Vegan raspberry and mint cashew cheesecake

Method

• Preparation
• The night before you want to make the ‘cheesecake,’ soak the cashews (for both the cheesecake and the raspberry topping) and place a can of coconut milk in the fridge to separate.
• Base
• The next day, put the pecans in a food processor and blitz until they resemble crumbs.
• Add the soaked dates and blend until the dates are mixed in, then add the coconut and blend a bit more.
• Once the dates and nuts have combined to form a rough ball in the food processor, remove and roll the mix out with a rolling pin, between two pieces of greaseproof paper, until it is smooth, flat and with a thickness of about 5 mm.
• Use a ring mould and cut the base to create the bottom of the cheesecake. Keep it in the mould and put to one side.
• Cheesecake
• If you are rushed for time or forgot to soak the cashews overnight and refrigerate the coconut milk, you can prepare both in about two hours by placing the cashews in freshly boiled water and placing the coconut milk in the fridge for the same amount of time. However, do bear in mind that the longer the time the cashews had to soak, the smoother the ‘cheesecake’ will be!
• In a powerful blender, mix the cashews, maple syrup, room temperature coconut oil, vanilla, sea salt and coconut water, coconut cream and blend until smooth.
• Pour about ⅔ of the creamy cashew mixture (keeping the rest of the cashew mixture in the blender to one side) onto the crusts in the moulds and remove air bubbles by tapping the moulds firmly on the table.
• Place in the freezer until firm, generally a couple of hours.
• Add the raspberries and mint to the remaining ⅓ of the cheesecake mixture in the blender and blend until the mixture becomes smooth and universally pink. Store in the fridge until you are ready to do the next part.

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• Once the first layer of the cheesecake has been in the freezer for at least two hours, remove from the freezer and pour the pink raspberry cheesecake mix on top of the frozen layer. Tap the moulds on the table again to remove air bubbles from the second layer of cheesecake.
• When you are ready to serve the cheesecake, defrost for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator before serving. Once a little thawed you will be able to gently push the cheesecake out of the mould by gently pressing upwards from the base layer.
• Top with an individual vegan meringue or just scatter with a little bit of chopped fresh mint or vegan white chocolate curls as a decoration. But to be honest, you will find that they look pretty good just as they are!