Needing to come up with a menu for a raw food dessert class that I recently taught, I decided to whip up a “cheesecake” recipe. It was actually pretty easy. And taste? The class was blown away. The crust is almonds and dates, and the base of the “cheesecake” is cashews! Don’t worry, I added apples and dried cranberries for that hit of fruit. The result? A healthy, tasty dessert that will be completely at home on your Thanksgiving or Holiday table. The consensus of the class is that non-raw people would never guess that this is raw, vegan or healthy!
Don’t be intimidated by this one, one serving is equivalent to only eating 1/4 C cashews and 1/8 C of almonds! Cashews are a good source of protein, fiber and also potassium, B vitamin, foliate, magnesium, phosphorous, selenium and copper.
Apple Cranberry “Cheesecake”
Crust:
- 1 C Almonds
- 4 Dates, soaked until soft with pit removed
Topping:
- 3 Apples, peeled and sliced thinly
- 1/4 C Agave
- 1/2 t. Cinnamon
- 1/3 C Dried Cranberries
- 2 T Coconut Butter
- 1/3 C Crust
Filling:
- 2 C Cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours
- 1 t. Lemon juice
- 1/2 C Coconut Butter (softened in dehydrator)
- 1/4 C Agave
- 1 t. Vanilla
- 1 t. Cinnamon
- 1/4 t cloves
- 1/4 t nutmeg
Read Through This Recipe Before Beginning
2 hours before: Combine apples, agave and cinnamon. Place on non-stick dehydrator sheet and dehydrate at 116 for 2 hours, stirring once during dehydration. Make crust: Place almonds in food processor. Process until finely ground. Add dates, process until well mixed. Set aside 1/3 cup of the crust. Press remaining into spring form pan. I used a 6″ for this recipe. You may have extra crust. Place in refrigerator. Make Filling: Combine all ingredients in food processor. Process until smooth. This will take a bit. Pat over crust and return to refrigerator. Finish Topping: Combine dehydrated apples, dried cranberries, coconut butter and 1/3 C crust. Press over top of cheesecake. Return to refrigerator and chill for 2 hours before serving. Slice with sharp knife. Serves 8.
{ 4 trackbacks }
{ 45 comments… read them below or add one }
Susan – this sounds delicious!
This is beautiful and looks yummy. I showed my husband, and he asked me to send him the recipe.
Great idea and beautiful! I wish I could go to your classes!!!
xo
Eco Mama
Wow. That looks gorgeous! I’ve never attempted a raw cake before because I’m slightly intimidated by them, but this doesn’t look too hard, except I don’t have a dehydrator to make the crust. Could this been done by making and freezing the crust to make it sturdy?
I was fortunate enough to be at the class and I can attest to the fact that the cheesecake tastes as good as it looks. Not only was the food wonderful, but Susan is just as lovely in person as she is online!
The crust doesn’t need dehydrating. Just put it in the refrigerator. The apples are dehydrated but you could use fresh.
OMG…beautiful!
Does the coconut oil and butter leave much of its flavor? If so, might there be a substitute to use since the flavor of coconut isn’t my favorite? Thanks Susan.
I am soooo going to have to make this VERY soon
No…you don’t even taste the coconut.
I wish I was in your class!
looks amazing! yum
This cake looks so good! Love the nuts and coconut butter combo. Where do I get a dehydrator sheet??
They are the non-stick sheets that either come with your dehydrator or you can order from the company.
Thanks for sharing the link to this fabulous cheesecake. Mmm… sounds delicious and looks wonderful!! Intimidated?!? Not me. Where’s my fork!
So beautiful! Well done:-)
Hi, your tart looks delicious indeed, gorgeous photo! I recently attended a course on raw desserts, so interesting…
wow….this sure looks so delicious. I really like that. Thanks for sharing this beautiful ‘cheesecake’
YUMMY!! Can I have a slice : ) Your food always looks so good! Thanks for the recipe.
Wow. This is definitely a festive use of cranberries. I love cheesecake but have most definitely never had one this healthy!
That cake is just gorgeous!
I just found your blog, and may I just say that I am blown away! This cake looks amazing, and I am really excited to sit down and explore your blog. Thank you for sharing
looks sooooooo good! but i really dont like Cashews, so i think i will try it with walnut, Brazil nut or Hazelnut… what do u think??
This looks way too pretty eat-lol! I will definitely try making this dessert. Thanks!
This looks like heaven. Brilliant!
That is gorgeous!
Hi,
I really want to make this. When you say coconut butter, is it the oil, or the meat and oil combo (like the one from Artisana)?
Thanks!
Joanna.
Coconut butter, not oil. Like the one from Artisana…exactly!
Aha! Thank you
) I’ll let you know how it turns out!
My filling was very very thick, is that normal? And darker than yours too, because of the cloves. I added a bit of sweetener too. It’s very pretty!
Yes…it is quite thick. You pat, not pour it in. It does set up well. I also add agave, thanks for pointing that out. It has been added in the recipe.
garlic cloves?
No, the recipe is not referring to garlic cloves, It is referring to the spice, cloves. See Cloves
are they refering to garlic cloves in this recipe?
I’m not able to purchase the coconut butter at this time, will using coconut oil make a big difference?
It will be a little different but should still work.
Very nice, Susan!
Thanks for this awesome recipe! I made it and it is my favorite raw recipe to date. The thing that makes it is the topping. There is something about the combo of flavors that is brilliant!
Being a cheesecake purist, I used very little spices in the filling (just a pinch of pumpkin pie spice), and added a bit more lemon juice. Still FABULOUS.
This will be a keeper for years to come!!
Where do you get raw dried cranberries? Most dried cranberries have sugar added into them.
I either dry my own or get them at the coop. You can find them made with fruit juice. If you are 100%, I would suggest drying your own.
this looks so great! especially for the holidays. thank you for sharing! however, i really hate coconut and i can taste it in anything (even the oil and butter)…do you have any suggestions as to what i can use in place of the coconut butter? i believe (i might be wrong), but doesn’t the coconut butter/oil help the desserts firm up? i am not sure what could act as the appropriate replacer, but i have found coconut in so many raw dessert recipes and it discourages me from making them so any suggestion at all would be so helpful. thank you so much
Yes, it is what makes the cheesecake set up. I wonder if trying raw white cacao (white chocolate) would do the same thing but I would be really careful what spices I use it with. Wouldn’t with this. Honestly, you don’t taste the coconut in this at all. Especially with all the spices in it. You might want to try it!
This Look Soo good!!! I am about to make it!!!!
I just made the cake and it looks delicious. I used goji berries instead of cranberries because I find it difficult to find real raw dry cranberries. I will bring it to work tomorrow and I will not tell anyone that it is raw. Can’t wait to see what they will say about it. Merci pour la recette!
just made this cake for my dad’s birthday and it looks fabolous! can’t wait for tomorrow when his guests arrive (they eat everything that’s not alive and doesn’t move).
But the cake must taste awesome…I tried filling and God…I felt like in heaven