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Raw Blackberry Cheesecake

September 25, 2012 by Erica 34 Comments

Raw Blackberry Cheesecake Raw Blackberry Cheesecake
Summer has indeed come to an end. Everyone is heads down in school, the yard is empty, the roses have slowed down, the dog is lonely, and it’s getting darker earlier. But the blackberries are going strong.

The 2012 Seattle eternal summer brought quite a bounty of blackberries. All along the streets in my neighborhood the blackberries glisten with plumpness, ready to be gently rolled off their vines. My fingers turn purple from leaky berry juice, joined by a few accidental thorn punctures. And it’s all worth it. I’ve frozen two pie-loads of berries, I’m making blackberry syrup for pancakes, and there’s this raw blackberry cheesecake.

I’m enamored of how cashews and lemon make such an amazing couple. The trick is to soak the cashews and then process the white layer for a minute or two for a smooth, creamy filling that seriously rivals the traditional dairy-based cheesecake. Yes, completely dairy-free!

I soak the raw almonds that are part of the crust layer for this cake, but you don’t have to. And some nuts don’t need soaking, such as macadamia and Brazil nuts. Soaking removes much of the tannins from the skins, and activates the enzymes that make the nut easier to digest. If you’re not into raw crusts, you can use any kind of crust for this cake, it’s just traditionally made with a raw date and nut crust. Some folks add shredded coconut to the crust as well. So it’s up to you.

Regarding the berries, I have so many blackberries right now that I felt immense pressure to use them, but I normally prefer blueberries or strawberries in this recipe. And while I love the tie-dyed look that the berry layer creates as it bleeds into the white layer, I think I prefer the berries processed in with the white layer. Using blueberries or strawberries also relieves me of having to separate the seeds from the berry topping.

blackberriesempty yardRaw Blackberry Cheesecake

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5 from 1 vote

Raw Blackberry Cheesecake

I recommend a 7-inch spring form pan, although any type of pan or dish will work because you're not baking it. I wouldn't go bigger than an 8-inch spring form pan, or double the white layer recipe to keep some height to the cake. You may want to cut out a piece of parchment paper to put on the bottom of the pan so you can easily slide the cake out when you're ready to serve it. When I don't use parchment paper, it's still relatively easy to remove the cake when it's frozen or very cold.
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 355kcal

Ingredients

Crust

  • 1/2 cup raw almonds or macadamia nuts, brazil, hazelnuts, pecans, or walnuts, just to give you some options
  • 1/2 cup Medjool dates
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

White layer

  • 1 1/2 cups raw cashews soaked in water for at least 3 hours
  • 1/3 cup coconut oil
  • 1/3 cup lemon juice or lime juice
  • 1/3 cup raw honey or pasteurized; up to you
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Berry layer

  • 2 cups blackberries or other berry; fresh or frozen
  • 3 tablespoons raw honey or pasteurized, or to taste
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • To make the crust layer, place the almonds, dates, and salt in a food processor and process until the dough sticks together. If you want a finer crust, keep processing a bit longer.
  • In a baking pan, or spring form pan, press the crust evenly across the bottom of the pan.
  • Place the crust in the refrigerator or freezer until you're ready to fill it.
  • Place the white layer ingredients in a food processor (or high speed blender), and process until smooth and creamy.
  • Place the white layer on top of the crust and smooth it out evenly using a spatula, or by shuffling the pan back and forth.
  • Place the berry layer ingredients in the food processor or blender, and blend for a bit to break down the berries and blend the honey.
  • Separate the blackberry seeds from the fruit puree using a fine mesh strainer, and then pour the berry layer on top of the white layer.
  • Freeze until ready to use, or store in the refrigerator if you'll be using it soon.
  • If you've frozen it, thaw for about 30 minutes at room temperature, or until you can cut a slice with a sharp knife. You can also thaw it for a few hours in the refrigerator.

Nutrition

Calories: 355kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Sodium: 77mg | Potassium: 361mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 91IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 2mg
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Filed Under: Dairy Free, Desserts, Egg Free, Gluten-Free, Lactose Free, Paleo, Plant-based, Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), Vegetarian Tagged With: almonds, blackberries, cashews

Previous Post: « Zucchini Bread {almond flour}
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Marjorie

    August 8, 2020 at 8:36 am

    5 stars
    Thanks so much for your amazing recipes! I was recently diagnosed with ibd and your recipes show food can be super delicious when healthy!

    Do you have tips for making the crust less sticky and easier to remove from the pan?

    Thanks and greetings from the Netherlands 🙂

    Reply
    • Erica

      August 8, 2020 at 9:21 am

      Hello from the US 🙂 I use a spring form pan and place parchment paper on the bottom of the pan. With a spring form pan you can detach the bottom of the pan so no need to remove, but if you want to then parchment paper works well.

      Reply
  2. Annelies Smits

    July 28, 2020 at 10:03 am

    Love it that the recipe adjusts itself when you change the servings.
    I’ll try this one tomorrow 😉
    Greetings from Belgium.

    Reply
    • Erica

      July 28, 2020 at 10:15 am

      Hello from the US! Yes, one of the reasons I switched to this format is the servings change and the measurement options (metric and US). 🙂

      Reply
  3. Victoria

    September 28, 2014 at 3:45 pm

    hi,
    In what do you soak the cashews, plain water or I read you mentioned something about lemon juice. Thanks for clarifying.

    Reply
    • Erica

      September 28, 2014 at 4:10 pm

      wow, thanks for asking! soak in water, and I added this info to the recipe.

      Reply
  4. Sands

    April 10, 2014 at 8:33 am

    I have come back to recipe many times but only tried it today. It’s my mom’s birthday but she is on the other side of the globe enjoying it with my rest of the family. So I made this to perk myself up, it came out beautifully. Finally, I can have cake and not feel lousy afterwards. It really is very delicious and pretty easy. Thank you so much for sharing your hard worked recipes.

    Reply
  5. Elisabeth

    August 21, 2013 at 2:56 pm

    Is there a substitute for the coconut oil? I have alot of food intolerants and coconut is one of them.

    Reply
    • Erica

      August 21, 2013 at 7:16 pm

      you can use butter or palm shortening I imagine, I just haven’t tried either.

      Reply
  6. Aukje

    February 18, 2013 at 3:55 am

    Hi Erica,

    I was just wondering what food processor you use. I did manage to break down the cashews in a simple blender, but have a feeling it would taste better had I been able to blend them better.

    Thanks!
    Aukje

    Reply
    • Erica

      February 18, 2013 at 10:41 am

      I use a Cuisinart and I run it for a minute or so, at least. You can let it run in the blender for a while as well, although a high-speed blender is going to be much more effective. You can get it really creamy with the higher-end equipment, which you may not be seeing. But try running it for a long time to see if it will eventually get there.

      Reply
      • Aukje

        February 18, 2013 at 11:40 am

        Thanks – my food processor is up for replacement, so that’s why I was asking… I ran it for about 7 minutes in my blender, but still….

        Reply
  7. Aukje

    February 18, 2013 at 12:44 am

    Great recipe! Thanks,

    Aukje

    Reply
    • Erica

      February 18, 2013 at 1:02 am

      Thanks Aukje!

      Reply
  8. Lindsay

    February 13, 2013 at 5:56 pm

    I just thought of another question: could cashew butter be used instead of grinding up the nuts?

    Lindsay

    Reply
    • Erica

      February 13, 2013 at 10:06 pm

      yes, but it will be difficult to press into the crust and won’t have the same texture. It won’t be far off though.

      Reply
  9. Lindsay Campbell

    February 12, 2013 at 10:35 am

    Hi Erica,

    Will a plain old black and decker food processor be powerful enough to make the filling? Or do you really need Vita mixer?

    Thanks
    Lindsay

    Reply
    • amy meidinger

      February 16, 2013 at 7:16 pm

      I use a NutriBullet. Alot cheaper than the Vitamix and does a great job.

      Reply
      • Erica

        February 16, 2013 at 7:26 pm

        thanks. hadn’t heard of it: http://www.nutribullet.com/

        Reply
      • Cassie

        December 27, 2013 at 12:16 pm

        Hi Amy, I tried once to make a similar cake base in the nutribullet and it blew up. Do you have any tips??

        Reply
  10. Jessica

    February 11, 2013 at 8:28 am

    Hi – Can you tell me where you found that beautiful white cake stand? It’s amazing!

    Reply
    • Erica

      February 11, 2013 at 9:57 am

      I bought it on sale (should have bought 2!) a few years ago from a catalog store, but I can’t remember which one. Sorry!

      Reply
  11. Alanna

    February 6, 2013 at 11:56 pm

    Mmmmmm!

    Reply
  12. Jill

    November 24, 2012 at 11:50 am

    Hi Erica! Where do you source your raw cashews? I checked your amazon store but no luck there. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Erica

      November 24, 2012 at 1:42 pm

      Hi Jill. I get raw cashews at Trader Joe’s or my local PCC or Whole Foods. The prices on Amazon are a bit high (and not even organic). I bet the places that sell nuts online will be a good source, such as Honeyville and Nutsonline.

      Reply
  13. Mindy

    October 7, 2012 at 3:01 pm

    Mine was so much flatter than yours even though I used an 8 inch pan. Tasted great though. the best part was trying to get my friends and family to guess what was in it. No one figured it out.

    Reply
    • Erica

      October 8, 2012 at 1:38 pm

      I love that it was a mystery. Mine is a bit flat as well but it may not show as much in the pictures.

      Reply
  14. Claire @ cinnamon and south

    September 28, 2012 at 7:05 pm

    Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, I have been looking for a good raw cheesecake recipe for a while and I think I might have to give this one a go, it looks delicious!

    Reply
    • Erica

      September 28, 2012 at 11:05 pm

      It’s good. I ate half the cake in one day. My opinion of course.

      Reply
  15. Jen

    September 26, 2012 at 7:03 pm

    This looks lovely! Sometimes when I use cashews in fillings and things, my fillings have a grayish tint. This cheesecake looks so white and pretty! I can’t wait to try it.

    Jen

    Reply
    • Erica

      September 26, 2012 at 8:33 pm

      Same here, Jen. The coconut oil gives it a more distinct white coloring. It does look a bit beige when processed but as soon as it freezes, it appears white.

      Reply
  16. Danielle

    September 26, 2012 at 7:05 am

    This looks lovely. I found a wild blackberry bush around back of my house last month and passed it up. Now I wish I would have picked them!

    Reply
    • Erica

      September 26, 2012 at 9:26 am

      there’s always the freezer section, or next year. Honestly, blueberries are easier and look the same as blackberries.

      Reply

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Measurement equivalents

1 tablespoon 3 teaspoons
1/4 cup 4 tablespoons
1 cup 8 ounces
1 teaspoon 5 ml
1 tablespoon 15 ml

Temperature conversions

Gas Mark Fahrenheit Celsius
  1/4  225  110
  1/2  250  130
    1  275  140
    2  300  150
    3  325  170
    4  350  180
    5  375  190
    6  400  200
    7  425  220
    8  450  230
    9  475  240

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I create recipes using simple, nutrient-dense ingredients, staying as close to the earth as possible.

One of my boys was diagnosed with Crohn’s, which inspired me to start Comfy Belly, and create recipes to share my love of good, healthy food. Read More →

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