Vegan Blackberry Cheesecake

With the last dish of this month, I wanted to talk about indulgence.  In the new year, after feasting deliciously over the holidays, most people like to start January with more heath conscious eating or some sort of diet or cleanse.  I shared a lot of dessert recipes this month and they were some pretty indulgent recipes too.

Oh well...

C R U S T   I N G R E D I E N T S

1 cup Walnuts, soaked

1 cup Pecan Nuts, soaked

1/2 cup Dates

1 Tbsp. Maple Syrup

1/4 tsp. of Ground Cinnamon

a dash of Salt

C H E E S E C A K E   I N G R E D I E N T S

3 cups Cashews;  soaked in water for 2 hours

1/2 cup Lemon Juice (the juice of 2 large lemons)

3/4 cup Maple Syrup

3/4 cup Coconut Oil

1/2 Vanilla Bean

1/8 tsp. Salt

fresh Blackberries

Preparations 

Soak the nuts for the crust and the cashews separately in water for a couple of hours; ideally over night.

Drain the nuts after soaking.

In a food processor, combine the nuts, dates and maple syrup with the cinnamon and salt.  Run the machine until the mixture resembles a fine moist crumb but still retains some texture.  The dough should stick together slightly when you press it together with your fingers, however it shouldn’t be super sticky either.
Evenly crumble the dough over the base of your pie dish.  Starting from the middle, press the mixture evenly but firmly into the pie form, moving outward and upward along the side of the pie dish.  Due to the oils in the nuts, it’s not necessary to grease the baking pan.

Bake the crust, uncovered for 10 minutes at 350° F or until lightly golden brown at the edges.  After baking set the pie crust into the freezer to cool for 15 minutes.

To prepare the filling, combine the cashews, the lemon juice, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla bean and salt in a food processor. 

Blend until the mixture is smooth and fluffy and then poor it into the crust. 

Refrigerate the cake for about one hour before slicing it up to serve.

Serving suggestion:  Sprinkle the cheesecake with a light dusting of sea salt and serve each slice with fresh blackberries and a homemade blackberry sauce.

       Nina