Apple Cranberry “Cheesecake”

Susan | November 15, 2009

Needing to come up with a menu for a raw food dessert class that I recently taught, I decided to whip up a “cheesecake” recipe. It was actually pretty easy. And taste? The class was blown away. The crust is almonds and dates, and the base of the “cheesecake” is cashews! Don’t worry, I added apples and dried cranberries for that hit of fruit. The result? A healthy, tasty dessert that will be completely at home on your Thanksgiving or Holiday table. The consensus of the class is that non-raw people would never guess that this is raw, vegan or healthy!

Don’t be intimidated by this one, one serving is equivalent to only eating 1/4 C cashews and 1/8 C of almonds! Cashews are a good source of protein, fiber and also potassium, B vitamin, foliate, magnesium, phosphorous, selenium and copper.

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Apple Cranberry "Cheesecake"

SERVES 8

Crust

1 cup almonds
4 dates, soaked until soft with pit removed

Topping

3 apples, peeled and sliced thinly
1/4 cup agave (or liquid sweetener of your choice)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup dried cranberries
2 tablespoons coconut butter
1/3 cup crust

Filling

2 cups cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 cup coconut butter (softened in dehydrator)
1/4 cup agave (or liquid sweetener of your choice)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Read Through This Recipe Before Beginning

2 hours before: Combine apples, agave and cinnamon. Place on non-stick dehydrator sheet and dehydrate at 116 for 2 hours, stirring once during dehydration.
Make crust: Place almonds in food processor. Process until finely ground. Add dates, process until well mixed. Set aside 1/3 cup of the crust. Press remaining into spring form pan. I used a 6″ for this recipe. You may have extra crust. Place in refrigerator.
Make Filling: Combine all ingredients in food processor. Process until smooth. This will take a bit. Pat over crust and return to refrigerator.
Finish Topping: Combine dehydrated apples, dried cranberries, coconut butter and 1/3 cup crust. Press over top of cheesecake. Return to refrigerator and chill for 2 hours before serving. Slice with sharp knife.

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