Berry Cheese Cake
Each time a social activity is in sight, raw foodies sigh. What to eat at the family table? How to enjoy life and festivities without interrupting or disturbing your or their joy with your “weird” choices? The answer is simple: treat yourself, seduce them!
A raw pie or cheese cake always does the trick. I made this one for my mom’s birthday, just so I could seduce my family to bring them closer to my lifestyle. The reason why I picked truly raw cashews actually because it gives the looks and the taste of what they already know.
I am saying “truly raw” cashews because most of them are not. So if you want to stick to your 100% raw lifestyle, cashews are not your choice unless you are sure they were not heated before cracking the shells. But this is about you seducing your family, your friends, giving them a taste of the delight of your lifestyle with this wonderful transition recipe.
I made this beauty in ten minutes, in between busy-ness. The only thing you need to take into account is the soaking prep time and the time to let it sit to stiffen before cutting, which takes a night. If you want a shortcut, you can place it in the freezer for one hour (set the timer).
TOOLS YOU NEED
- Food processor
- Blender (preferably a high speed blender)
- Spring form of about 9 inches
PREP AHEAD
- Soak 1 C of raw almonds overnight, rinse and dry until crisp (optional: for better and faster digestion – but if you don’t have time, go ahead)
- Soak 2,5 cups of (truly) raw cashews in spring water for at least 4 hours (or simply overnight)
INGREDIENTS
CRUST
- 1 C of almonds (preferably soaked and dried)
- 8 dates (add as needed, depending on how moist they are or soak for 20 minutes)
- Dash of sea salt or Himalayan salt (optional but deepens the flavours)
- 3 C of soaked cashews (if you want to keep it all raw, you can replace them by macadamia nuts: this will be a heavier consistency)
- 1/2 C of fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 C light agave nectar (if you want to use date paste, you can but the color of the “cheese” cake won’t be as clear)
- 1/8 tsp sea salt or Himalayan salt
- 1/2 C coconut oil, melted in a double boiler (“au bain marie”)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract or seeds of a vanilla pod
- 3 different kind of fresh berries to choice (if not available, frozen will do too)
- edible flowers of the season (optional)
- candles for celebrations and sweet wishes
- Place the almonds in a food processor and pulse into a course flour
- Add the dates and date paste and pulse until you create a sticky mass (test: pick up a small amount and press it between your fingers)
- Press it firmly into a spring form to shape the bottom
- Blend all the “cheese” ingredients -except for the coconut oil- until smooth
- Add the coconut oil at low speed (if possible). Don’t blend longer than you need to
- Pour the mixture into the spring form and spread evenly
- Arrange the berries on top
- Cover up and let sit overnight in the refrigerator
- Next day, pick some edible flowers in your garden (these are wild pansies) and make your cake look like a million
- Share with friends and family
- If you want to keep it 100% raw for sure, replace the cashews with macadamia’s. This will make the filling more dense -and a wee bit grainy-because they contain more fats. But you can make your slices a bit smaller.
- A nice variation is replacing all nuts by avocado. In that case use 1/4 C more coconut oil. You will have a green filling.
- Leftovers stay well in the fridge for 3 days. If you used raspberries on top, check them on mold every day and replace them before eating.
- Play around with other fruits: everything works with some imagination and creativity!
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