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vegan cherry cheese cake

No Bake Vegan Cherry Cheesecake: A Recipe from Purely Plant Powered

  • Author: Cristina Delmaestro

Ingredients

Units Scale
Crust
  • 1 cup pitted medjool dates
  • 1/2 cup raw cashews
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • 1/4 cup cacao or cocoa powder
  • 1–2 tbsp of water as needed
Filling
  • 1 1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked
  • 2 cups pitted dark cherries
  • 1 cup coconut cream*see notes
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
Chocolate Ganache
  • 1/2 cup coconut cream*see notes
  • 1/2 cup dairy free chocolate chips or roughly chopped dark chocolate

Instructions

Crust
  1. Soak your cashews in very hot water for 25- 30 minutes or alternatively overnight in room temperature water.
  2. Line an 8 inch springform pan with parchment. Grease with a small amount of coconut oil to get the parchment to stick, if needed.
  3. Add all crust ingredients to a food processor and process until there are no large pieces of dates, cashews, or oats. The crust should stay together when you press it in your fingers. If the mixture is too dry, then add a splash more of water; if the mixture is too wet, then add a handful more of oats.
  4. Press the crust into the bottom of the spring form pan into an even layer. Make sure you really press it in firmly. I first use my hands and then the back of a spoon to press it in even more and make sure it is smooth.
  5. Place it in the freezer to firm up while you work on the filling.
Filling
  1. Pit cherries. I first removed the stems. Then you can use a cherry pitter to remove the cherry pits. Alternatively try using a pastry tip if you don’t have a cherry pitter! Another option is to just use a sharp knife and cut it out from the top.
  2. Next add all the filling ingredients into a food processor or high speed blender, blend until smooth and creamy. This will take around 5-10 minutes. Ensure you stop and scrape down the sides as needed.
  3. Remove the crust from the freezer and pour the filling on top of the crust. Smooth out the top and tap the pan down to ensure you remove any air bubbles.
  4. Return the springform pan & cheesecake to the freezer and freeze until firm. This will take 6-8 hours and it is best to just leave it overnight.
Chocolate Ganache & Decorating
  1. Add the chocolate to a bowl.
  2. Scoop out the solid white part  from your coconut milk can and use this coconut cream.
  3. Place the coconut cream in a small saucepan over low to medium heat until it has warmed up thouroughly and just starting to bubble. You don’t want it to boil.
  4. Pour the warmed up coconut cream over the chocolate chips and let sit for 1-2 minutes.
  5. Slowly start to whisk your coconut cream and melted chocolate chips together. It should become smooth and creamy.
  6. Pour the chocolate ganache over your finished cheesecake and smooth into an even layer. Work fast since the cake is cold and the ganache will harden very quickly on the cold cake.
  7. I topped my cake with some fresh cherries.
  8. Store the cake in the freezer and remove at least 20-30 minutes prior to serving.  I find warming up a knife under hot water makes cutting the cheesecake much easier and ensures a nice clean cut.

Notes

You want to buy a can of full fat (sometimes called premium or superior) coconut milk or coconut cream. Use mostly the thick white cream part in this recipe for both the filling and chocolate ganache. Since it is used in both the filling and chocolate ganache, you will need 2-14 oz cans of full-fat coconut milk or cream. I use the brand’s Earth’s Choice, Thai Kitchen, or Everland Foods.

Find it online: https://about.spud.com/blog-no-bake-vegan-cherry-cheesecake/