Raw Cheesecake with Almond and Cacao

This cheesecake is delicious and easy to make. It's perfect for when you want something sweet but don't want the naughty feelings afterwards. Made with no gluten, no oil and no refined sugar, you'd think it would taste bland and boring, but that's definitely not true. Dates, almond butter and cacao give this little cake an enormously scrumptious flavor. A dehydrator isn't necessary and all you need is a blender, food processor and a freezer. 

You'll need:

Crust

1 c raw cashews

1 c raw almonds

1 c soft, pitted dates

2 T cacao powder

Filling

2 c soaked, raw cashews

2 T raw almond butter, like Artisana

1/4 c lemon juice

1/2 c date paste* or raw coconut nectar, such as Coconut Secret

1 c water

1 t vanilla bean powder or 2 t vanilla extract

1 t cacao powder

* date paste: 2 cups pitted and softened dates blended with 2 c water

Let's get started!

To make the crust, pulse the almonds and cashews until they are broken down into small pieces. Add in the dates and cacao and pulse until combined and the mixture holds its shape. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a spring-form pan, or for mini cakes, press into the bottom and sides of a muffin tin. 

To make the filling, blend all of the ingredients except the cacao powder until smooth and silky. Pour all of the mixture, except 1/4 c, over your crust. Add the tsp of cacao to the leftover mixture and blend until combined. 

Now comes the fun part. With a spoon, drizzle the filling over the cake, in lines. Try to get them as close together as you can. They definitely don't have to be perfect, because you are about to mess them up.

Now, grab a toothpick, or a skewer, and use it to make perpendicular lines through the batter, changing direction every line (up and down).

After you've finished decorating your cheesecake, cover it and place in the freezer for 4-5 hours to set. Let it thaw out for 15 minutes before cutting. The cheesecake can be stored in the freezer for up to two weeks. I usually cut it up and store slices individually for easy access. 

Sweet Nut Milk

I use nut milk almost daily. In smoothies (like this one), on granola in the morning, in coffee or herbal tea, and basically anywhere dairy milk would be used. This is a sweet, indulgent milk. I like to use a combo of the nuts mentioned below, but sometimes I just use one. 

You'll need...

1 c raw, soaked and rinsed nuts

(such as hazelnuts, cashews, almonds, macadamia, peanuts or brazil nuts)

3 dates, soaked and pitted***

1 vanilla bean, soaked if necessary (or 1 tsp extract)

cinnamon (optional)

6 c of water

*** Or you can use 1 Tbsp sweetener of choice, such as maple syrup or coconut nectar
*** For an un-sweet milk, just blend the nuts with water

Nut milk bag, fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth

Let's get started!

Blend all of the ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth. Grab your nut milk bag and a large bowl. Hold the bag open over the bowl and slowly pour the milk in, squeezing when necessary to get the milk out. 

Keep pouring the milk in to the bag, and squeezing the milk out until only dry pulp is left in the bag.

I like to pour my milk back into the blender, to make it easier to pour into a jar. Make sure you label your jar, it wouldn't be very fun to mix your nut milk and your ranch. You can save the leftover pulp and add it to muffins, smoothies, or cakes, or you could dehydrate it into a nut flour.

I just love how you can see the vanilla beans floating at the top.