Oh wow! Now this one is worth making. A delicious raw choccy cheesecake from The Vegan 8. Made with just 8 ingredients.
Ingredients
Crust
150g cup raw whole almonds
2 tbspn raw cacao powder
1 tspn coconut sugar
pinch fine sea salt
2 tbspn pure maple syrup (30 mL)
¼ tspn vanilla extract
Filling
1½ cups raw cashews
¼ cup + 2 tbspn water
1 tbspn fresh lemon juice
75ml tbspn pure maple syrup
½ tbspn vanilla extract
¼ tspn fine sea salt
2 tbspn coconut sugar (20 g)
¼ cup raw cacao powder
90g raw cocoa butter
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons melted cocoa
butter)
Optional: Dark chocolate for topping
How to make it
You’ll need a high speed blender for this one!
Soak your cashews overnight or at least for an hour. After soaking, drain and rinse and set aside. You will need a 6 inch round springform pan for this cake. Add a piece of parchment paper on the bottom of the cake tin.
Prepare the crust by adding the almonds, cocoa, sugar and salt to a food processor and process until it is a fine meal texture, about 30 seconds. Add the syrup and process again just until it comes together in a chunky ball. Press the mixture into the prepared springform pan, making sure it’s flat and even around the edges. Set aside.
For the filling, make sure to go in this order. Add the cashews, water, lemon juice, syrup and vanilla to your high speed blender or food processor. Process, starting on slow at first and work your way up to high speed until it’s completely smooth. It will be very thick and you may need to scrape the sides, but make sure it’s totally smooth before adding the dry ingredients!
Once totally smooth, add the salt, sugar and cocoa powder and slightly stir it into the mix. Don’t blend yet, it will be too thick. Melt your cocoa butter in a pan on a low heat. Once it’s almost all melted, remove and stir until it’s 100% dissolved. Pour into the blender and process until completely smooth. It will be very thick like a pudding. Do your best to stir with a spoon to loosen and blend again, just to make sure it is all mixed and smooth. Add 1-2 tablespoons of coconut sugar to sweeten.
Pour over your crust and smooth the top with a spoon. Place in the freezer for several hours until set. Remove it around 20 minutes before serving and it is the perfect firm, smooth texture. Keep it stored in the fridge.
Note: This cake has a wonderful, rich velvety chocolate texture and flavor. There is only 1 tablespoon lemon juice, a very slight tang, to really allow the chocolate flavor to be the star. If you taste the batter after blending and want it sweeter, add 1-2 tablespoons more of the coconut sugar, not the syrup, as you don’t want to add extra liquid or it will affect the texture.
Thanks to Brandi from The Vegan8 for this tasty recipe.
