Raw Lemon & Raspberry Mini Cheesecakes

I have absolutely saved the best for last team! This is a recipe I created from scratch and it’s my all time fave. These perfect little cheesecakes are delicious – you will never want to eat regular cheesecake again!  It is perfect for a summer treat and made with wholesome ingredients. They are gluten free, vegan and refined sugar free.   Just remember to soak your cashews the day before, but otherwise a very easy recipe.

Male these for your family for Christmas and they love you for it!

Ingredients

Base:

1 cup cashews

1 cup almonds

½ cup coconut

½ cup soaked dates

1 TBS maple

Lemon Filling:

2 cups of cashews, soaked overnight

400 grams coconut cream

½ cup pure maple syrup

½ cup cacao butter, melted

Juice of 1 lemon

Zest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Pinch of salt

Method:

For the base, soak your dates in boiling water for 10 mins. 

Combine the nuts and coconut in a blender and blend until fine.
Drain the dates and add to the blender along with the maple syrup and blend until combined.  The mixture should hold together well and be sticky.

Spoon one table spoon at a time into silicon cupcake trays, press down with the back of the spoon and then pop in the fridge while you make the fillings.

Make the filling:
To make the filling, add all of your lemon filling incredients into the blender and blend until smooth and glossy, approx 3-5 minutes.

Pour into molds to about half way, leaving room for the raspberry layer on top. Return to fridge.

To make the raspberry layer, add 1 cup fresh or freeze dried raspberries to your lemon filling and blend for a minute, or until completely blended.  Pour into your molds, filling to the top. Sprinkle freeze dried raspberry on top. 

Set in the freezer up to 4 hours, or overnight. 

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Raw Chocolate Tart

And we have a winner. When I think about yummy Christmas food, I think of chocolate. Am I right? I have always loved baking for my family at Christmas time and usually something with chocolate is in the mix. When coming up with my menu for this baking series, I knew there needed to be something in there for chocolate lovers everywhere.

This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, vegan & refined sugar free. Oh, and also surprisingly easy.
Remember to soak your cashews at least 4hrs in advance of making! The longer you soak them, the creamier the mixture will be.

Serve with fresh strawberries or raspberries.

Ingredients:

Base
2 cups natural cashews
1 cup almonds
1/2 cup pitted dates
3 TBS cacao
2 TBS pure maple

Chocolate Filling
2 cups (250g) raw cashews (soaked for minimum 4 hrs)
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ cup coconut oil, melted
50g cacao butter, melted
1 teaspoon maca powder (optional)
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
100ml (about 7 tablespoons) nut milk of choice
¾ cup raw cacao powder

Method:

The cashews for the filling need to be soaked for a minimum of 4 hours (recommend longer).

To make the base, place all of the dry ingredients (nuts and cacao) into your blender and blitz until crumbly. Add your drained, soaked dates and maple and blitz again until the mixture is combined. Mixture will be sticky. Pop your base into a tart tin and press into the base and up the sides. Place in the fridge while you make the filling.

To make the filling, place all ingredients back in your blender and mix until smooth, this will take anywhere from 3-7 minutes depending on your blender. Pour the filling over your base and place in the freezer to set.

Serve with strawberries or raspberries along with some plain coconut yogurt.

Can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Raw Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cheesecake

I've been wanting to attempt a raw / vegan cheesecake for ages. Whenever I have them out somewhere I always think they taste incredible, but for some reason they intimidated me.
Lets break it down though. Really, all we have here is a base (all in the blender), filling and a simple ganache on top, not dissimilar to all the other slices I make.  

With friends coming over tonight it was the perfect excuse. The hardest part was actually deciding on flavour - next time I will go for blueberry, but for my first try I decided on Peanut Butter using my fave PB from Pics. I spotted this recipe on Julia & Libby's website a while back, all I did was make a few adjustments with the topping, opting for a chocolate ganache layer on top.   I also made some peanut butter and cacao bliss balls to go on top, which I will post the recipe for tomorrow. 

It gets all the ticks from me - it's refined sugar free, choc full of protein with all of those nuts, it's vegan (completely dairy free) and gluten free. 

So lets do this!  Honestly, it was easy and it's SO SO decadent and delicious, perfect for a special occasion or slicing and popping in the freezer to eat piece by piece!

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cheesecake

Crust

• 1.5 cup almonds

• ½ cup raw peanuts

• 8 medjool dates, pitted and soaked for half an hour in warm water.

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted

• 1 tablespoon cacao powder

• Pinch of salt

Filling

• 2 cups of cashews, soaked overnight

• 400 grams coconut cream

• ½ cup maple syrup

• ½ cup peanut butter, melted

• 1/2 cup cacao butter, melted

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

• Pinch of salt

Chocolate Ganache

• 3/4 cup coconut milk

• 1 block dark Ghana whittakers chocolate chopped into chunks

Instructions

1. Line spring form tin with baking paper. Place all crust ingredients into food processor and pulse until grainy-mixed texture. Press crust down into cake pan evenly and place into the freezer.

2. Place all cheesecake ingredients into food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. Spread evenly on top of base using a knife or spatula. Place in the freezer for 3 or more hours.

3. Once the cake is set, make your ganache. Place your coconut milk in a pot and heat on low until it starts to steam - don't let boil.  Once hot, take off the heat and mix in your chocolate which will melt slowly. Fold until the ganache goes glossy

4. Pour your ganache over top of the frozen cheesecake. I used a squezzy bottle but you can do this however you like. 

5. Cake is best stored in the freezer.

 

Raw Vegan Lemon & Coconut Slice

Those of you who follow me on instagram, when it comes to food, know three things for certain  - I love smoothies, I have a sweet tooth and I love Cathedral Cove Naturals products. 

It started with the paleo cereals to put on my smoothies or bowls for some crunch, and then I discovered the coconut yogurts. I love yogurt, and when I started focusing on my health and the amount of refined sugar I was having, I really struggled to find a dairy yogurt that was good for me.  The lowest I could find was 6g of sugar per 100g, which is actually not too bad really and I made do with that for a while.    

Then I found  Cathedral Cove natural yogurt, how could this creamy goodness taste so good and be so low in sugar? There is only 1g of sugar per 100g and it literally has two ingredients - coconut cream and probiotic cultures. That's it.  

I use it primarily as a topping or base - combine the yogurt with their cereal and some fruit and you've got heaven in a bowl (see my instagramfor photos!) They also have several other flavours if you're wanting something more decadent, the raspberry and chia one is my absolute fave (this one is slightly higher in sugar). 

After following them on instagram I've seen there are a lot of clever ways to use coconut yogurt, including raw baking. One slice caught my eye so I decided to make it yesterday. This recipe comes from their website and is really really delicious and super simple!  

Make it and let me know what you think! 

Ingredients

Base

1 Cup of Desiccated Coconut

1 Cup of Mixed Nuts (we used cashews and macadamias)

2 Tbs of our Raw Organic Coconut Oil

2 Tbs of Coconut Butter (or nut butter of choice)

1 Tsp Cinnamon

½ Tsp Ground Ginger

Filling
1 Cup Natural Coconut Yoghurt

1 Cup of Raw Cashews (soaked overnight)

Zest and juice of one large Lemon

3 Tbs of Pure Maple Syrup (or sweetener of choice)

½ tsp of Vanilla Powder

Garnish (optional)
Handful of chopped Mint, Zest of one Lemon, Chopped Macadamias

Freeze dried Strawberries

Instructions
Firstly, line a square baking tray or container with baking paper. 

To make the base add all of the ingredients into a food processor and blend until everything is combined. The mixture should be able to come together easily. Place the base mixture into the baking tray and press down firmly. Transfer to the freezer while you make the filling. To make the filling add all of the ingredients into a high-speed blender and blend until the mixture is smooth. Pour the filling on top of the base layer and put back into the freezer to allow it to set over night or for 4-6 hours. Once this layer has set you can garnish it with the mint, lemon zest, macadamias and freeze dried strawberries. Prior to serving place the slice in the fridge for a couple of hours to allow it to soften.