Cherry Chocolate Cheesecake (raw, vegan)

Luscious, creamy, rich and delicious, this cake was my birthday present to myself. I have somewhat taken on the raw dessert queen role in my community and I take great pleasure in creating cakes and raw treats for friends birthdays. The time and money it can take to create one of these desserts is a true labor of love. And because I have taken on that role, I rarely get treated by someone else making me one of these desserts. So for my birthday, I made my own cake, because I prefer raw vegan desserts, and because I love myself 🙂

I do not make these desserts too often anymore but when I do I put all my heart into them and this one reflected that in it’s beautiful flavor combinations.

Don’t let the extensive list of ingredients scare you off, this cheesecake is worth every single bite!!

Sorry for the poor photograph. This cheesecake came out of the fridge right before serving to a bunch of friends and I didn’t take that time to take a better picture of the whole cake. 

 

 

Ingredients: Makes one 10 inch cake

Crust:

• 1 cup raw pecans
• 1/2 cup raw almonds
• 1/2 cup coconut flakes
• 1/2 cup oats
• 6-8 TBS raw cacao powder
• 1 cup pitted soft dates (medjool are my favorites for this)
• pinch of salt
•  2 TBS water

Steps:

• put all ingredients but water in food processor and blend until well combined but still loose, not formed into a sticky ball
• while the food processor is running, scant some water until it starts to get a tiny bit sticky. You might not need both TBS. If you used very sticky dates you might not need to do this.
• press this mixture at the bottom of springform pan that you have lined with wax paper. This will make taking out the cake at the end much easier.

 

Filling:

• 2 cups raw cashews, soaked for at least 4 hours or 30 minutes on hot water
• 1 1/2 cups milk (I used cashew milk because I had made some, but any other non dairy milk will work)
• 2 cups frozen cherries
• 2 TBS beet powder (optional, I used this to deepen the color)
• 3/4 cup raw agave or any other liquid sweetener
• 1 TBS lucuma (optional, I just really like the flavor)
• 1 cup coconut cream (the thick stuff from the can or if you can, get fresh young coconut meat!)
• 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
• 2 TBS soy lecithin

 

Steps:

• put all ingredients except coconut cream, coconut oil and lecithin in a blender and blend on high until very creamy
• add the rest and keep blending until well incorporated but do not over blend at this point
• pour in the pan over the crust
• put in the freezer for one hour to set then transfer to fridge until ready to eat, about 4 hours. Because I had made it the night before, I put it back in the freezer for 45 minutes before serving. OR make a sauce for the swirls before putting int he freezer.

 

 

If you want to add beautiful swirls like I did her is my chocolate sauce recipe. You need to pour this on the cheesecake before putting it in the freezer:

• 1/2 cup shaved raw cacao butter
• 1 TBS raw coconut butter
• 2 TBS coconut oil
• 1/4 cup raw cacao powder
• dash of salt
• 1 TBS agave

Steps:

• put everything in a double boiler and melt
• pour in a easy pouring cup
• drizzle it over the cake and then take a toothpick or knife to create the designs
• now put it in the freezer  for one hour to set then transfer to the fridge.

Decorate as you wish and share the love!!!

 

 

 

 

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Pomegranate Cheesecake

My very good friend Christina just got married. After having their private civil ceremony they had a small gathering at a bistro to celebrate. Because it wasn’t a typical wedding with a reception, I wanted to surprise the couple with one of my tasty raw delights. I also thought that since they had gotten married and all, that there should be cake, or some form of it at least. I always love an opportunity to get in my kitchen and get creating!

Christina and I share a very similar healthstyle when it comes to food. So making raw treats for her is always a win as she so eagerly eats them and appreciates them. Not everyone can enjoy raw desserts. One has to know their crowd. Christina is my crowd 😉

The crust is original Pamplemousse, and I am very happy with how it turned out. Full of texture and flavor, it was a perfect switch from the usual pie crust. As for the filling, it was an adaptation from Tiziana Alipo Tamborra and Matthew Roger’s recipe. It’s in a cookbook or I would share the link with you all of the original recipe.

Since we were at a venue, I couldn’t keep the cheesecake in the fridge the whole time and it got a little soft, one of the downfalls of raw desserts. If you are to make this, I definitely recommend keeping it in the fridge until you serve it. It was still so delicious and extra creamy 🙂

Ingredients for the crust:

• 2 cups raw almonds
• 1/2 cup buckwheat crsipies  (raw buckwheat sprouted then dehydrated). You could probably just use buckwheat groats if this step is not convenient for you.
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup cacao powder
• 1/4 cup cacao nibs
• 1 cup soft dates (I used medjool)
• salt
• 1/8 cup water

Steps:

• put everything in a food processor except water, and blend until well combined. If it is not sticky enough to stick together, slowly add water while the motor is running until you achieve a “dough” that is somewhat crumbly but that will stick together once pressed down.
• press it in a 10 inch springform pan and put in fridge while making the filling

Ingredients for filling:

• 3 cups soaked cashews
• 2 cups pomegranate juice
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 3/4 cups agave
• 1 TBS liquid vanilla
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 TBS lecithin
• 3/4 cups coconut oil or butter, melted

Steps:

• put all ingredients except oil and lecithin in blender and blend until really smooth
• add oil or butter, and lecithin and continue blending until well incorporated
• pour in pan on top of crust
• put in freezer to set for about 2 hours
• transfer to fridge until ready to serve