Happy Humpy Day, Bloggies. I’ve been humpin’. Not that kind. Humpin’ in the kitch. Rather than regale you with all kinds of green vegetables and unseasonal fruit pictures, although they’re lovely, I thought I’d just cut to the chase and give ya what ya want….dessert.
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post with the Maple & Flax “Peanut Butter” Pancake-Cookies, I have been puttin’ Ani’s Book to serious use. I’ve been humpin’ with her.
Ok, let’s talk Raw Vegan Cheesecake….
The crust. I put:
1 c of almond meal
2.5 large chewy dates into my VitaCruster…
…And in 30 secs I had my crust.
I smooshed the crust mixture it into my container…
…And got to work on the filling.
The Cheesecake Filling Mixture
Agave To Taste
1-2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 c of soaked raw cashews (soaked for at least 3+ hours)
Optional: Vanilla Extract
I blended those ingredients and in the VitaCreamer for a couple minutes because I wanted this filling perfectly smooth.
As a sidenote, in about 45 more seconds, I would have had cashew butter. Note to self…that would be hot diggity yummy, too.
…and sweet but still has the signature tart of cheesecake. It’s very faintly lemony but actually really more of cheesecake filling than say lemon custard or a lemon-based filling. Don’t be scared off by the lemons. However, if you are goin’ for a lemony cheesecake or a lemon creme or lemon custard, very easy, just add more lemon juice to the cashew mixture.
I took the Filling and spread it over the crust.
And Raw Vegan Cheesecake was born.
Look at that my friends! Thick-n-luscious. And no, I’m not talking Kim Kardashian’s hair. I’m talking this raw vegan, totally authentic-tasting, cheesecake filling on top of the sweet crust.
I even had leftover filling and so I popped that into a little dish & popped ‘er into the freeezah to either eat as a midnight snack or share with hubs.
I popped the whole cheesecake into the freezer. The fridge would be fine, but if you’ve been paying attention to my past posts, you know I like things chilled and so the freezer it was. You could get 5 days storage in the fridge and much longer in the freezer. Really, is it gonna last you 5 days? I think not.
So there you have it. Raw Vegan Cheesecake. I am also proud that it’s soy and gluten free, too. So many vegan desserts use flours with gluten in them, such as wheat or spelt (yes, spelt still has gluten in it even though it’s “wheat-free”, it ain’t GF). And, most vegan cheesecake recipes start off with a slab ‘o tofu (soy) and that won’t work for my food intolerances so I nix the soy around here, too.
Anyway, thanks for your comments in the last post on Maple & Flax “Peanut Butter” Pancake-Cookies, that you’d like to see more recipes, hopefully this one is a winner for ya! When you all say “more recipes”, are you implying dessert recipes? Do Tell!
Yoga today is Natarajasana, aka Dancer Pose or Lord of the Dance Pose.
Tip of the Day: I’ve been getting asked about this alot lately. Many of you sweeties have written me saying you wanna see recipes that don’t require special kitchen equipment.
Two thoughts:
First, you don’t need a Vita-Mix, but you do need a food processor/blender/Magic Bullet or something to blend and whir ingredients.
Second, you don’t need a dehydrator. If you are truly motivated to keep your eats raw and this is a life-path for you, spring for one. But if you’re just tryin’ to make nummy desserts and maybe make some kale chips here and there, I wouldn’t.
By all means, go ahead and make every single dessert that I have made that I’ve put into my dehydrator, but just put it in your oven on the lowest setting. Yours will be done in 20 mins, mine will be done in 7 hours. Macaroons come to mind, as do Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cookies.
The resulting texture & taste may be slightly different but don’t be scared off thinking you “need” a dehydrator…you don’t. Gena wrote eloquently on kitchen goods, and her list is ordered by Must Haves at the top and descends to that which is Very Optional. She ranks a dehydrator last, and so do I. Spend your hard earned cash on a food processor first and foremost, that’s my parting thought. A Vita is a nice but a used $20 Black & Decker Food Processor on CraigsList or Ebay is cool too.
Ok nuff ‘o the appliance talk. What’s everyone’s thoughts about Halloween candy? Not for kids, for adults. For your tum-tum! Do you indulge? I was at Target and the shelves runneth over, already, with candy. And if you are a vegan, do you partake in store-bought candy knowing the milk chocolate is dairy-laden? Or are you not that strict of a vegan? This is one of those situations I go back and forth on. For me, it’s not the vegan part, or even the healthy factor part, but it’s knowing I am eating things I am allergic to if I partake and then I feel like crap…What do you all do?
Stay tuned for more yummy creations!
ooh love the re-cap!! Looks yummier the second time around. I tend to do my shopping on Sunday mornings then spend at least an hour or two chopping, washing produce and putting it into containers for the week! I usually make something bigger for din on the weekends that will last throughout the week as well (even as a simple side). I figure when you have time, you may as well take advantage of it! :) Have a super Saturday.
Congrats on the name change!! I know how right it is for you.
As for Raw Weds, nothin' complex! Just shoot me a jpeg of a meal you've made on a raw weds at some point this month, and I'll be sure to post it on one of the Wednesdays. Yum.
Thanks to all the awesome comments on Treat Week in Review and on my name change!
Kelly the recipe for the crust has been posted and the filling is 1 c soaked cashews, lemon juice and agave. Add anything else to it that you think would make it delish! And I am sooo glad you've made the raw vegan brownies and are enjoying them immensely it sounds like :) Woo hoo! I was playing around with a walnut-less choco creation yesterday and yeah, anything with that consistency around PB is awesome isn't it :)
Have a great Saturday everyone!
I love, love, love your name!! It's beautiful!!!
And all those treats look delish. Keep up the good work, girl – you're rawkin!
:-)
Michele
Ok, I have to admit I am totally confused!! In your cheesecake post you def said that you didn't give all the ingredients or the whole recipe yet you keep saying to make it and linking back and talking about others who made it? Is the full recipe posted somewhere secret that I can't seem to find?? Help me!!!!
On a side note I totally made your raw vegan brownie orgasm, i mean batter. I omitted the nuts completely for the most chocolaty effect possible and then did what I thought was the most logical thing, took a spoonful and wrapped it around some natural PB, O-M-G, If I gain twenty lbs in the next month I'm sending you the bill for the new clothes I'm gonna have to buy.
ahhh congrats on the official name change, Averie! It suits you so well — though by the looks of this post perhaps you should have changed it to "Averie Thebestbakerintheworld" :)
If I didn't mention it before, I LOVE the name. It really suites you (well, from what I can tell online, anyway! ha ha.) Very lovely and perfect for a yogi. Honetly, I never felt like a Nancy, either, but I just go with it. Makes me wonder what I would change it too. Have a great day. Hope your's is warm and sunny, 'cause it's cold and rainy in NY. Enjoy.
Yeah! I'm so glad the name is official : )
Look at all of those yummy treats! Where do you find the time? Oh, you don't have a gazillion family members visiting from out of town ; ) I hope to try some of these yummy recipes as soon as they leave!
Thanks for the great posts. My fave weekend treat is kale chips. They are in my dehydrator as we speak!
Thanks so much for the shout out Averie Harmony! :) I absolutely LOVE your now-legal name and it definitely suits you. That is so exciting!
That is no exaggeration about lucking the bowl, plate, and utensils clean. I finished off the raw cheesecake last night…holy hell it was GOOD!! I'm going to take the suggestions you gave me and make it again. The cashews are a-soakin' as I type! :)
You certainly have been a busy girl in the kitch! I want to make your apple crumble, too. I might actually do that before the raw cheesecake and take heed about what you said with the crust spinning around in the vita-mix.
I realized that your almond meal looked a lot darker than mine. What kind do you buy?
LOVING the recap!!!
It all looks so yummy. Thanks for sharing. I was thinking about participating in Vegan MOFO, too, but I'm not sure I'd be able to post everyday this month. Good luck to you.
Congrats on the name change Averie!!! I am being totally honest when I say that I love the name Averie Harmony. It definitely flows well and really seems to suit your own personality. It has to feel wonderful to have it legal now!
All these desserts look so good! I love how you create such healthy treats with all my favorite ingredients. :)
xxoo
Heather
Love your raw recipes…can't wait to incorporate them into my repertoire!
Seriously. I almost don't want to read your blog when I'm hungry because all your food looks PHENOMENAL!!!
Congrats on the name…LOVE it!!!
I can't pick a favourite- everything looks great! Though if I could eat one right now, I'd go for cheesecake. Mmmmm…
I usually plan meals ahead- time saver, money saver.
Averie sweet cooking lady with the pretty name! I made your Thai peanut sauce with great success and dirzzled it over the biggest plate of greens you've ever seen. Thanks so much for sharing it with the world!
As for cooking on weekends, I to try to do a big cook up and pop some meals in the freezer, or try a new restaurant, or visit the local organic and vegan grocers in my area to stock up… I guess I'm just a little food obsessed like that!!!
Yummy desserts! You have given me so many delicious ideas.