No-Bake Gluten-Free Vegan Cheesecake for St. Patrick's Day
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 6" cake
Ingredients
Base Ingredients:
- 1 cup almonds
- ¼ cups liquid sweetener of your choice (I used maple syrup)
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted or softened.
Filling Ingredients:
- 1 440g container vanilla cultured coconut yogurt (see notes above), minus ½ cup (reserve for other uses).
- ¾ cup cashews, pre-soaked for at least an hour
- ½ cup coconut oil, melted
- ⅓ cup liquid sweetener of your choice (I used maple syrup)
- juice of ½ a lemon
- 1-2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- food coloring of your choice
Instructions
- Place all base ingredients in a food processor and process until the mixture is sticky and somewhat smooth. Transfer the mixture into a springform pan and press down with a spatula to create a uniform and smooth base. Place in the freezer while preparing the filling.
- Place all filling ingredients (except food coloring) into a blender and process until everything is smooth (a good power blender will help the filling to be more smooth). Remove cake pan from freezer. Pour most of the filling, minus about ½ – ⅔ of a cup, into the cake pan and return the pan into the freezer. Leave the remaining filling in the blender.
- Add in food coloring to your liking to the remaining mixture in the blender and blend to get an even color. Remove cake pan from the freezer once again and pour the colored mixture into the pan evenly. Return to freezer and allow the cake to chill for at least 2 hours prior to serving.
Notes
To pre-soak nuts: place in a glass bowl, cover with water, and leave to soak for 1 -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).
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.