment paper.
- For making the crust, in a food processor blend all the crust ingredients except the shredded coconut. Then mix this with the shredded coconut in a bowl to form a thick mixture. Press this mixture to the bottom of the pan. Freeze the pan for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the filling by blending all the filling ingredients (without adding any water) except the berries to get a thick creamy filling.
- Pour ¾ of the this filling mixture onto the pan after the base has set. Then to the rest of the filling mixture, add the berries and again blend to get a creamy smooth mixture. Pour this over the top of the white filling layer. Place pan back in freezer for at least 5-6 hours.
- Remove pan from freezer about 30 mins before serving the cake.
A super delectable treat! I have to make this for my sweetie! Thank you for sharing your yummy raw vegan cheesecake recipe with us on the Plant-Based Potluck Party Blog Hop. I’m pinning and sharing.
thank you Deborah! yes it is so easy to make too and so delicious and creamy – yum! thank you so much for sharing!
This looks really good and would love to try it! Will pin.. Thank you! 🙂
thank you Lili! Yes I hope you get to try this. It is so good!
Sounds yummy and looks awesome 🙂
thanks! Yes this was indeed so creamy and delicious that even my kids said they liked it even better than a regular cheesecake! And best part is it is so good for you!