My first raw vegan cheesecake experience was almost enough to put me off the things for life! grainy gritty and bitter it was definitely nothing close to any cheesecake I'd ever had. But I soon learned (through a whole load of trial and error) that it is surprisingly easy to make a rich, creamy cheesecakes completely vegan, raw, refined sugar free and 100% guilt free! Who would have thought?!
So here is the recipe! The most important thing here is to make sure you soak the cashews for at least one hour and blend them up until they are completely smooth (to avoid that gritty texture). Full fat coconut milk is best, you can use other nut milks but you wont get the same creaminess you get from the coco. Try to stick with the coconut oil too to help the cream and the base set properly. You can use any topping you like, I used peanut butter once and they were divine, so get creative!
Makes 16
Ingredients
Base
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup dried, shredded coconut
pinch salt 1/4 cup dried seeded dates
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted if solid
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoon maple syrup or liquid sweetener of choice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon grated orange zest
Filling
1 1/2 cups raw cashews (soaked for at least 1 hr)
1 large lemon (juiced) OR 1tsp of apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup coconut oil (melted)
2/3 cup full-fat coconut milk
1/2 cup agave nectar or maple syrup (or honey if not vegan)
Method
Soak the cashews in hot water and set aside
Crust
To make the crust place the oats, coconut and salt in a blender and pulse until combined, put all the remaining crust ingredients into a blender and blend until a semi-smooth dough forms. Press the dough into non stick muffin trays and freeze
Filling
Drain the cashews and place all the filling ingredients apart from the coconut oil into a blender and blend until smooth (make sure there are no grains left). Slowly add the coconut oil as you continue blending. The mixture should look smooth and glossy.
Remove the crusts from the freezer and top with the filling. Add any toppings you like (peanut butter, caramel, fresh fruit etc) Freeze for at least 4hrs
Enjoy at room temperature!