A delicious creamy, lemon and blueberry cheesecake topping on a chocolate and hazelnut base! This raw, vegan cheesecake uses only whole food ingredients, is refined sugar free, dairy free and makes for a really lovely Spring/Summer dessert idea.
The key flavours which show through with this dessert are the hints of chocolate in the base which goes so perfectly with the hazelnuts and creamy coconut oil. The filling is bursting with fresh lemon zest and the sweetness of the blueberries against the creaminess of the blend of cashews, coconut cream and coconut oil. All of the ingredients included in the recipe show through in their own way such as the nutritional yeast flakes which adds a slight savoury contrast flavour. By adding a tablespoon of xylitol or stevia, it gives the sweetness of the blueberries a boost so do not be tempted to miss this ingredient out because it is a sweet dessert after all!
Once you have frozen the cheesecake to set (this takes at least 5 hours so it is best to make this the day before and freeze overnight). If you do not think you will eat all of the cheesecake at once, simply allow to defrost for about 30mins at room temperature, use a sharp knife to cut into portions (I made 6 portions from this) and separate the slices and store in a suitable container back in the freezer for up to 3 months. I like to do this so I have a portion ready for when I want something sweet, maybe after dinner on a Sunday or as a treat on Friday or Saturday night! woohoo 😉 !
You do need a food processor to make this cheesecake as the cashews need to be processed until silky and smooth.
Raw Blueberry & Lemon Cheesecake with Nutella Crust
Ingredients
Base
- 1 cup /100g oats
- .5 cup /50g hazelnuts
- 1 tbsp dark cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp dark chocolate chips
- 2/3 cup 100g dates if not soft, soak in hot water for 20mins
- 1 heaped tbsp coconut oil
- 2-3 tbsp water to help stick the mixture together
Filling
- 1.5 cups /200g cashews soaked in hot water for 20mins
- 1 cup coconut cream cream only from a can, save water for another use
- juice from 1 lemon
- zest from half a lemon
- 1 tbsp xylitol or stevia
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 3 heaped tbsp coconut oil
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 cup blueberries extra for topping
Instructions
Base
- Place all of the base ingredients (excl. the water) into a food processor and blitz until you reach a fine crumb texture. Then add the water, tablespoon by tablespoon until the mixture sticks together when pressed between thumb and finger.
- Press the mixture into the bottom of a 20cm round, springform cake tin. You can line the cake tin with parchment paper for easy removal of the cheesecake if desired but I find it is easy to remove after freezing by using a sharp knife.
- Place the base in the fridge while you make the filling.
Filling
- Rinse out the food processor jug, then add the filling ingredients (excl. blueberries). Processes for 1-2 mins until VERY smooth. Scrape down the side and continue processing until there are no lumps at all.
- Now, remove the base from the fridge, pour in half of the filling, then scatter 1 cup blueberries over the mixture, ensuring roughly an even layer, then add the remaining filling mixture on top. Give it a little shake to spread evenly or use the back of a spoon to spread out.
- Place the cheesecake in a large plastic bag or box and place in the freezer to set for at least 5hours or overnight.
- Remove from the freezer 30-60mins before serving and cover generously with the extra blueberries.
