Raw Chocolate Cheesecake

Raw-food purists would never call this raw, as it has cashews in it. So to call this raw, isn’t entirely true – alas…

Although raw, by definition is also vegan – I would like to point this out to people who aren’t huge raw-food fans, like myself. So, not only is this cheesecake raw, it’s also vegan and has no processed sugars in it. You can of course sweeten it with agave nectar or maple syrup, but this will no longer make this cheesecake “raw”.

A plus side to this vegan cheesecake is that it’s soy-free, guar and xanthan gum free – whooo!

This cheesecake is truly awesome. The filling is slightly sweet, with a hint of banana and cocoa; it’s creamy with the consistency of “real” dairy cheesecake, but is lighter and less rich. The base is chewy, fudgy and totally chocolatey – complementing the filing extremely well.

The base/crust is basically the vegan brownie bites recipe and you will not need the whole amount. You can pop the remainder into your mouth with a spoon OR roll into balls, then pop into mouth… you get the general idea.

I may even try a strawberry version next time… watch this space!

RAW CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE
Makes 12 slices
Adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie – 30-Seconds to Raw Cheesecake

Ingredients
For the base
110 g (1 c) walnut halves and broken pieces
40 g (6 T) unsweetened cocoa powder
205 g (1 c) pitted Medjool* dates
1 T vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

For the filling
360 g raw cashews, soaked overnight in cold water, then drained
1 ½ t vanilla extract
165 g (5 ¾ oz) or 1 ½ frozen banana
3 t lemon juice
3 T water
Pinch of salt
40 g (6 T) unsweetened cocoa powder
75 g (2 ½ oz) or about 4 Medjool dates (or agave/maple syrup)

* I find the Medjool dates are higher in quality, taste and are far moister than other dates. If using other dates, you may need to use a few more to get the right sweetness/fudgyness.

Method
1. In a food processor, blitz the walnuts until you get coarse crumbs. Add the remaining ingredients and blitz until well incorporated. The mixture will be still quite crumbly, do not fear.

2. Press 200 g (7 oz) of the base mix evenly into a cling film (plastic-wrap) lined 20 cm (8 inch) spring form cake tin (pan). Set aside.

3. Wipe out the food processor bowl, then blitz the filling ingredients until well incorporated and smooth. Taste the sweetness, and add more dates/sweetener as you wish. Pour into the tin (pan) and smooth out using a wet spatula/palette knife or spoon. Cover with cling-film (plastic wrap) and place into the freezer for 2-3 hours.

4. Once set, slice, plate and enjoy!

You can store the cheesecake in the freezer whole, and slice the pieces as you need with a very sharp knife. The slices thaw in 1 hour.