Raw lemon lime blueberry cheesecake - vegan

Slice of blueberry raw cheesecake | vegan

I made this cake twice. Initially the middle (nut-cheese) layer lacked a nice punch in flavour aspect. In terms of setting hard in a fridge, the cake works very well with no issues. No need for freezer. Requires 50 minutes of your time. Cutting portion slices and then moving them onto plates goes perfectly easy.

Raw crust base

• 2 cups raw almonds
• 1 cup dates or raisins
• 2 tbsp cacao powder or carob
• 1 tbsp cacao butter grated
• 1 tbsp spring or filtered water
• pinch of salt

Raw lemon cheesecake layer

• 3 cups cashew nuts soaked
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup coconut oil (in liquid form)
• zest of two lemons
• 1 cup fresh lemon juice
• juice of one lime
• 1 tbsp cocoa butter grated
• pinch of salt

Raw blueberry topping

• 2 cups blueberries frozen or fresh
• 1/2 cup kept aside from the above raw lemon cheesecake layer mixture

Cake preparation

1. Crust making:
Process all 6 ingredients in a food processor until nuts turn to crumbs. The mixture sticks together when pressed. Empty into springform pan (Ø 9" - 23cm). Spread evenly and press down firmly. Place in the fridge bottom shelf.

2. To make the lemon cheesecake layer:
Soak cashews in spring or filtered water ~3 hours and strain. Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth. Keep 1/2 cup of this mixture for the top blueberry topping (keep it in the blender) – pour rest onto the crust base and spread evenly. Put in the fridge only if your progress is slower.

3. To make the top blueberry layer:
Blend the blueberries with the left over 1/2 cup of cheesecake mixture in the blender or food processor. Still leaving in speckles of blueberries for texture. Spread it over the middle cheesecake layer evenly. Keep in fridge overnight. Enjoy with blueberries or other sliced fruit!

Slice of blueberry lemon lime raw cheesecake | vegan










Cake springform lined with baking paper

Additional notes

1. Spring-form pan 1 inch = 2.5cm plus-minus in diameter size works fine. I line my with baking paper.
2. For processing/blending I used speed No.7 on Thermomix. Length 1 minute for every of the 3 steps (No processor bowl washing between stages is needed!) I trust any average food processor/blender machine should do just fine.
3. I used almonds for the crust base. Other nuts variety can be used instead. I prefer carob flour over cacao powder for better nutritional values of carob and also because of its sweeter taste. Nutrients of cacao. I imagine this might not be crucial at all to most people.
4. I needed 8 dates. Dried but nicely soft, juicy & sweet. 8 made 1 cup as I placed them into cup measure. Dates can differ in size. If working with harder/drier smaller dates, process the cake base crust mixture with extra 1-2 tbsp of spring or filtered water.
5. Cacao butter comes in a solid form. Quick grate it with any fine hand held grater to achieve small shreds, or just scrape with spoon. Cacao butter tastes nice plus it helps the cake to set solid in a fridge (not freezer.)
6. Maple syrup I use is raw. Raw honey isn't vegan but it is delicious as well. Coconut nectar, agave/rice syrup would make a nice substitutes to test out.
7. I soak/activate cashews and other nuts in a bowl of spring water placed in the fridge.
8. I purchased the ingredients in health store. Without buying ingredients for bulk/wholesale price it costs AUD$31 to make this vegetarian/vegan raw cheesecake.
9. Almost forgot. I added into my cake crust a tablespoon of Goji berries. The second cake was with carob powder. At home we only use organic and bio-dynamic produce.

by Rado Hand