Desserts

To make the “cheesecake”, you will need cashews and you will need to soak them for an hour or two before blending them. This process will remove the enzymes inhibitors and facilitate blending.

All the ingredients in this dessert are raw and organic, besides the maple syrup, which isn’t raw but still used in raw food cuisine as it’s a very natural sweetener.

Agave is commonly used in raw dessert but it’s not a sweetener that I recommend using as it’s highly refined and processed, and high in fructose.

I used raw cacao powder, as it’s high quality and full of antioxidants and minerals. If you don’t have access to raw cacao powder, just make sure to get a good quality cacao powder. Avoid cocoa powder, which is different; it contains sugar.

I garnished the cake with cacao powder and added a little cacao nibs in the middle, but feel free to use whatever you like. Candied orange zest would be very nice as well.

This chocolate orange cheesecake is raw, vegan, gluten and soy-free. It’s easy to make and doesn’t require any cooking or baking. You will only need a food processor, a blender and a spring-form pan.

Ingredients:
Crust:
2 cups almonds
1 cup dates, pitted
¼ teaspoon Himalayan or sea salt

Filling:
3 cups cashews, soaked for about 2 hours
¾ cup fresh orange juice
⅔ cup pure maple syrup, or use brown rice syrup at room temperature
½ cup coconut oil
¼ cup raw cacao powder
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Zest of 1 orange
1 teaspoon orange extract
¼ teaspoon Celtic sea salt
Berry Puree:
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup blackberries
1/2 inch slice fresh ginger, minced
1/4 cup raisins, soaked in filtered water for 10 minutes
Zest of 1 orange

Garnish:
Shaved chocolate, cacao powder, candied orange zest, fresh blueberries, (optional)

Instructions:
Line parchment paper or a little coconut oil at the bottom of a spring-form pan. Set aside.

Make the crust: In a food processor, combine all ingredients together and process for about a minutes or until ingredients are all combined. When you touch it and press it between your fingers, the crust should stick together. Add the crust on the bottom of the pan, spread heavenly and press with your hands so that you get a firm crust. Set aside.

Make the berry puree: Combine all ingredients into a blender and blend for 1-2 minutes. Place into a bowl in refrigerator to set.

Make the filling: Drain and rinse the cashews under running water. Add cashews to blender, as well as remaining ingredients. Add coconut oil at the end, just before blending. Blend until nice and smooth. You can add a little water or more orange juice if needed.

Pour the filling on the crust and shake the pan to level it up. Spread the berry puree over the top. Put cheesecake into refrigerator and allow it to set for several hours, or until set. Garnish if you like. Slice, serve and enjoy!

Yield: 8 small cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup tahini
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons shredded raw sweet potato
2 tablespoons chocolate chips pinch of sea salt

Directions:
Put the tahini, maple syrup, cinnamon, and vanilla in a medium bowl and mix to combine. Then add the remaining ingredients. Stir well to combine. Dampen your hands, and scoop 2 or 3 tablespoons into your palm to form into a cookie shape. Place onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining batter. Sprinkle with extra cinnamon. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before enjoying

Ingredients:
Cashew-butter cream (make it a day ahead if you can!)
300 g / 2 cups raw cashews, soaked overnight
¾ cup coconut cream (separated from a tin of coconut milk)
juice of ½ lime or lemon, adjust to taste
½ cup maple syrup or other liquid sweetener
1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped
4 tsp agar flakes activated in 90 ml / 6 tbsp water
chopped hazelnuts, for decoration

CARROT CAKE
Wet ingredients

1½ cups (packed!) carrots, coarsely grated
1 cup demerara sugar
¾ cup + 1/8 cup apple sauce*
½ cup olive oil
1½ chia (or flax) egg
1 inch slice fresh ginger, finely chopped

Dry ingredients

1½ cups buckwheat flour
¼ cup + 1/8 cup rice flour
2 tbsp corn flour / cornstarch
1 level tsp baking soda
1 level tsp GF baking powder
pinch of salt
1½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger

Directions:
Cashew ‘Butter cream’ (make it a day ahead if you can!)

Drain and rinse soaked cashews. Chop them roughly and divide them into 4 portions (this isn’t necessary if you are using a Vitamix or an equally powerful blender).

Put the first portion of the chopped cashews into a blender with all of the coconut cream and maple syrup. Process until smooth, add the second portion of cashews and again, process until smooth. Continue in the same manner until you’ve used up all of the cashews.

Add vanilla seeds and season with lime or lemon juice to taste. If using a blender that isn’t as powerful as a Vitamix or a Blendtec, make small circles on the surface of the mixture (in the direction of the turning blades) with a spatula. Don’t dip the spatula in too deep as you don’t want to accidentally touch the turning blades. This simple trick will help your blender process the heavy mixture by preventing air pockets from forming under the mixture’s surface.

Activate 4 tsp of agar flakes (equivalent to 1 and 1/3 tsp of agar powder) in 90 ml / 6 tbsp water. Make sure you simmer the mixture (stirring frequently) for about 10-15 minutes until the flakes almost dissolve or otherwise the agar will not work. Pour activated agar into the cashew mixture and blend well. Place the mixture in the fridge for a while (or overnight if you can) to thicken.
CAKES

Set the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 16.5 cm / 6.5 in cake pans with a little olive oil. If you only have one spring-form tin of that size, grease it instead. Prepare chia (or flax) eggs (you’ll need 1½ portions).

In a bowl mix together all wet ingredients. In another bowl, mix together all dry ingredients. Slowly tip the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and incorporate everything together. Since this is a gluten-free batter, you do not need to worry about over-mixing, so mix everything really well.

Divide the batter evenly between two cake pans. If you only have one spring-form tin, measure out half of the batter and place it in the tin. Bake, on the middle shelf, for about 45 minutes. It’s done when a toothpick comes out fairly clean. Once the first cake finishes baking, place the second one in the oven and bake for the same amount of time. I don’t recommend baking both cakes at once as you may end up with uneven results. If using a single – it and fill with the second half of the batter. Bake for approx. 45 min or until a toothpick comes out fairly clean.

ASSEMBLY

Allow both cakes to cool down completely. Trim the top of one of the cakes with a serrated knife so that the top cake sits better on top.

Put a generous layer of cashew frosting on top of the first cake. Place the second cake on top and frost the top cake and the sides (optional) with more cream. Decorate with chopped hazelnuts, orange zest and cinnamon.