Apple Cranberry “Cheesecake”
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.
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.
Tina wrote on November 22, 2010
This sounds really good! I think I’ll give it a try for Thanksgiving! I’ll let you know how it turns out, and how the non-raw-foodies react. Should be interesting.
Susan wrote on November 22, 2010
It is great. I make it a lot for classes. Always loved, and easy!
Sarah wrote on November 10, 2010
Wondering where one can buy coconut butter??
Susan wrote on November 10, 2010
http://www.rawmazing.com/rawmazing-store-2/ It is under the ingredients category.
Maria wrote on June 28, 2010
I just made this last night. It’s so good!!! This is the first time I made something raw using a recipe from the internet that is actually as good as the description. So good! So tasty. The “cheese” portion of it tastes kind of like marzipan. I’m inspired.
Andrea @ CanYouStayForDinner.com wrote on March 5, 2010
What an amazing cheesecake! It looks positively delicious, I can’t wait to try it!
Diana@Spain in Iowa wrote on February 15, 2010
Lovely recipe! Once the filling set up, you couldn’t notice that my processor didn’t completely make it smooth. Mine was also darker than your pic, but wonderful! I used a 9 inch spring form pan so it was considerably smaller. I will definitely be buying a 6″ and am excited to start experimenting with this recipe. Thank you so much!!
Diana@Spain in Iowa wrote on February 13, 2010
I’m actually in the process of making this cheesecake as I type. I’m sad to say, I still don’t have a vita-mix or a good quality food processor so my filling is… chunky 🙁 I just wanted to know what brand model food processor you use to achieve that creamy consistency. Looks so beautiful! Thanks so much!!
diana
Susan wrote on February 13, 2010
I use a kitchen aid. Do you have a blender? You could try blending smaller ammounts. Or just let it go longer in the food processor. Sometimes we stop too early.
kate wrote on February 6, 2010
just made this cake for my dad’s birthday and it looks fabolous! can’t wait for tomorrow when his guests arrive (they eat everything that’s not alive and doesn’t move).
But the cake must taste awesome…I tried filling and God…I felt like in heaven
Geneve wrote on January 19, 2010
I just made the cake and it looks delicious. I used goji berries instead of cranberries because I find it difficult to find real raw dry cranberries. I will bring it to work tomorrow and I will not tell anyone that it is raw. Can’t wait to see what they will say about it. Merci pour la recette!
Zhenya Winters wrote on January 18, 2010
This Look Soo good!!! I am about to make it!!!!