You don’t have to wear hemp yoga clothes, sprout mung beans, and burn Nag Champa to eat vegan cheezecake. My raspberry, rose, and white chocolate raw cheezecake is enough of a reason to never allow a “cheesecake” to cross your lips again. For once I have nothing else to say. Just make it.

MAKES 10 SERVINGS

TAKES 25 MINUTES, PLUS 1-2 HOURS SOAKING CASHEWS

THE BASE

1 cup almonds, roughly chopped

3/4 cup Medjool dates, pitted and chopped

1/4 cup soft juicy raisins

One handful of raw cacao nibs* (optional but soooooo good)

Zest of 1 organic lemon

Pinch of Himalayan pink salt

1 – 2 tbsp raw organic coconut oil, melted or 1 tbsp maple syrup/raw honey

THE CHEEZEY FILLING

2 cups cashews, soaked 1-2 hours max, drained & rinsed

¼ cup fresh lemon juice 

1 cup raspberries, fresh or defrosted

¼ cup raw honey / a little less than 1/4 cup maple syrup

¼ cup organic raw coconut oil, melted

2 tbspn melted cacao butter

1 tsp organic Madagascan vanilla extract / seeds of one organic vanilla pod

1/2 cup organic full-fat coconut milk (no low fat please as it affects the setting process)

¼ tsp Himalayan pink salt

3 tbsp rosewater* optional (it still tastes divine without the rosewater and will be called Raspberry & White Chocolate instead)

1 tbsp rose powder* optional . I only use the precious Anima Mundi Herbals

Raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, white chocolate, cacao nibs, and edible flowers to decorate your creation.

To make the base, place the almonds in a food processor and blitz until they are broken down but not almond meal consistency. This adds to the texture experience. Next add the dates, raisins, salt, lemon zest, and cacao nibs to the ground almonds and process until it sticks together and forms a “dough”. You can add a tablespoon or two of coconut oil/honey/maple syrup if you find that the dough is not sticking together. To test if it is sticky enough, take a tablespoon of the mixture and squeeze it together between your thumb and fingers. If it sticks together and does not crumble, you are good to go! If it still crumbles then add a little more coconut oil or honey/maple syrup to the food processor and blitz again to incorporate.

Take your removable base round cake tin. This recipe calls for a 9 inch or 23 cm round tin. Line the removable base section with greaseproof paper/baking parchment tucking it underneath to facilitate ease of removal for serving later. Pop the squidgy base mixture into the tin. Spread it out evenly keeping the same level across the entire base. Press down firmly as you level it out compacting the base. Make sure it is all the same level at the edges so it looks uniform when you remove it from the tin. Pop in the freezer while you make the filling.

Next for the cheezecake filling, place all the listed ingredients in a high-speed blender and blitz well, stopping to scrape down the sides. Continue to blend until the consistency is super smooth and creamy with zero lumps. It is ready when it looks as smooth as whipped cream.

Take your cake tin from the freezer and pour the mixture into the pan spreading as evenly as you can with the back of a tablespoon. To make sure no air bubbles come to the surface whilst setting in the freezer, not-so-gently bang the entire pan on the table/countertop a few times. Smooth the top of the cheesecake with a spatula if necessary. Place in the freezer and let it set for at least 2 hours or overnight. Remove from the freezer and allow to thaw in the pan for thirty minutes before carefully removing, decorating, slicing, and serving. If you have any leftover, not so likely, you can pop it back in the freezer and freeze it again. I promise!

📸 @TUULIATALVIO (I have yet to discover how to add videos to my blog. My photo editing skills were off-point today so I temporarily popped this stunning image of Tuulia’s stunning raw cheesecake up to show you what it is meant to look like. Thank you Tuulia 🤍)