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.
new2raw wrote on June 9, 2011
the perfect dessert i love cheesecakes and baking but i am living a healthy lifestyle so wanted sugar and dairy free recipes, this looks and sounds amazing i great healthy dessert for holidays like xmas too, i love your site and its great to have healthy baking options
Debera wrote on May 14, 2011
I make raw cheese cake with Cacao butter. It taste like heaven!! It is very firm. But I am not sure on the proportions. I want to try this one because the cacao butter is harder to get a hold of and it is really expensive. I can’t wait to try this one.
bruky wrote on April 8, 2011
please let me know if there is any alternative to the coconut butter as I am allergic to coconut & this recipe looks HEAVEN!!!! (Can I try cocoa butter>>>)
PLEASE ANSWER!
THANK YOU SOO MUCH!
Susan wrote on April 9, 2011
I don’t have a an alternative in this recipe without completely reworking it. 🙂
Susan wrote on February 17, 2011
Cashews are the traditional nuts used for raw cheesecakes because of texture and also the mild taste. You tend to taste the spices not the cashews.
Marisa wrote on February 16, 2011
I’m not a big fan of cashews, can I substitute them for walnuts or something else? Please let me know. Thanks!
Dsousa wrote on February 4, 2011
This looks amazing! I have 2 questions though:
Can I use coconut oil instead of Coconut butter? Will it affect the taste?
and
How long do I have to wait for the filling to harden up before I add the toppings and crust?
Thanks
Susan wrote on February 5, 2011
You can but it won’t taste as good, and you can put the topping on right away. The filling is very thick.
Marija Berto wrote on December 23, 2010
Thank you for all of the wonderful raw food recipes. I am vying to go raw especially with sweet treats.
I really dislike the taste of coconut. I can tolerate coconut oil or water, but flakes, butter, or any kind of dehydrated coconut makes me gag. Are there any other alternatives I can use to replace the coconut in this recipe and others?
Many thanks and best wishes in the New Year 🙂
Marija Berto
Susan wrote on December 23, 2010
Coconut butter is a key ingredient in this “cheesecake”. It is what allows the cheesecake to set up I don’t have a raw, vegan substitute. You could try oil instead of the butter but I haven’t made it that way yet.
JD wrote on December 3, 2010
I have made this three times this holiday season already!! It is great for a party table or football tailgating. The dollar store has so many plates to chose from and I can leave it at my hosts house that way too. So far, everyone loves it. And loves it even more when they find out how healthy it is. thanks for this and all your other ‘comfort’ recipes!! <3 <3