Raw Vegan Lemon Cranberry Cheesecake
34Happy November Piggies! I say this, not only because it marks the official start of the holiday season in my world; but it is also exactly 45 sleeps until my mum and dad arrive for their month-long Christmas visit! I cannot wait! If that isn’t enough, we are also celebrating the official launch of our piggy giveaway competitions here at Healthy Blender Recipes. Make sure you enter for chance to win an organic skincare pack from Zaaina Skincare valued at $125.
There will be some more fantastic giveaways leading up to Christmas listed here on the website, as well as our Facebook and Twitter pages, so be sure to check back every week for a chance to take home the piggy loot!
I don’t know about you, but in my house we celebrate with cake! So, I thought it only fitting that I share this delectable raw vegan cheesecake – a continuation of my “death by cranberry” season. We started with the raw vegan lemon cranberry raisin oatmeal cookies and the raw vegan body ecology cranberry smoothie; and today we are eating raw vegan cake!
This gorgeous lemon cranberry cheesecake satisfies the “tart at heart” in me and tastes just like the real thing this holiday season without the need to coat check your colon! I modified a delightful raw vegan lemon cheesecake created by the wonderful Debra Readman who has started a new raw vegan food blog called Raw Food Renewal. The results were spectacular. You can also find Debra’s original raw vegan lemon cheesecake recipe on Food.Com.
My favourite thing about this recipe is the gorgeous lush pink colour and decadent creamy texture. But the real selling point for this raw vegan cheesecake is how easy it is to make! Just throw all of the crust ingredients in your food processor, blend up the filling, and then assemble and freeze. Simply defrost this cake an hour before you are ready to serve it and devour!
Just take note: because this raw vegan cheesecake has a lot of coconut oil in it, is shouldn’t be left out for too long or it will gradually melt and become an oily cheesecake smoothie!
I love to serve this raw vegan cheesecake with raw vegan vanilla cashew cream or almond cream and a sprinkle of lemon zest. A simple dessert that anyone can prepare! Oink Oink!
Raw Vegan Lemon Cranberry Cheesecake
- Crust Ingredients:
- 1 cup raw almonds
- 1/2 cup or more of chopped pitted dates
- 1/4 cup raw cacao powder
- Filling Ingredients:
- 3 cups raw cashews soaked for 2 hours
- 1 1/2 cup fresh cranberries
- 1 cup organic unrefined coconut oil
- 3/4 cup raw agave
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup filtered water
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp alcohol free vanilla extract or 1/2 tsp regular extract
- pinch Celtic sea salt or Himalayan salt
- To make the crust:
- Place the almonds, dates and cacao powder in your food processor until well combined.
- Roll this mixture into a ball (you might need a few more dates).
- Grease a 9 inch springform cake tin with coconut oil.
- Press the crust into the bottom of the pan and set aside.
- To make the filling:
- Place all of the filling ingredients into your high speed blender (I use a Vitamix) and blend until rich and creamy.
- Tweak flavours to taste. You might want some more sweetener or lemon zest. Note: this is quite tart.
- Pour the filling into the tin.
- Cover this tin with aluminum foil and place in the freezer for at least 5 - 12 hours.
- Before serving, allow the cake to defrost for an hour and then place in the fridge.
- **Note: because of the coconut oil this cheesecake will melt if left out in the heat.
- To serve remove cake from tin, cut into slices and serve with raw cashew cream and lemon zest.
- Serves 12.
Piggy Cooking Tips
selecting and storing raw cashews
“Raw” cashews are widely available in pre-packaged bags as well as bulk bins. Always purchase from a supplier where there is a high turnover to ensure freshness and quality. Look for plump cashews that are uniform in colour. Avoid the limp and shrivelled ones. Cashews should smell nutty and sweet. If they have a sharp or bitter smell they have gone rancid. To preserve the precious oils, store cashews in a sealed glass jar in the fridge for up to six months. Always soak cashews before using to remove the enzyme inhibitors and make them more digestible.
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Piggy Grunts!
Add Your GruntLook at this photo!!!! I am sold!! It seems I have a few more items to put on my shopping list Blender Girl. Lovely homage to your pink piggy too. Can’t wait :-)
This cheese cake practically had me on the floor crying sweet tears of JOY!!!!!!!!! I have NEVER tasted a vegan dessert this good. I am a cheese cake fanatic, my standards are high but this AMAZING, easy to make VEGAN version really gives the regular dairy cheese cakes a run for their money!!!!!!!!!!!! I can’t get enough of this recipe! It’s delicious! I want MORE!!!!!!!
I am so glad you are all enjoying this recipe.
It is SO easy and very rich! YUMMO!
You had me at cheesecake! This is divine, decadent and yet still light - how many other desserts can say that?! Don’t forget to top with some raw vanilla cashew cream!!!
Stace,
We will be enjoying a whole lot more of that cream! YUMMO!
i’m doing an ayurvedic cleanse this week, but when i need a nice clean sugar fix post cleanse, i’m so making this!
Hey Anna,
I look forward to hearing what you think after your cleanse :)
Hiya Tess! I’m new to the vegan world and a friend recommended that I check out your site… just the photos alone make me want to try every recipe! First on the list is this luscious cheesecake… Yuuuuum! I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Welcome Lynne!
Yes, please let me know what you think :)
Oh this one is beyond delish! The topping melts on your tongue and the crust tastes just like graham cracker. You can’t even tell it’s vegan. Look out Cheesecake Factory, you’ve got some serious competition here! More please… :)
Tess! I loved this! And what could be better this time of year than cranberries?
I *must* make it tomorrow, rain or shine—hum, the to-do-list is pretty full already, but a girl must recognize her priorities ;)
You know what’s funny? I was actually thinking this afternoon that I had to create a smoothie pink as pig in your honour and post it for you! And now I find myself drooooooling over the pix of the perfect piggy raw cake :) You are *per-fect* ♥
LOL! Oh Magali
You just always put a smile on my face.
Oink Oink my gorgeous piggy friend. xxx
Dang! Just can’t seem to find cranberries at the store these past few days… but I couldn’t wait any longer. So I’m making an altered version of this. With pineapple. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Gruntiful greetings from Magali, licking bowls, spoons and spatulas with fever and impatience and exhilaration. ” ♫ ♪ Toniiiiight, toniiiiight ♫ ♪ ”
Hi Tess, I dont think we have fresh cranberrys in the supermarket.. what else could I use? ummmm?
Hey Tash,
You could use strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and it would be wonderful!
I was also going to try a version with mango or pineapple. The great thing about this cake is that you can taste it before you freeze it.
Let me know how you go :)
I made this a couple days ago and really enjoyed it, but my daughters are not coconut fans. Is there anything I can substitute for the coconut oil? Thank you for helping us eat healthy!!!
Hey,
I am glad you enjoyed this.
You CAN make this without the coconut oil.
Just use 1/2 cup more raw cashews and add 1/4 cup of filtered water and more if you need to to get the right consistency.
The coconut oil is what helps set this cheesecake, and get it to the consistency of conventional cheesecake.
So, by omitting it, you will not get the same solid consistency. It will be a bit more mushy but will still taste delicious.
Let me know how you go :)
Kim, because I am not a nutritionist, I don’t post profiles on my recipes. You can punch in the ingredients to Cronometer or Nutrition Data.
I had some of my non-vegan friends try this and I believe one of them said, “this is the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth.” Ha! But I love making vegan desserts for non-vegan people and wowing them with how amazing they are. This one certainly did the trick! Amazing!
I LOVE stories like this Marina.
Thankyou so much for taking the time to share this experience. Wonderful :)
I’m making this cheesecake today! I am curious, can the coconut oil be substituted with another oil without losing the consistency? I have read Irish Moss can be used to help with texture. Any ideas? Thanks for the recipe!
Hey Ivan,
I am sorry I didn’t get back to you yesterday about this. The coconut oil is the trick to making this cheesecake set, so I do not recommend substituting it. Yes, Irish Moss is FANTASTIC for raw vegan recipes and getting things to set. But in different quantities. I hope you enjoy this treat :)
This recipe sounds great and I have been stocking up on cranberries lately! :-). I used to think that Irish Moss was the most wonderful substance, but after reading this news from Susan Powers, I am done with it. Just thought I would share, FYI.
Yes….thankyou for sharing Carol. I am not a huge fan of Irish Moss, and the latest controversy over Carrageenan has sealed the deal for me.
Do you think I could make the crust with a vita mix, too? =)
Tanya, I find the mixture too sticky to make in my Vitamix. I am always concerned I will smoke my machine. So, that is why I don’t.
Not being a huge cheesecake fan, I would normally stray from any recipe for it, but the fact that all these ingredients are so healthy, as well as tasty, I have to dive in!! I love that Tess decided to use the cranberry as the main flavor as I adore tart desserts! The fact that the crust is so simple and yet so good for you with the dates and almonds make me happy that I could “indulge” in this dessert and not feel guilty about putting things in my body that wouldn’t agree. Putting lemon zest in this cheesecake also gives the flavor an extra “shot” of yumminess! Thanks blender girl for making a cheesecake recipe in which I can get on board!
Thanks Tara!
I am so glad you enjoyed this :)