RAW-Vegan Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce
Lately I have been learning more about the RAW food diet and decided for my son’s 3rd birthday I would make a RAW-Vegan Cheesecake. I also made a non raw vegan chocolate cake since chocolate is his FAVORITE thing. He had a piece of both cakes along with some vegan chocolate ice cream. He was spinning around with quite a sugar high after that.
I have to say this is not my own recipe it is the standard one that is all over the Internet and who knows who the originator of it was. I did make my own little adjustments to it so I will just post it exactly as I made it since it turned out AMAZING!
I had a couple of pieces left over so my daughter took them over to her friends house and they all loved it so much they made it for their daughter’s birthday the next week!
As anyone who was researched raw foods knows that raw food recipes can be full of fat because of the nuts and the use of oils. I am usual one to keep the oils to a minimum in my recipes but I did not follow that rule here at all.
This cheesecake is fresh, amazingly tasty and full of fat but some would say it is the “good” fat, you decide that for yourself or just forget about it and enjoy an amazing piece of RAW-Vegan Cheesecake!
I am going to post some of his birthday party pictures below and some of them are blurry but I HAD to share anyway. My camera died after the cheesecake pics so I had to use grandma’s and it would not work well for me (I’m sure user error-duh!).
The official birthday cake was a chocolate cake (the recipe is not posted here-was one I found on vegweb) so everyone had two choices. I hand made the frosting and used a all natural food coloring and it did not turn out the color I wanted. I was supposed to be a red and blue but ended up pink and purple but he did not even notice.
RAW-Vegan Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce
Makes 1 pie tin
Crust:
2 cups raw nuts of your choice (I used a combo of pecans, macadamia and cashews)
1/2 cup dates, pitted
1/4 cup shredded, dried coconut
Filling:
3 cups raw cashews (I only had 2 1/2 cups so I used 1/2 cup macadamia and yummy), soaked overnight or a couple hours minimum if you don’t have a vita-mix
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/4 water
1/4 cup lemon juice (could use lime too)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup coconut oil, melted (set in a warm bowl-do not heat if keeping it really RAW)
Shake or two of sea salt
Raspberry Sauce:
1/2 bag frozen raspberries
4-6 dates to taste
1/4 cup agave or more to taste and thickness desired (supposed to be runny enough to drip over cheesecake)
Start with making the crust first by blending the nuts and dates in a food processor or vita-mix until well broken down and you can squeeze it together between your fingers. Add the shredded, dried coconut and blend for a second or two more. Press into a 9 inch pie tin, making sure to press up the sides to the top. Set aside.
Drain the nuts from the soaking water then blend them along with the agave, water, lemon juice, vanilla, melted coconut oil, and salt until very smooth. You can adjust the flavor as needed here.
Pour filling into prepared crust, tap on the counter to remove bubbles and smooth the top.
Place into the freezer for a minimum of 3 hours or until very firm or even slightly frozen. This cheesecake is best taken from the freezer 10-15 minutes before serving so it is still cold and firm. If it is left out too long it has a key lime pie consistency, which some like but I don’t so you decide.
Next make the raspberry sauce by blending the raspberries, dates, and agave together until very smooth. Chill in the refrigerator until you are ready to eat the cheesecake.
When ready to serve you can cut it easily with a knife because it is frozen. Place each piece onto a plate and top with desired amount of raspberry sauce. ENJOY!
Here are the promised (some blurry) birthday pictures of Jaden’s 3rd birthday. Again, as mentioned above the chocolate cake is not a recipe I have posted on my blog, it was a quick one I grabbed off vegweb then I made my own homemade icing. Those pink and purple colors were supposed to be red and blue but the natural food coloring was not working as I hoped and I’m too cheap to use as much as it would have taken to make it the right color. He did not even notice the wrong color but was excited to eat it and the cheesecake too. I had some left over vegan chocolate bunnies from Easter so I shredded it onto the cake for it to look even more yummy.
We spent the day at grandma’s house and she has a great backyard pushed up against a golf course so the kids played in the yard. When they came in they were covered in mosquito bites 
so it is time to whip up some homemade mosquito repellent ( I will share it) grrr bugs! Can vegan’s kill bugs with good conscious, hmmm??? I won’t tell 
Happy Birthday
Time to blow out the mesmerizing candles (or should I touch them?)
Yuuumm CHOCOLATE!
Kairi has lost her 4 front teeth, plus Jaden running after his cousin
Headed in to sit on the brick wall and talk
Kairi made it but they kids are gone too fast, cute pic of her hanging out
Adorable picture, I wonder what they were talking about?
Tags: Dessert, Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, Quick vegan, Raw cheesecake, Vegan, vegan cheesecake, vegan recipe, Vegetarian
June 8th, 2011 at 11:45 am
i’ve always been intrigued by raw cheesecakes, and your recipe seems to be the simplest! and it looks really delicious
June 8th, 2011 at 11:56 am
Thanks Caitlin, it really is simple and tastes really great. Fed it to 15 SAD eaters and they all loved it.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:34 pm
Hi Kim,
Yum yum! It looks so tasty. I will make this again very soon.
Enjoyed the photos!
)
Have a wonderful day!
Evelyn
June 9th, 2011 at 9:38 am
Boy oh boy that looks good! I’m trying to cut down my sugar consumption but I think special occasions warrant special recipes. I have a friend with a birthday coming up and I just know she’d love this. I’m also wild about the fact it’s RAW. Mmmmmm. Thanks for sharing.
June 9th, 2011 at 11:03 am
Karen,
That is what is great about this cheesecake, no cane sugar in it. Just natural, less harmful sweetener. I hope you make it and enjoy it
Kim
June 9th, 2011 at 1:44 pm
Oh, that looks heavenly!
Raw desserts are so amazing… And no crust is better than a raw nut-crust!
Definitely will give this recipe a try- perhaps as a celebration for finishing the school year!
June 9th, 2011 at 9:45 pm
I have been on a serious cheesecake kick lately! I should really try this recipe- it looks divine!
June 10th, 2011 at 6:29 am
It IS divine, give it a try it is as easy as pie to make
Kim
June 29th, 2011 at 2:10 pm
Oh yay yay Y-A-Y! I’ve been traumatized by all the awesome vegan desserts I’ve been finding that I can’t make because I don’t have an oven. I’m super psyched to try this!!! Found your blog through Sweet on Veg. At the risk of sounding redundant: yay yay Y-A-Y!!!
June 29th, 2011 at 3:04 pm
I’m so glad you found it since you don’t have an oven right now! I hope it is something you end up enjoying and sneak by your husband as just being yummy! Love your site, it is wonderful. Glad we found each others sites. Fun to share.
Kim
August 12th, 2011 at 8:22 am
Hi, I am a teen vegan, gluten free, amateur chef. This recipe looks
great and I plan to try it, with a substitute of maple syrup or
coconut sugar instead of agave, for health reasons.
I researched and found some information on agave and have posted a couple of key points from the article that is linked below.
“Just the name “agave” conjures up images of romantic tropical
excursions and mysterious shamanic medicine.
These are the mental images agave “nectar” sellers want you to hold.
They use agave’s royal pedigree to cover the truth that what they’re
selling you is a bottle of high-fructose syrup, so highly processed
and refined that it bears NO resemblance to the plant of its
namesake.”
“Agave “nectar” or agave “syrup” is nothing more than a
laboratory-generated super-condensed fructose syrup, devoid of
virtually all nutrient value, offering you metabolic misfortune.
Unfortunately, masterful marketing has resulted in the astronomical
popularity of agave syrup among people who believe they are doing
their health a favor by avoiding refined sugars like high fructose
corn syrup, and dangerous artificial sweeteners.”
Here is the link to the full article:
http://onlinehealthnews.org/2010/03/beware-of-the-agave-nectar-health-food-fraud/
And here’s a link to my blog:
http://americanspeedskatingteenhomeschooling.blogspot.com/
Leonardo
August 12th, 2011 at 10:22 am
Leonardo,
I completely agree with the article written and your perspective on agave nectar not being all it is cracked up to be. I think maple syrup would work wonderfully in this recipe and I would love to hear how it turns out with that or coconut sugar. I have yet to try coconut sugar but it is on my to do list! I am slowly weaning away from agave nectar just as I am from sugar but reminders like yours help push me that way even more, thank you. You have a great blog and I’m glad to approve this comment to share it. I think it is wonderful that you have been vegan your whole life and continue it with a passion.
thanks
Kim
August 17th, 2011 at 6:15 am
I think it depends on what type of agave you buy. We all know that lots of sugar of any form is not good for us. Here is an article (I make no comments on whether it is a good or bad article – just more food for thought!) from the CEO of an organic agave nectar producing company. http://www.wholesomesweeteners.com/NWillertonAgaveStatement1.html
January 30th, 2012 at 10:54 pm
Is there any way to make the filling nut free? My husband and daughter are allergic to nuts and to dairy as well … Fun times …
January 31st, 2012 at 4:35 pm
Katrin,
OMG, I have never tried to make it nut free. If your daughter can eat soy then try this other recipe of mine for cheesecake, Berry Topped Cheezecake . It is not raw but it is darn good! I looked online too and there is a 100% fruit cheesecake you can make, I can’t vouch for it but it looks yummy http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=467110. Good luck to you!!
Kim
September 6th, 2012 at 8:34 pm
Wishing all the best to this cruelty free family.
I’m not a raw vegan but I got try this! Maybe it’s a start??
September 8th, 2012 at 9:09 am
We are not a RAW vegan family either but it is a great place to start! We all do the best we can right!
Kim
February 22nd, 2013 at 7:28 am
Oh wow! This cake looks wonderful, I absolutely love your son’s face.
March 6th, 2013 at 9:17 pm
It really looks delicious! Especially that crust. I have a ninja bullet blender, and I can’t wait to try this out. I have been chomping at the bit to make some nut cheeses. Happy belated birthday to Jaden =)!
March 8th, 2013 at 6:19 pm
It is Terri, let me know when you whip our your ninja bullet blender and make it! Thanks for the b-day wish.
Kim
April 24th, 2013 at 11:29 am
This looks like a great recipe! I can’t wait to try it out! However, can you substitute the coconut oil for some other oil like vegetable oil?
April 27th, 2013 at 10:49 am
Hi Nicole,
I hope you end up liking the recipe once you try it. No you cannot substitute the coconut oil for other oils. Most oils are liquid are room temperature and coconut oil is solid and you need it to be solid. If you really wanted to you could substitute vegetable shortening but the coconut oil adds a certain flavor too so you really do need it. You could omit the oil and freeze it until a few minutes before you eat it if wanted to and that would make is even better for you but still really good. Let me know what you try.
Kim