We all want recipes that taste great, look gorgeous but are quite possibly a little bit healthier. This recipe has all those qualities, and it’s an easy dessert that makes everyone smile when its brought to the table. Sometimes it can be difficult to find a plant based dessert with no refined sugar that also gets a thumbs up from teenagers and our younger diners. We get lots of teenagers visiting us in Croatia on a family holiday, kayaking and biking, this cheesecake hits the mark every time. The recipe was sourced by Craig, a newbie to dessert creations, and he has refined it to to suit our WearActive palette. The chocolate cheesecake can be made ahead of time, allowing you more time to spend with your guests in the evening. It contains no refined sugar, it's vegan and raw (if you have remembered to soak your cashews!) If you have forgotten to soak the cashew nuts the night before, (as Craig often does) no worries, you can boil them for about 15 minutes and the result will be the same.
Craig has began to create more dishes now that he has an interest in plant based food and he enjoys sourcing recipes in-between practicing his handstands and slacklining. Handstands still have a bigger place in his heart, but possibly, one day, cooking will be his constant obsession?
Craig has decided to embrace the cup method of measuring ingredients. Which as the numbers guy in our relationship, I find quite ironic. I am still fighting the cup method, but my resolve is now melting as my favourite weighing scales has finally assisted me for the last time this week while making a Lemon and Courgette Cake.
Base
1 cup of Almonds
1 cup of a Date and raisin combination
Cheesecake
4 cups of cashew nuts, soaked overnight
2 cups of dates
1 cup of plant based milk
1 cup of water
1 cup of coco powder
Whizz the base ingredients until sticky, you may have to add a few more dates or a spoonful of water. Compress into a Springform pan and leave in the fridge while you make the ‘cheesecake’
For the ‘cheesecake’ blend the cashew nuts and add all the other ingredients until creamy and smooth. You may have to add a drop more water. We have to do this stage in batches as our blender is not that powerful.
Pour into cheesecake into the base and refrigerate for at least 3 to 4 hours. You can also leave in the freezer and then remove an hour before serving.
We decorated this one with fresh cherries because they were in season on Vis Island, Croatia when we made it for the first time. Decoration is a personal thing and should be free of rules. The vegan cheesecake is also great tasting in it's natural minimalistic form!
Please share with us your photos of your cheesecake creations via our Facebook or Instagram page. For other cheesecake creations, check out our Baked Cheesecake and our Lemon Poppy seed Cheesecake.
Happy Baking!