Though the most appropriate Valentine’s Day colors seem to be either hot pink, bright red or chocolatey brown, I decided to break this unspoken rule and go purple instead. Very purple actually.
This year I’m swapping the customary chocolate, strawberries and champagne for a no-bake blueberry cheesecake and I’m super excited about it! On second thought, I might keep the champagne in the picture…
Anyway, this raw vegan cheesecake is a nice combination of the two worlds: just as rich as chocolate desserts but also very fruity. And the color is just intense. So intense actually that you might not want to wear a white top while eating this. I speak from experience: it took me quite a while to wash that purple off of mine.
Despite basically bursting with flavor, this melt-in-your mouth no-bake blueberry cheesecake is secretly good for you! Not that anyone would believe that after devouring it, it’s that good. The recipe only calls for wholesome, plant-based ingredients and the entire cake is fully raw, vegan, gluten-free, paleo, soy-free and refined sugar-free. So whether you or your special someone is following a special diet, trying to eat healthy or just looking for a downright delicious Valentine’s dessert, this cheesecake won’t fail in earning you lots of “brownie” points. Or “cheesecake” points actually.
As if that wasn’t enough, this treat is also incredibly easy to make and comes together in about 20 minutes hands-on time. Then you can just sit back and let the freezer finish the job for you.
Ingredients
- 1 batch of my raw & paleo pie crust the small batch for a 6-7” pan or your favorite cheesecake crust
- 2 cups 300 g raw cashews, soaked for a few hours (use my quick soaking trick if you’re in a hurry)
- 2 cups 320 g blueberries, frozen and slightly thawed (fresh should work too, though the color of the cheesecake might not be as bright)
- ½ cup 160 g maple syrup or agave (or honey for non-vegans)* or to taste
- 1 and ½ teaspoon lemon or lime juice
- optional: ⅛ teaspoon salt helps bring out the sweetness
Instructions
- Prepare the crust according to the instructions and set aside.
- Drain and rinse the cashews and throw into a food processor or a high speed blender.
- Blend until the mixture is completely smooth.
- Pour over the prepared crust and freeze for at least two hours.
- Let sit on the counter for about 15 minutes before slicing and serving. Be careful, the coloring power of this cheesecake is quite something 🙂
- Store leftovers in the freezer.**
Notes:
You can try experimenting with entirely sugar-free options such as erythritol, xylitol or stevia. It should work just fine, you’ll need to add some water or non-dairy milk to make up for the missing liquid. Just add enough so that you can actually blend the mixture. The amount of those sweeteners will depend on taste, I’d think about ¾ cup xylitol or 1 cup erythritol should do it. Stevia amounts depends on the type you have on hand so use to taste.
Once frozen, I like to slice the entire cake and wrap each piece in plastic foil and then a box and put it back in the freezer. That way, any time I feel like having a piece, I just pull one or two slices out, unwrap, set them on a plate and wait for them to thaw slightly. In the winter, I like to put the plate on top of the heater to speed things up a bit.
