This lemon cheesecake is awesome because it’s raw, tasty and easy to make, aka Rawsome lemon cheesecake.
To get a great tasting cheesecake you don’t need many ingredients. With just 3 ingredients to make the base it couldn’t be easier! Your choice of nuts, dates and chia seeds makes it sweet, chewy and healthy. With no fatty processed ingredients in this recipe you don’t have to avoid dessert to be healthy. It’s full of lemons and as we all know lemons boost the immune system so it is in fact a great mid winter recipe.
The filling is a delicious mixture of cashews, lemon juice, agave or maple syrup and coconut oil. By soaking the cashews and making sure your coconut oil is melted you are guaranteed to get a lovely creamy smooth cheesecake filling.
You could even add some dried lavender to the filling as does phruitfuldish.wordpress.com in their lavender and lemon mini cheesecakes but I prefer to add extra lemon zest in my cake recipe. You will need 2/3 lemons to achieve a good tangy flavour.
For the base you can use any nuts you like but I stick to almonds as they add extra sweetness. I also find almonds make a chewier and softer base so it’s really nice to slice up smoothly. Although this cake only takes 30 minutes to make you need to give time for it to set. It will need at least 4/5 hours in the freezer. There’s a minimum of 5 hours prep time before you can serve it but zero cooking.
I used an 8inch springform pan but you could also use silicon moulds. You will also need a high speed blender, spatular and metal spatular or knife.
Here are some of my other Sweet recipes you might like.
Ingredients
Base ingredients
140 Grams Natural whole Almonds
150 Grams Pitted dates
1 tbsp Chia seeds
Filling Ingredients
250 Grams Cashews
120 ml (1/2 cup) Lemon juice
Zest of one lemon (optional) for the mixture and to sprinkle on top
60 ml (1/4 cup) Agave or Maple syrup
120 ml (1/2 cup) Coconut oil
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
Instructions
- First soak your cashews overnight or soak for 1 hour in hot water.
- Add the nuts to the blender and blend until they brake into small pieces. Don't blend for more than 10 seconds as you want the almond pieces to add texture to the base.
- Add the dates and the chia seeds to the blender and combine the 3 ingredients until you get a firm but moist consistency. This can take up to 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile Juice your lemons and melt the coconut oil. (see notes) Grate the lemon for some zest.
- Push the base mixture into the pan, levelling and flattening. Set to one side.
- Strain water from the cashews and place them in the blender. Blend for 2 minutes.
- Add the lemon juice, syrup, coconut oil, vanilla extract and half the lemon zest. Blend for 10 minutes approximately, until you get a smooth and creamy consistency.
- Put the mixture on top of the base, spreading and levelling with a spatular.
- Cover and place the cake in the freezer 4/5 hours.
- To serve take out from the freezer 1/2 an hour before or take from fridge. I use a hot cloth heated with hot water to prize the cake from the spring pan. Place the hot cloth on the counter and place the spring pan on top. Take off the outer part of the pan and with a knife or flat metal spatular slowly lift the cake from the cake tin. Place on a serving dish and sprinkle with lemon peel. Serve directly.
Notes
- To melt the coconut place a bowl over a pan of boiling water. Turn the heat down and let it melt slowly. Another way to melt the coconut oil is by placing the jar in a pan of boiling water. Turning the heat down, leave to slowly melt. Leave to one side if the oil is boiling hot and wait until it has cooled slightly before you add it to the cashew mixture.
- Omit the lemon zest if you want a smoother filling.
- Keep in the fridge before and after serving
- Can be kept in the freezer
