Smooth & creamy Raspberry Swirl Raw Cheesecake Cups with a chocolatey nut & date crust | Paleo + Vegan
I can still very clearly remember my first experience with raw vegan desserts.
My friend and I bought a box of homemade raw vegan cup cakes at a Relay for Life event years ago. They looked so good and the proceeds were all going to charity so we thought ‘why not?!’. We were so excited to try them but honestly they ended up just tasting like sadness. Dirty. Grassy. Sadness.
It was years before I even considered trying another vegan dessert again but I’m so happy I got over that barrier so that I now know the joy of cashew based vegan cheesecake.
About this Recipe: Raw Cheesecake Cups
This is the type of recipe that looks way more difficult that it actually is. The swirl may look intimidating but once you get going it’s really a no brainer.
Starting off – we’ve got our three-ingredient crust made up of dates, nuts, and cocoa powder. I used pecans here because I prefer the flavor but you can use walnuts, almonds, or another nut of choice.
Next up our cheesecake base: soaked cashews, coconut milk, lemon juice, vanilla, maple syrup, a touch of coconut oil and a pinch of salt. Super easy and super tasty.
Finally we’ve got our raspberry swirl which is just a mixture of water, berries, and little of sweetener. After about 10 minutes on the stove top you’ve got a perfectly sweet & perfectly tart raspberry sauce to drizzle over the top of the cheesecake.
The hardest part of this process is the waiting for them to set, but then again patience has never really been my strong suit.
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Raspberry Swirl Raw Cheesecake Cups
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 1/2 cup | 200 grams packed, pitted dates
- 1 1/2 cups | 115 grams raw pecans or walnuts, almonds or other nuts
- 1/2 cup | 58 grams unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Cheesecake
- 2 cups | 290 grams raw cashews, soaked in water overnight
- 1/2 cup | 120 ml full fat coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 3 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, about 1/2 small lemon, plus more to taste
Raspberry Swirl
- 1 cup | 100g raspberries
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup, or honey
Instructions
Crust
- Make the crust by adding the dates and the pecans to a food processor or high powered blender. Blitz together until the dates and nuts are broken up into small pieces and come together. Blend in the cocoa powder. If your mixture is too dry add a couple more dates. You may need to stop to scrape the sides down occasionally.
- Scoop out about 1 tablespoons of the crust and press into each cup of a standard 12 cup muffin tin lined with cupcake/muffin wrappers, until evenly filled. You may need to rotate the muffin liners around as you fill them because this makes about 15 cheesecake cups. Once the crust is pressed into the bottom of the liner, the paper should be enough to hold the cheesecake cups in shape so don't worry about any that don't fit in your muffin tin.
Raspberry Swirl
- To make the raspberry puree, place the raspberries, the water, and the sweetener in a small sauce pan on a medium heat for about 8-10 minute. Use a fork to stir the mixture and mash up the raspberries. Once cooked, place a fine mesh strainer over a small bowl use the fork to squeeze out the liquid into the bowl. Discard the left over solids. Set aside the puree to cool to room temp while you make the cheesecake base.
Cheesecake
- For the cheesecake layer, begin by draining the water from the cashews and then placing them in a high speed blender or food processor with the remaining cheesecake ingredients. Blend it all together until it becomes smooth. If you need, stop and scrap the sides down to get all the bits mixed in. This should take 60-90 seconds. (If you own a Blendtec, I put mine on the smoothie setting and that did the trick.) Taste and adjust flavor as needed. Add another 1-2 tablespoons of maple if you like it sweet. When the flavor is right, pour the cheesecake filling over the crusts.
- Carefully drizzle the cooled raspberry puree over the tops of the filling and then drag a knife or toothpick across the top to create the rippled effect. Cover and place in the freezer for about an hour to firm up and dive in.
Notes
Makes about 15 cheesecake cups Store these in the fridge or freezer. If keeping in the freezer make sure you let them thaw for about 10 minutes before biting in
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
15Amount Per Serving:Calories: 269 Saturated Fat: 6g Sodium: 82mg Carbohydrates: 24g Fiber: 3g Sugar: 14g Protein: 5g
Celeste-The Whole Serving says
9th February 2017 at 3:22 amLove this recipe! Looks so delicious and easy to make. Perfect for Valentine’s Day.
Sarah says
10th February 2017 at 8:38 amThanks Celeste!
Kristen Chidsey says
8th February 2017 at 1:14 pmYou know I love these!! Such a clean but delicious treat!!!
Sarah says
10th February 2017 at 8:38 amThanks Kristen! 🙂