Raw white chocolate and berry cheesecake

We enjoy making raw food snacks and desserts. It was my husband’s birthday and he wanted one of his favourite cakes…the berry white chocolate layer cheesecake. This raw, vegan, dairy and gluten-free cake is absolutely divine and because it is raw and dense you do not need a lot of it which means it can be enjoyed for a couple of days! The recipe says that it makes 8-10 slices but we got 5 slices and we didn’t get half way through the cake, that’s because of it’s richness. It too is simple to put together despite the long list of ingredients so… give it a go.

The original recipe is from Little Bird Organics in Ponsonby, New Zealand. However, I have changed some of it and at the bottom you can read what I did differently. The original recipe says it takes 45 mins of ‘make time’ however, I found it took A LOT longer than that with the 15-20 min freeze time between layers, however, it is absolutely worth it. I am also not a chef or baker, the image shows a mum who continues to make yummy healthy food for her family, birthday’s and other occasions and if it tastes great we are all happy; it certainly doesn’t have to be perfect!

Base

• 3 heaped tbsp gluten free-oats
• 1/4 cup organic and dried activated almonds
• 1 heaped tbsp organic cashews
• 1/3 cup organic pitted dates
• Splash of organic vanilla extract
• 1/4 cap of Vital Foods All Natural Liquid Magnesium or a pinch of Himalayan salt
• 1/2 tbsp melted organic cold-pressed coconut oil

To make the base: blend oats in a food processor until they resemble a fine flour. Add almonds, cashews and dates, and blend to a coarse, couscous-like texture. Add remaining ingredients and pulse a few times until combined. The mixture should hold together.

Line a 15 cm round cake tin with baking paper. Press the base mixture evenly and firmly into the bottom of the tin.

Blueberry layer

• 1/3 cup of organic cashews (soaked for 2-4 hours)
• 1/2 cup of blueberries (fresh or frozen)
• 2 tbsp maple syrup (or coconut nectar or raw honey)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 tbsp melted cold-pressed coconut oil
• 2 tbsp melted cacao butter

To make the blueberry layer: drain and rinse soaked cashews thoroughly. Place all ingredients except cocunt il and cacao butter in a high speed blender and blend until very smooth, being careful not to let it heat up. If it does warm up, transfer to the fridge to cool before continuing to blend.

Once fully smooth, leave the blender running and slowly pour in coconut oil and the cacao butter, blending until completely combined. Pour over the base and place in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes until slightly firm.

White chocolate layer

• 1 cup cashews soaked for 2-4 hours
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp white miso (I did not use the white miso, I skipped it)
• 1/4 cup maple syrup (or coconut nectar or raw honey)
• 2 tbsp melted cacao butter

To make the white chocolate layer: drain and rinse soaked cashews thoroughly. Place all ingredients except cacao butter in a high-speed blender an blend until very smooth, being careful not to let it heat up. If it does warm up, transfer to the fridge to cool before continuing to blend.

Once fully smooth, leave the blender running and slowly pour in cacao butter, blending until completely combined. Pour half of the mixture on top of the blueberry layer and palce inthe freezer for about 15-20 minutes, until slightly firm. Set the remainder aside until needed. NOTE: I didn’t have enough so I made this layer twice.

Strawberry layer

• 1/3 cup cashews, soaked for 2-4 hours
• 1/2 cup strawberries (fresh or frozen)
• 2 tbsp maple syrup (or coconut nectar or raw honey)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 tbsp melted cold-pressed coconut oil
• 2 tbsp melted cacao butter

To make the strawberry layer: drain and rinse soaked cashews thoroughly. Place all ingredients except cocnut oil and cacao butter in a high-speed blender an blend until very smooth, being careful not to let it heat up. If it does warm up, transfer to the fridge to cool before continuing to blend.

Once fully smooth, leave the blender running and slowly pour in the coconut oil and cacao butter, blending until completely combined. Pour on top of the white chocolate layer and place in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes, until slightly firm.

Topping:

• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries or strawberries and edible flowers (optional)

To finish: check that the strawberry layer is set, then pour in the remaining white chocolate mixture. (NOTE: this was the layer that I made again from scratch because we didn’t have enough). Refrigerate for about 4-6 hours, until completely set.

To decorate: use an offset spatula, I just used a warmed up knife submerged in hot water for 1 minute, then drained to smooth our ay imperfections. Top with fresh blueberries or strawberries and edible flowers.

How did my recipe differ and my mistakes:

1. I used baking paper to line the inside of the cake tin
2. My cake tin was larger so the layers in the image are thinner
3. I didn’t use honey or coconut nectar. I used an organic maple syrup
4. I didn’t include the white miso because we couldn’t get any on the island
5. I decreased the amount of maple syrup by about a 1/3 seeing we are not an over the top sweet tooth family
6. I made the white chocolate layer twice as I didn’t have enough to split it over two layers as the recipe suggests and that could have been because I didn’t blend it enough to make it smooth and easy to spread.
7. I didn’t put it in the refrigerator, I left it in the freezer and got it out about 30 minutes before we were ready to eat it and then returned it to the freezer.