Makes: One 10cm x 25cm loaf tin/approximately 10 slices
Prep time: 1/2 hour
Soaking time: 2 to 4 hours
Chill time: 1 hour
This Raw Boysenberry & Vanilla Bean Cheesecake is a classic cheesecake recipe! A graham cracker crust is filled with a smooth, thick and creamy vanilla bean cheesecake topped with homemade vanilla bean mousse!
If you love classic and traditional cheesecake recipes, you’ll want to add this easy Classic Cheesecake Recipe and this classic Mini Cheesecakes recipe to your list of favorite dessert recipes.
The base of this cheesecake is made from almonds, coconut, medjool dates, coconut oil and lemon zest. Medjool dates act as a binding agent and are a whole food sweetener that contain beneficial amounts of the minerals zinc, iron, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus and calcium, they also contain vitamins B6 and A and soluble dietary fibre. Dates are high in fructose which is not ideal if you’re trying to keep your sugar consumption low, however, their high fibre content slows down the fructose absorption and when combined with protein (in the form of nuts here) this also acts to slow it down.
The cheesecake filling is made from a base of soaked cashew nuts, coconut milk, cacao butter, coconut oil and an unrefined sweetener. Soaking the cashew nuts makes them much easier to blend, creates a lovely creamy texture, and most importantly, removes the natural enzyme inhibitors and allows the cashews to be digested much more easily by your body.
The addition of coconut milk helps create the right consistency and coconut oil provides a setting quality. Coconut oil is also great source of lauric acid which has anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties. It boosts your immune system and metabolism, lowers blood pressure and helps with the absorption of minerals. Even though coconut oil is a saturated fat, it’s considered a ‘heathier’ fat because lauric acid is a medium chain fatty acid and is processed by your body in the same way as carbohydrates as a direct source of energy.
Raw cacao butter is the pure cold pressed oil of the cocoa bean and is very high in antioxidants. Antioxidants are so important because they reduce the inflammatory action of free radicals, which slows the ageing process. Woop!
Boysenberries like most bramble fruits are also a fantastic source of antioxidants and as mentioned above, contain relatively low levels of fructose compared to other fruits.
There are a couple of options to choose from for the sweetener in the cheesecake filling. Rice syrup is the lowest fructose choice and has the least sweet flavour. Pure maple syrup and raw honey will provide a sweeter flavour and while they contain more fructose than rice syrup, they also contain other beneficial nutrients. See the notes below for more on how to choose a good raw honey and pure maple syrup.
As you can see, this raw dessert is full of nutritional value which goes a long way in balancing out the unrefined and whole food sugars that it also contains. Plus, because it’s high in protein you’ll only need a small serving to satisfy.
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup (35g) sunflower seeds
1/2 cup (60g) desiccated coconut
1/2 cup (85g) almonds
a pinch of Himalayan pink salt
5 (75g) dates, pitted
peel of 1 organic lemon (if not organic, discard it)
1 tablespoon coconut oil, gently melted (see note below)
Vanilla bean layer
1 cup of cashew nuts soaked (see note below)
1/4 cup coconut milk (or optional nut milk)
1/4 cup rice syrup (can substitute for pure maple syrup or pure honey for a sweeter version)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
himalayan pink salt pinch
1/8 teaspoon vanilla powder
1/4 cup coconut oil, gently melted (see note below)
1 tbsp cocoa butter, gently melt (see note below)
Class Boysenberry
1 cup of cashew nuts soaked (see note below)
1 cup (140g) cranberries (or raspberries)
1 tablespoon coconut milk (or optional nut milk)
1 tablespoon pure rice syrup (can be a substitute for pure maple syrup or pure honey, see note below)
3 tbsp lemon juice
himalayan pink salt pinch
1/4 cup coconut oil, gently melted (see note below)
1 tbsp cocoa butter, gently melt (see note below)
INSTRUCTION
Start soaking cashews, put in a bowl, rinse with water and let stand for 2 to 4 hours. Rinse off the water and rinse the cashew nuts.
Line 10 cm x 25 cm tin cans (or your optional tin cans) with double glue film and set aside.
As a base, gently melt the coconut oil by placing it in a heat-resistant bowl on the water bath and turn off the heat. Put sunflower seeds, desiccated coconut, almonds and salt in a food processor and mix until mixture looks like small crumbs. Add Medjool (make sure you’ve got rid of the holes!) And mix until well combined. Add lemon peel if used. Finally add the melted coconut oil while the engine is running. Press the basic mixture evenly into the tin that has been prepared, then put in the refrigerator to freeze.
To make a vanilla bean filling, gently melt the coconut oil and cocoa butter by placing them in an insulated bowl on a steamer pan and turning off the heat (see note below). Place the soaked and drained cashews in a high speed blender (e.g. Vitamix / Blendtec) together with coconut milk, pure maple syrup, lemon juice, sea salt and vanilla and blend until when smooth.
Gradually add the melted coconut oil and cocoa butter to the top of the blender while the engine is running. These will mix well and you will have a smooth vanilla ice cream. Pour the vanilla bean filling on the prepared base, beat with a spatula and place in the freezer to freeze.
To make a strawberry filling, gently melt the coconut oil and cocoa butter by placing them in an insulated bowl on the steamer pan and turn off the heat (see note below). Add the soaked and drained cashews in a high speed blender (e.g. Vitamix / Blendtec) together with strawberries, coconut milk, pure maple syrup, lemon juice and sea salt and mix. until smooth.
Gradually add the melted coconut oil and cocoa butter to the top of the blender while the engine is running. These will work perfectly together and you will get a juicy creamy texture. Remove the vanilla cheesecake from the freezer and if the top just tightens to the touch, you are ready to pour the strawberries carefully. If not, go back to the freezer for another 10 minutes (unless you want the cheesecake swirling in which case it doesn’t need to be coated with vanilla). Once the strawberry layer is added, crush it with a spoon and place it in the freezer to harden it.
Transfer the cheesecake to the refrigerator a few hours before you want to serve. To serve, lift the cheesecake out of the tin using the cling film, place it on the cutting board and peel off the remaining film. Cut into slices, place on a plate and garnish with frozen dried fruit and edible flowers. Once thawed, the raw cheesecake will keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
NOTE
Note on activating nuts: activating is the process of soaking nuts (or seeds) in water to remove the natural inhibitor enzymes on their skins to make them more digestible. The cashews in this cheesecake filling are therefore activated. If you also wanted to activate the nuts in the base for this recipe they would need to be soaked and then dried. Ideally this would be in a dehydrator at 46ºC for 1 1/2 – 2 days, or in an oven on the lowest fan bake setting with the door ajar for a couple of hours. The aim is to keep the nuts below 46ºC so the nutrients remain unaffected by heat and the food still deemed raw. High fat nuts like brazil and macadamia nuts don’t show significant nutritional benefits from this process, so there isn’t any advantage in activating these.
Note on melting raw ingredients: to ensure ingredients remain in their raw form and their nutrients fully intact, they must not be heated above 46ºC. When melting raw coconut oil or raw cacao butter, place the bowl of ingredients over a pot of steaming water with the heat turned off. This should ensure the ingredients do not heat above 46ºC.
Note on choosing coconut oil: it is important which type of coconut oil you choose. A lot of the cheaper coconut oils are heat or chemical processed which destroys the inherent nutrients that have made coconut oil so popular recently. Look for ‘cold pressed, extra virgin, organic’ or ‘unrefined raw’ coconut oil. Even though it may cost a little more, it is WAY better for you. Coconut oil contains high quantities of lauric acid which has anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties. It boosts your immune system and metabolism, lowers blood pressure and helps with the absorption of minerals. Even though coconut oil is a saturated fat, it is considered a ‘heathier’ fat because lauric acid is a medium chain fatty acid. This means it is easily digestible and processed by your body in the same way as carbohydrates as a direct source of energy.
Note on choosing maple syrup: make sure you get the real deal. There are quite a few maple syrups out there that are just maple flavoured sugar syrup, full of additives and often high fructose corn syrup. Pure maple syrup lists only “pure maple syrup” under ingredients and is harvested from maple trees by extracting the sap, evaporating off excess water and filtering to remove impurities. Pure maple syrup is an unrefined sugar and has a lower glycemic index than refined sugar. It contains natural phenols which acts antioxidants as well as small amounts of the minerals calcium, potassium, iron, manganese and zinc, unlike refined sugar which is literally empty calories. Pure maple syrup is still a form of sugar however, so while it is better choice than refined sugar it is still best used in moderation. Feel free to use less in this recipe if it suits your tastes and if you do decrease the amount of maple syrup, replace the quantity you leave out with an equal amount of coconut milk.
Note on raw honey: raw or unprocessed honey is a wholefood sweetener that has a higher fructose content than pure maple syrup but it also contains more antioxidants and has antibacterial and antifungal properties too. Raw or unprocessed honey can usually be found at farmers markets and specialty food stores. Most of New Zealand’s Manuka honey is also minimally processed and contains much of it’s inherent nutrients and protective properties. Beware of liquid honey’s, especially the types in squeezy bottles as these have been refined and often don’t contain any beneficial properties.
