I have tried some incredible raw cheesecakes in my travels. You would never know they were raw, nor without any dairy or animal products. They are sweet, creamy and decadent. The only noticeable difference has been that lack of that really oily texture you get on your tongue with a dairy cheesecake. Most of my recipes come from meals I cook for my family, working through all my old favourite recipes and removing and then replacing all the animal ingredients and doing the same to recipes I come across. But my interest in raw is growing, so over time I will attempt some raw recipes.
This is my 1st first attempt at a raw cheesecake, thanks to some advice from friends whom eat a raw diet. It was incredibly easy to make and assemble. The only time consuming part was the soaking of the nuts and time needed for cooling.
YOU NEED (FOR THE CRUST)
2 ½ cups of macadamia nuts
½ cup of extra juicy dried apricots
2 tablespoons of cocoa
YOU DO (FOR THE CRUST)
Blend the nuts till they are crumbly and start adding the apricots. Don’t add them all once. Just add a few at a time until you get a dough like texture. Eat any you don’t use J Blend until all ingredients are smooth and combined.
Scrape out into a spring form cake tin, lined with baking paper. Push the mixture evenly around the base of the tin and then push down onto the mixture with your fingers or by using the bottom of a glass, to make the base smooth and even.
Pop in the fridge to firm
YOU NEED (FOR THE CHEESECAKE)
3 cups of raw cashews
½ cup pure maple syrup
¾ cup melted coconut oil
2 cups strawberries, green tops removed
2 cups fresh cherries, pips and stalks removed
¼ cup water
¼ cup water fresh lime juice
3 heaped tablespoons cocao
YOU DO (FOR THE CHEESECAKE)
Drain the soaking cashews and discard the soaking water. Blend the cashews, maple syrup and coconut oil.
Add the strawberries, cherries water and lime juice and continue blending until all ingredients are well combined and smooth. The smoothness of the nuts and ultimately the cheesecake will depend on how long you soaked the cashews for and/or the amazingness of your blender. I have quite a small blender so had to do mine in batches.
Pour half the mixture into a bowl and sift the cocoa into it. Whisk till well combined.
Get your tin out from the fridge and pour a little of the chocolate mixture and then little of the cherry mixture to achieve a swirled result. Repeat until all the mixture is in the cake tin. Scrape out any mixture that is left on the sides of your blender or bowl.
Pick up the tin and bang it gently on the bench a few times to get rid of any air pockets then place in the fridge to set. I left mine over night but it seemed set after only a few hours.
Remove and serve topped with loads of fresh cherries.
Serves: A LOT. It’s a big cake!
Time: Haven’t yet recorded the time.
Note: I used a small and high cake tin (20cm diameter) because I wanted my cheesecake to be really high. If you use the same or similar size tin you could easily get away with halving this recipe.
