Vegan Chocolate Beet Cheesecake
A lush raw vegan cheesecake made with beets and a gluten-free chocolate crust. Such a pretty pink color and a fun way to add a bit of veggies to your cake!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 5" cake
- Category: Cake
- Method: Raw
- Cuisine: Dessert
Ingredients
Crust:
- ½ cup raw almonds (or cashews)
- 1 soft medjool date, pitted (skip if going fruit-free)
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp coconut oil, liquefied
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
Filling:
- ¾ cup raw cashews, pre-soaked & strained*
- 5 tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 3 tbsp coconut oil, liquefied
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ tsp salt
- 1-3 tsp beetroot powder (depending on light or dark a pink you want it**)
Toppings:
- edible dried rose petals and buds, cacao nibs, dark chocolate covered amaranth balls
Instructions
- Process all crust ingredients in a food processor into a fine sticky crumble. Transfer into a 5" springform pan and press down into an even flat crust. Freeze while working on next step.
- Make sure all filling ingredients are at room temp (not cold***). Blend everything, except the beet powder, together in a power blender into a smooth creamy consistency. Add a little bit of the beet powder (1tsp at a time) and blend to incorporate. Add a bit more powder if desired to adjust to your liking (see notes**). Transfer this mixture into the springform pan over the crust. Decorate with any desired toppings.
- Freeze for 5-6 hours or overnight. Keep frozen until serving time. Slice and enjoy! Keep any leftovers frozen.
Notes
*To pre-soak nuts: place in a glass bowl, cover with water, and leave to soak for 4 hours (or overnight in the fridge). Then strain and discard the water. For a quick pre-soak, cover with boiled water and soak for 15 mins, then strain and discard water. (Note: this technique doesn't preserve the nutrition of the recipe as well as the traditional soaking technique above). Note: the purpose of soaking the nuts is to re-hydrate them and plump them up for blending into a smooth, cheesecake-like consistency. Proper soaking techniques also maximize nutrition and digestibility. If you're interested in learning more about nut soaking and other dessert prep tips and tricks, I delve into these subjects in detail in my book Unconventional Treats.
**With the beet powder, different powders from different brands might vary in their texture, flavor, and color. This is why I recommend starting by adding just a little bit of the beet powder to the filling mixture at first, and then add more if you feel that your cake can handle it well to your taste. You can just taste a tiny bit of the cake mixture after adding a little bit more to see how you like the taste and the resulting color, and if you want to try adding more, add a bit more and blend again.
***If any of the ingredients are cold the coconut oil can start to solidify within the blender and therefore not blend through properly.
Keywords: Raw Vegan Chocolate Beet Cheesecake