Cheesecake is my ride or die when it comes to desserts and I honestly would have said there wasn’t a better after dinner treat, until I discovered the cheese-free version.
It’s just as, (if not more) decadent than any other cheesecake I’ve tried…and requires minimal effort – so if you are as terrible at baking as I am, well, what more could you ask for?
Raw Salted Caramel Vegan Cheesecake
INGREDIENTS
– 1 cup rolled oats or oat flour
– Dates (30 + or about 20 Medjool)
– Dried apricot halves (8-10)
– Chia seeds (2 flat tbsp)
– 1 cup plain, raw cashews (soaked 4 hours minimum in about 1.5 cups water)
– Desiccated coconut (1 tbsp)
– Salt (tsp)
– Vanilla extract
– Lemon juice
– Cinnamon (optional)
– Maple syrup (optional)
(adjust quantities as needed, I made this recipe mostly by eye and licking the spoon)
METHOD
– Blend oats to form oat flour… or if you already have oat flour… don’t ..
– Put oat flour in a bowl and blend about 5-8 dates, depending on size, and all of your apricots. Add a splash of water and chia seeds which will act as a binding agent for the base
– Once a relatively smooth (but not too smooth) consistency has formed, mix together with the oat flour to create a biscuity textured ‘dough’ ball
– In a small flat baking tray (or a square container), press the base into the bottom, covering evenly across and right up to the edges. You can grease the tray if you like but it really shouldn’t need it.
– Place in the freezer on a flat surface
– Next, for the filling, blend the cashews along with the water they were soaking in to form a thick creamy consistency, adding about 2 teaspoons of lemon juice along with a generous amount of vanilla extract and the coconut
– Pour filling into the tray, evenly covering the base and return to the freezer
– Finally, for the caramel topping, blend around 20 dates with water (adding as you go until you get a caramel-type thickness), add salt and then spread a thick layer across the top of your cake
– Freezer overnight and serve topped with chopped cashews, a sprinkle of cinnamon and a drizzle of maple syrup
