Berry Cheese Cake

 
 

Even though truly raw cashews are difficult to find, this cheesecake is amazing and makes a healthy treat when you are transitioning from a standard diet to a plant based diet. If you are fully raw, replace the cashews by macadamia’s and make the portions smaller: these nuts have a higher fat content. Take and share this wonderful cheesecake to seduce and reduce the criticasters in your environment… 

 

A small note before you start: soaking your nuts –especially when they have a brown peel- is essential for good digestion. By soaking you are removing the enzyme inhibitors and activating the life force in your nuts. You can use un-soaked nuts, but you will take twice as long to digest them and lose energy. 

 

Make it a system to soak and completely dry a backup of almond nuts every week or two weeks: you can store them easily and you don’t have to worry about not having soaked nuts to hand. 

 

TOOLS YOU NEED

  • Food processor
  • Blender (preferably a high speed blender)
  • Spring form of about 9 inches or about 22 cm

 

PREP AHEAD

  • Soak 3 C of raw almonds overnight, rinse and dry until crisp, store in a glass jar
  • Soak 2,5 to almost 3 cups of truly raw cashews in plenty of spring water for at least 4 hours (or overnight)

 

INGREDIENTS

CRUST

  • 1 C of almonds (soaked and dried)
  • 3 TBSP of date paste (blend dates with a bit of water)
  • 5 dates (add as needed, depending on how moist they are or first soak them for 20 minutes)

 

CHEESE CAKE

  • 3 C of soaked cashews 
  • 1/2 C of fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/4 C light agave nectar (if you want to use date paste, you can but the color of the “cheese” cake won’t be as clear)
  • 1/8 tsp sea salt or Himalayan salt
  • 1/2 C to ¾ C coconut oil, melted au bain marie (just place the jar in warm water)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract or seeds of a vanilla pod

 

TOP

  • 3 different kind of fresh berries to choice (if not available, frozen will do too)
  • edible flowers of the season (I found some wild pansies or buy some if it’s for a party)

 

INSTRUCTIONS CRUST

  • Place the almonds in a food processor and pulse into a course flour
  • Add the dates and date paste and pulse until you create a sticky mass
  • Press it firmly into a spring form

 

INSTRUCTIONS CHEESE CAKE

  • Blend all the “cheese” ingredients -except for the coconut oil- until smooth
  • Add the coconut oil at low speed (if possible). Don’t blend longer than you need to
  • Pour the mixture into the spring form and spread evenly
  • Arrange the berries on top
  • Cover up and let sit overnight in the refrigerator
  • Next day, pick some edible flowers in your garden (or buy them in a deli) and make your cake look like a million
  • Share and smile

 

TIPS

  • If you want fruit inside of your cake as well, stir some berries gently in by hand
  • Experiment with different kinds of fruit and have fun
  • A nice variation is replacing the nuts by avocado. In that case use 1/4 C more coconut oil
  • Leftovers stay well in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. If you used raspberries on top, check them on mold, remove and replace those by fresh ones
  • You can also blend some berries with the cashews to create a pink pie
  • Pack some pieces in a fancy box and take it to your next meeting. Success guaranteed.