Rawsome Sweets: Raw Chocolate Berry Cheesecake

This stunning dessert is simple to make, but looks very impressive and tastes even better. Made with coconut butter, soaked cashews, dates, cacao, and berries, it’s full of all kinds of good healthy fats and tons of flavor. Cut the pieces small and snack on them all day long… maybe even for breakfast!

Chocolate Berry ‘Cheesecake’

This recipe takes a bit of time in the processor, but it’s actually very easy to prepare.  Soak the cashews for an hour or more; they can be refrigerated at this point if you don’t have time for soaking/prepping in one day.  Also, you can substitute coconut oil for the coconut butter (use only 1/2 cup oil), but the texture will be less creamy, and will not stand up to warm (room) temperature quite as well. Finally, this recipe is adapted from Navitas Naturals, which is an excellent raw food brand.

3 cups cashews, soaked 1 hour
2 cups almonds
¼ tsp sea salt
1½ cups raisins
1 tbsp + 1/3 cup agave nectar
8 medjool dates, pitted
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
¾ cup coconut butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp water (more for texture)
¾ cup raw cacao powder
1½ cups mixed berries

You will need a food processor for this recipe.

1. Soak the cashews in water for at least one hour. Drain, and set aside.
2. First make the crust: Add the almonds to the processor and grind until fine. Add salt, raisins and 1 tbsp agave.  Process until clumpy- it should stick together in between your fingers. If the mixture is not sticky enough add 1 tbsp water and blend again. Press the crust into an 9 x 13 pan lined with parchment paper. Place in the fridge to set.
3. Now make the filling: add the soaked cashews to the processor and grind until fine.  Add 1/3 cup agave, dates, lemon juice, coconut butter, and the vanilla. Blend until very smooth, adding the cacao powder after everything has blended. Add water 1 tbsp at a time as needed to blend.
4. Reserve about 1 cup filling in the processor, and spread remainder onto the crust. Blend filling with the berries and spread on top of chocolate layer. Sprinkle little yummies on top: cacao nibs, more berries, ground nuts, or other such things. Freeze for a few hours until set.
5. I like to remove the whole frozen cake from the pan (gently, of course), and then cut on the cutting board. This ensures very even little pieces like in the photo!

last year at this time, I was (sort of) settling into housewife life on Maui: homesteading and cooking up the bounty from the farm!