Oh, so delicious raw vegan cheesecake! Baking with alternative products does not always produce taste-bud-pleasing results, but this gluten-free, grain-free, sugar-free and raw vegan cheesecake recipe does taste so good!
The truth is I did not make it really vegan. I did not have coconut cream on hand so I substituted it with raw grass-fed cream (and the cheesecake turned out great!). Next time, I think I will use honey instead of maple syrup.
Let’s discover this wonderful raw cheesecake recipe now! But first, let me talk about the ingredients.
About the ingredients and tools used in this raw grain-free cheesecake
Dates
Dates are used to hold the crust together in this recipe. Dates provide stickiness and a sweet taste. As a bonus, dates are very rich in nutrients. I used a ready date paste.
Crispy walnuts (or other nuts)
Use the softest nuts you can find. I think walnuts and pecans are the softest. I used half crispy almonds and half pecans, and almonds kind of did not form a really smooth paste. I think I had to process the almonds into a paste first, then add the pecans, but I put them all in the food processor at the same time and I got not a very smooth paste. Still, it worked though. However, my kids refused to eat the crust, because the pecan filling is very smooth and melts in the mouth and the crust kind of did not match the smoothness of the filling (because of almonds not being properly processed into a paste).
Raw cashews
Oh, cashews! Cashews turn into a very smooth paste and make an awesome cheesecake filling! What a great discovery! I would have never thought of turning cashews into a cheesecake filling. Genius! I used organic raw cashews.
Coconut oil or softened grass-fed butter
I used extra-virgin coconut oil, simply because my children and I eat butter every day, but do not eat coconut oil regularly. Lots of research works talk about many health benefits of extra-virgin coconut oil. Very healthy oil, which we forget to consume in the raw form.
I love the taste of butter, so using butter instead of coconut oil might result in creamier taste, I think. Still, the taste was awesome with coconut oil too.
The purpose of making a vegan cheesecake is not to use any dairy, but I was mainly looking for a grain-free and cheese cream free cheesecake so it was not an issue for me.
Coconut cream or raw grass-fed cream
I love raw grass-fed cream for its rich taste. However, if I did not have an option to use raw cream, I would not use it at all. If the cream is not raw, then there is only one option – using coconut cream. A pasteurized and homogenized cream is not healthy and may cause allergies and inflammations.
Fresh lemon juice
Fresh lemon juice provides that cheesy tangy taste. As a bonus, it’s rich in vitamin C.
Maple syrup or raw honey
I used dark maple syrup. Dark maple syrup has a rich taste and more nutrients, and the lighter the color the blander it tastes. I like using dark one. You can also use unheated raw honey too.
Frozen wild blueberries (or other berries to taste)
Wild blueberry is a superfood which was mentioned several times in “Medical Medium” book. I love it! We get it frozen from “Costco”.
Food processor
I used Cuisinart food processor which does the job. Any food processor will work.
Blender
I have an Oster blender and it does the job well. Oster uses metal gears, making the blender last a long time. It’s also pretty inexpensive compared to some high-end popular blenders like Vitamix. If you can’t get VitaMix and need a blender, get this Oster blender with a glass jar.
Muffin pans or molds
I used this silicone muffin pan.
Now, let’s start! Let’s learn how to make yummy homemade raw vegan cheesecake cupcakes.
Raw Vegan Cheesecake Cupcakes (No bake, Grain-free, Sugar-free, Gluten-free)
Ingredients:
Crust:
- 1 cup packed (200gr) pitted organic Dates or Date paste
- 1 cup of Crispy Walnuts or Pecans (I used half pecans half almonds)
Filling:
- 1 1/2 cup of organic Raw Cashews
- 1/4 cup of Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin Coconut oil (or grass-fed Butter), melted
- 1/2 cup of Coconut cream (or Raw Grassfed Cream)
- 1/2 cup of dark Maple syrup (or local Raw Honey)
For color and flavor (optional):
- Frozen Wild Blueberries – 1/4 cup
- Raspberries
- Blackberries
- Strawberries
Instructions:
- Soak raw cashews in filtered water for 4-6 hours. You can also soak cashews using a “quick-soak” method. To quick-soak the cashews, pour a boiling hot water over them and leave for 1 hour. Drain and rinse.
- Blend the dates into a paste using a food processor. Take the date paste out. I used a ready date paste.
- Put the nuts (walnuts and/or pecans) into a food processor and process until crumbly. Add the date paste back. Pulse until the mixture sticks together and forms a ball or a shape.
- Put the soaked and rinsed cashews into a blender jar. Add lemon juice, melted coconut oil, cream and maple syrup (or honey). Blend until smooth.
- Scoop out some of the cashews paste and add wild blueberries (or raspberries/blackberries) into the blender jar. Blend.
- Cut the parchment paper into stripes. Get muffin tins or silicone cups and place the parchment paper stripes on the bottom to make it easy to pull out the cheesecakes when they are frozen.
- Place some of the crust on the bottom of muffin cups. Put into a freezer for about 30 minutes.
- After the crust hardens, pour the cashew paste over the crust. Embellish as you like.
- Put cheesecake cupcakes in a freezer until they harden.
- Enjoy!
Recipe courtesy of “Minimalist Baker”
