Introduction: Healthy Raw Strawberry Cheesecake

By Nadia
About: Hi! I'm Nadia, the person behind NadiasHealthyKitchen.com - where I share easy, affordable healthy and clean eating recipes. I make recipes suitable for a variety of diets including vegan, dairy free, gluten f…

Here’s a healthy, creamy and rich cheesecake recipe that's actually dairy free, gluten free and refined sugar free! It’s full of healthy fats and goodness. Please don’t let the word ‘fat’ put you off. We all need fat in our diet. It has a crucial role in structural and metabolic functions and more and more research is showing how wrong we’ve been about fat in the past and how avoiding it is causing health problems and making us gain weight!

The main ingredient for the filling is cashews – raw, unsalted and soaked in water overnight. Soaking makes them softer and much easier to blend and makes the cheesecake lighter and fluffier. It also helps remove toxins and makes the nuts easier to digest.

Step 1: RECIPE

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE FOR A STEP-BY-STEP DEMONSTRATION :)

Base:

  • 1 cup (100g) oat flour
  • 1 cup (100g) ground almonds
  • 1/4 cup (4 tbsp) coconut oil
  • 1 tbsp date syrup (or any other liquid sweetener like honey or maple syrup)
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Filling:

  • 2 cups (300g) raw, unsalted cashews
  • 2 cups (250g) strawberries
  • 1/3 cup (75ml) maple syrup (add more or less to taste)
  • 1/4 cup (4 tbsp) coconut oil
  • 10 capsules or 1 tbsp Acai berry powder (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla paste (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
  • pinch salt

Instructions:

  1. First you need to soak your cashews - Add your cashews to a large bowl and cover with water. Leave to soak for at least 8 hours or overnight.
  2. Make the base - transfer your oat flour, ground almonds, salt and date syrup to a bowl and mix well. What you're looking for is an evenly mixed, crumbly texture.
  3. Pour the base mixture onto an 8" cake tin covered with parchment paper.
  4. Press the mixture down using the back of a spoon or you can use your hands for a more even layer.
  5. Place the base in the freezer while you make the filling.
  6. For the filling - drain your soaked cashews and give them a quick rinse under the tap.
  7. Trim the strawberries.
  8. Transfer the cashews, strawberries, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla and salt into a powerful blender or food processor.
  9. Blend until you have a smooth, creamy mixture.
  10. Add the Acai powder (if using any) and give it a quick pulse so it's evenly distributed.
  11. Take your base out of the freezer and pour the filling on top.
  12. Place back in the freezer and leave to chill for a few hours to firm up.
  13. Take the cheesecake out 30 minutes before serving.You can store the cheesecake in the fridge or freezer. It will be much softer if you store it in the fridge.