Raw, Vegan, Vanilla-Berry, Gluten-Free, Paleo 'Not-a-Cheesecake'

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This delicious uncheesecake was inspired by an equally gorgeous cake from the Fragrant Vanilla Cake blog. However... coconut butter? rosewater? young coconut meat?  pomegranates?.. none of these exist in my immediate world.

Actually I did find rosewater and coconut butter, and if I'd been willing to part with $40+ , they would have been mine. But I wasn't. Then I decided that buckwheat takes too long to sprout, let alone dehydrate.  And so, a different cake evolved, organically, like a force of nature that must have life.

Raw, Vegan, Not-Really-a-Cheesecake, Vanilla-Berry Cheesecake

Ingredients: For the Base: ¾ cup almond flour ¾ cup coconut flour ¾ cup of pitted, chopped medjool dates ¼ tsp salt ¾ tsp cardamom For the Topping: 3 cups of cashew nuts (soaked for 3 to 5 hours) ½ cup coconut oil ½ cup coconut milk or coconut cream ½ cup liquid sweetener (agave, coconut nectar (or sugar syrup if you are not concerned with raw and paleo)) ½ cup finely grated beetroot 1 Tbsp vanilla extract 1 tsp freeze-dried raspberry powder*

• ½ tsp salt

Instructions:

For the Base:

Mix the almond flour, coconut flour, salt and cardmom in a food processor. While it is running add the dates slowly, allowing each handful to be fully processed before adding another.

The base is ready when you squeeze it and it sticks together. Add more dates if not sticky enough.

Press the base firmly into the bottom of a springiform or silicone baking pan and set aside.

For the Topping:

Drain the cashews and blend them in the processor at a high speed until they are relatively smooth.

Add the coconut milk, vanilla and salt and continue to blend until the consistency is very smooth – like cream cheese.

While the processor is running, add the liquid sweetener and coconut oil. Taste test  ;)

Drop large dollops of the mix randomly on the base.Use half the mix. The other half is about to be berrified!

Add the grated beet (you don’t taste this at all, trust me!) and raspberry powder to the remaining mix and blend.

*If you can’t get raspberry powder (I used this one), use a berry essence (of course, this is probably not ‘raw’), some berry juice, a few crushed berries or rosewater (thanks Amy @ fragrantvanillacake.blogspot.com for the rosewater inspiration).

Drop the berry topping into the gaps left between the vanilla dollops, then swirl the topping exactly once with a knife. Freeze for at least two hours until solid, remove from the pan and let sit in the fridge for about an hour before eating.

I also made a cute cupcake version, and one without the 'vanilla' part. That one was decorated with blueberries and white chocolate (the chocolate was not vegan, but I'm sure you can find some). The lighter colour is because I was wary of all that beetroot!

Even with my eyes closed and full concentration empowered, I could not detect even a hint of beetrootyness. This gave me confidence to go the full monty with the swirl cake above.

The cupcakes. I made  these in a silicone muffin pan - very easy removal and they were ready in less than an hour, compared to the whole cake which took the full two hours to set.

The trial cake, less beetroot.

Packed lunch... ;)

This cake is really delicious. I think the little kick of cardmom in the base sends it over the edge in a very good way. Let me know how it works out for you. I'd love to see your pictures too, so link it up, link it up in the comments.