Cheesecake is definitely one of the most popular desserts. It is believed that cheesecake originated from Ancient Greece, and later on it was mentioned in an English cookbook. But, it was not until the 18th century when the cheesecake evolved into its modern form. Nowadays there are a lot of forms of cheesecake but the main difference is between classic baked cheesecake and cheesecake with cream cheese that’s not cooked. Furthermore, with the bigger popularity of vegan food and sugar free diets, raw vegan cheesecake has emerged.
Instead using digestive biscuits for the cheesecake base, vegan cheesecake features dates and cashews mostly. Similar to other cheesecake types, there are varieties of raw vegan cheesecake recipes. Although I am not vegan myself, I really like to eat this type of cheesecake, especially when I want to eat more healthy desserts. This vegan cheesecake recipe is very easy to make and you can change some ingredients every other time, so you actually get more than one version of vegan cheesecake.
How to make raw vegan cheesecake?
In most types of raw cakes, the base is made with nuts and dried fruits. This recipe calls for two types of nuts – cashews and walnuts. Walnuts are used for the base and cashews are used for the creamy part.
If you prefer some other nuts, you can use them instead. That’s why this recipe for cheesecake is great, because you can change it and get at least five different cheesecake recipes.
As for the choice of dried fruits, you need dates. Again, you can change that, but I always use dates. Also, every cheesecake requires some fresh fruit. Red fruit is mostly used in cheesecakes, but other types of fruits can be used as well. For this cheesecake recipe your first choice should be berries. I used only raspberries this time, but you can put the mix of berries, or only blueberries, strawberries or blackberries.
Making this raw cheesecake is easy, just mix the dried fruits with walnuts to make the base and combine fresh fruits with cashews and other ingredients to make the creamy part. Below are all the steps:
Raw vegan cashew cheesecake recipe
Cheesecake base – Soak the dates in water for 20 minutes and then peel them off and remove the pits. In a food processor, put the peeled dates, walnuts and a teaspoon of sea salt. Blend this mix until it becomes so sticky that you can make balls that don’t fall apart. Put aluminum foil at the bottom of the nine-inch pan and then put this mixture on it, by using your hands to shape it. If you use silicone bakeware, you don’t need to put aluminum foil.
Cheesecake filling – Melt coconut oil and honey in a saucepan at medium heat. In a food processor, add the cashews, fresh lemon juice, vanilla beans, melted coconut oil and honey. This mixture should become a paste. Spread the half of paste on the cheesecake crust. In the other half of cheesecake paste, put fresh raspberries or other types of berries. Spread that colorful paste on the white paste and put the cheesecake in the freezer for a few hours before serving.
Alternative ingredients – For this vegan cheesecake recipe you can use any type of honey, agave syrup or maple syrup. If you don’t have a vanilla pod, you can replace it with one or two teaspoons of vanilla extract.
Easy no bake vegan cheesecake recipe
Ingredients
For the cheesecake base:
- 220 g walnuts
- 180 g dates
- a pinch of salt
For the cheesecake filling:
- 300 g cashews
- 100 g coconut oil
- 140 g honey or agave syrup
- one pod of vanilla (or 1 to 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract)
- 100 ml fresh lemon juice
- 170 g raspberries (or other berries)
Instructions
- Soak the dates in water for 20 minutes and then peel them off and remove the pits.
- In a food processor, put the peeled dates, walnuts and a teaspoon of sea salt. Blend this mix until it becomes so sticky that you can make balls that don’t fall apart.
- Put aluminum foil at the bottom of the nine-inch pan and then put this mixture on it, by using your hands to shape it.
- Melt coconut oil and honey in a saucepan at medium heat.
- In a food processor, add the cashews, fresh lemon juice, vanilla beans, melted coconut oil and honey. This mixture should become a paste.
- Spread the half of paste on the cheesecake crust. In the other half of cheesecake paste, put fresh raspberries or other types of berries. Spread that colorful paste on the white paste and put the cheesecake in the freezer for a few hours before serving.
