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.
Peggy Reinwald wrote on May 2, 2012
I’d like to know if an oven can be used instead of a dehydrater. If so..would you know what temp and for how long? Thanks!
Susan wrote on May 2, 2012
Since this is a raw food website, I do not test my recipes in the oven. You are welcome to experiment. Cheers!
NINA DOMENICA wrote on April 12, 2012
VERY NICE
Cathy wrote on March 24, 2012
oops …….update……just realised that i used twice as much cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves……may account for the colour. I had a sneak taste a few minutes ago and it is DELICIOUS !!!!!!
Cathy wrote on March 23, 2012
I have just made this and did not turn out the lovely cream as this one did. Mine looks more like a pale chocolate (i’m guessing from the nutmeg and cloves………did anyone else find this. It doesn’t matter as far as taste goes. I added some fresh mangosteens from the garden because they are very sweet and therefore complimentary to this dish. Thank you so much for showing me all the great things i can do without cooking. I am looking forward to trying some more of your delicious dishes……..actually I’m in the process of making the zucchini noodles with the italian sauce…… Pasta alla checca…….looking forward to dinner tonight!
Shelby wrote on March 15, 2012
I was wondering about the dehydrating process. I don’t have a dehydrater because I am new to raw foods. Can this be done in an oven??
Kelsey wrote on March 11, 2012
Amazing! Everyone loved it and no one knew it was healthy.
Wanda Carroll Fanning wrote on February 16, 2012
I made this cheese cake for valentines Day and invited everyone over to have some. This is amazing! I change the recipe a little used raw white cocoa butter instead of coconut butter, and I added 3 oranges and orange zest to. it making it orange apple cranberry. Thanks so much u have no idea how much the photos help me.
Humble indebted to u,
Wandwhisper
Wanda Carroll Fanning wrote on February 16, 2012
I made this cheese cake for valentines Day and invited everyone over to have some. This is amazing! I change the recipe a little used raw white cocoa butter instead of coconut butter, and I added 3 oranges and orange zest to. it making it orange apple cranberry. Thanks so much u have no idea how much the photos help me.
Humble indebted to u,
Wanswhisper
Susan wrote on January 17, 2012
For this recipe they are raw, soaked almonds You want to make sure you dry them well. If the crust is too moist for you, you can use dry nuts plus a little water. Cheers!