Pretty Darn Raw Vegan Cheesecake with Blackberry Topping

Today is my birthday, (yay!) and to celebrate I decided to use this awesome and simple recipe for my birthday cake (I changed it up a bit). What a great gift to receive-  thank you so much, RawFoodNut!  I also really wanted to create a new version of my all time favorite- blackberry vegan cheesecake.

Oh man!  After tasting this- there is no reason in the world I need to ever bake a cheesecake again.  Nope, never.  Ever.  And a super bonus… it is very healthy!  For those of you who have had the pleasure of eating amazing raw desserts- this is a great recipe… and has lots of wiggle room in the ingredients, etc.  For those of you who have not experienced raw cheesecake- try this out, and fall in love. <3

I personally am still inching my way into higher-raw eating.  This was the first “raw” cheesecake I have ever tasted, let alone made myself- and already I am hooked.  I just can’t believe I have never tried one of these before… Happy Birthday to me!  And Happy Cake-eating to you!

Raw Vegan Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Crust

• 2 cups almonds
• 1 cup dried Medjool dates

Filling

• 3 1/2 cups raw cashews -soaked for at least one hour
• 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 3/4 cup agave *
• 1 cup organic, unrefined coconut oil- liquefied (see below)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 vanilla bean or 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon celtic sea salt

Blackberry sauce

• Handful of fresh blackberries
• 4 large dried Medjool dates
• 2 hefty squirts agave

Directions:

To melt coconut oil, if solid:

Measure out 1 cup of solid coconut oil and place in shallow bowl of warm water.  As it softens, stir.  Replace the water in the shallow bowl with fresh warm water and repeat until all is melted.  I needed to change the water about 4 times to make it reach a fully liquid state.

To make crust:

Blend almonds and dates in  a food processor until finely chopped.  Press mixture very compactly into the bottom of a spring-form pan.  I used the bottom of a glass to press the crust down, and it worked perfectly.

To make filling:

Take all filling ingredients and blend in food processor until smooth.  Just let it go for a few minutes…. the texture should be nice and creamy.

To assemble:

Pour filling on top of crust and spread out until smooth.  Cover with foil and freeze overnight. The freezing process will re-harden the coconut oil and  set up the cake.  After it is frozen you can refrigerate and it will be ready to serve after about one hour.  Even though you have to freeze this cake to set it up, it is not a frozen cake… once refrigerated, it takes on an extremely similar texture to a regular ol’ cheesecake.

To make topping:

Whiz berries, dates and agave together in a food processor.  Isn’t not cooking way too easy?

*apparently agave syrup is- not technically raw,— but I don’t do honey— I think this is way healthier than some other things I could have chosen to throw in there—I am still learning much about eating raw—and it’s my birthday. :)

And despite what the above linked website says.. my agave’s label claims that it is produced at a low temp (under 118 degrees)–  can I be sure of this?  Well, no.