Raw Chocolate and Berry Cheesecake

I wanted to combine my two favourite things I love to eat, which is chocolate and berries into this raw cheesecake. Again, I have made this with only a few simple ingredients, all of which are healthy and vegan friendly. With my previous cheesecake I used quite a lot of cashew nuts (which I love) but I wanted to make one that was lighter to eat. 

Ingredients

Base

2 mugs dates (pitted)

1.5 mugs almonds

1/3 mug shredded coconut

1 heaped tablespoon raw cacao powder

Middle layer

2 frozen bananas 

1 mug cashews (soaked for 3 hours)

1/2 mug maple syrup

1 heaped tablespoon raw cacao powder

Top layer 

1 frozen banana

2 mugs frozen strawberries

handful frozen forest berries

1 tablespoon maple syrup

Method:

Before you start making this, make sure you slice 3 ripe bananas and freeze them for at least 3 hours, along with the strawberries and forest berries. Again, make sure you have soaked the cashew nuts for at least 3 hours before hand in water.

Now, starting with the base, place the almonds into a food processor and blend for a minute or so until they are nicely crushed. Then add the pitted dates (I am trying normal dates rather than the Medjool dates for a change) and blend again until a sticky type mixture forms. I sometimes add a splash of water to make it stick better, then add the raw cacao powder. It smells delicious! With your hands, scoop out the mixture and press into a base of a cake tin or muffin tin (which I used) and then place into the freezer.

Next, for the middle layer, add the 2 frozen bananas to a blender and blitz until an ice cream type mixture forms. Then add the cashew nuts, maple syrup and raw cacao powder and blend until smooth and creamy. Take the base layer out of the freezer and pour three-quarters of this mix over it before putting it back in the freezer. Keep the remaining mixture in the blender as we need it for the top layer.

Now, wait about 30 minutes whilst the middle layer sets in the freezer. Then, for the top layer add the frozen banana, strawberries and maple syrup to the remaining mixture and blitz until smooth. Take the handful of berries, add them to the mixture and stir. Pour over the middle layer, if using a muffin tin like I did, make sure you spread the mixture out evenly so they are all the same height. 

Place the cheesecake back into the freezer and leave to set for 2-3 hours before serving. You will need the cake to warm up slightly before serving, but it will melt fairly quickly if room temperature it too warm!

Enjoy! 

Raw Blueberry and Lemon Cheesecake

Sorry it's been a while since I last posted on here, I have been doing my BBG workout for the past 3 weeks and have been looking after my parents little dog for 2 weeks so all of my time has been doing that! 

Now, anyone who knows me will understand my love for cheesecake, so on my days off I have been obsessing over these raw cheesecakes and experimenting with different flavours and ingredients. I am really into my raw foods at the moment and being healthy, so thought I would give these a try. I was really surprised at how quick, easy and simple it was to make. I loosely followed Deliciously Ella's recipe as I did want to make it more my own. 

Ingredients:

Base

1.5 mugs almonds

2.5 mugs Medjool dates (pitted)

1 teaspoon water

1/3 mug shredded coconut

Middle Layer

2 mugs cashews (soaked in water for 3 hours)

2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 tablespoons lemon rind

1 mug pure lemon juice 

1/4 mug melted coconut oil

Top Layer

1 mug fresh blueberries

1 mug cashews (soaked in water for 3 hours)

1 tablespoon maple syrup

handful of fresh blueberries

Method:

For the base, place the almonds into a food processor and blend for a minute or so until the nuts are nicely crushed. Then add the pitted Medjool dates and blend again, adding the water to create a sticky mixture. Press this into a base of a cake tin and then place in the freezer.

For the middle layer, place all of the ingredients into a blender and blitz until a thick and creamy mixture is formed. Remove the tin from the freezer and pour the mixture over the base evenly. Then place the tin back into the freezer for 20 minutes or so.

Finally, for the top layer place all of the ingredients (except the handful of fresh blueberries) into a blender and blitz again until a smooth creamy consistency appears. Then add the handful of fresh blueberries to the mixture and stir in, but do not blend. Remove the tin from the freezer and pour the mixture over the middle layer. 

Place the cake back into the freezer and leave to set for around 3-4 hours before serving. You will need to take the cake out of the freezer and allow it to warm up for a few minutes before it is served.

Enjoy!