Guilt-Free Cheesecake

I love cheesecake. Love it a lot. Problem is, it’s not a very guilt-free snack. My good friend Sierra is the Q-U-E-E-N of making treats healthier. I think she should start her own blog with all her recipes because then I wouldn’t have to ask her for them all the time. She was auctioning a whole pan of “your choice of healthy dessert” at a service auction at our church and you better believe I jumped all over that opportunity. Anyways she had shared a piece of this healthy “cheese” cake before and I knew that’s the dessert I would be choosing.

I asked her if she would mind trying my pan with Freeze-Dried berries. I was curious to see how it turned out. She was up for the challenge and they turned out perfectly. The reason I loved this idea is because berries are so unpredictable. They aren’t always in season, or fresh, or cost effective. I often times get a container of berries and they go bad before I get to them all. With freeze-dried berries I can avoid those problems. Here are three kinds that would work great in this recipe. She actually used a combo of a couple of these in mine.

Freeze-Dried Raspberries	Freeze Dried Blackberries	Freeze Dried Blueberries

And here’s the recipe. You can make these and store them in small squares in the freezer and snack on a little one each day for a whole month. Not that I’ve done that or anything 😉

Guilt Free Raw Cashew “cheese” cake:

Crust:
1/2 cup raw almonds (pecan or walnuts will also work)
1/2 cup soft Medjool dates
¼ tsp. sea salt

Filling:
1 ½ cups raw cashews, soaked for at least 5 hours, overnight is best
juice of 2 lemons
1 tsp. alcohol-free vanilla extract
1/3 cup raw coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup raw honey (solid or liquid, vegans use agave nectar.)
1 cup raspberries (thaw completely if using frozen) Or any berry or fruit.
*If using freeze-dried fruits use 1 cup of fruit plus about 1/2 cup water. Wet the berries with the water and add together in recipe.

Directions:
1. Place nuts and dates in a food processor with sea salt and pulse to chop until they are to your desired fineness (process a finer crust longer than a chunky one). Test the crust by spooning out a small amount of mixture and rolling it in your hands. If the ingredients hold together, your crust is perfect. Scoop out crust mixture in a 7” spring-form pan (if you don’t have a spring-form pan, use a pie plate lined with saran wrap), and press firmly, making sure that the edges are well packed and that the base is relatively even throughout. Rinse food processor well.

2. Warm coconut oil and honey in a small saucepan on low heat until liquid. Whisk to combine.

3. In the most powerful food processor / blender you own (you decide which one has the most torque) place all filling ingredients (except raspberries) and blend on high until very smooth (this make take a couple minutes so be patient). If you have a Vita-Mix, absolutely use it.

4. Pour about 2/3 (just eyeball it, you can’t make a mistake!) of the mixture out onto the crust and smooth with a spatula. Add the raspberries to the remaining filling and blend on high until smooth. Pour onto the first layer of filling. Place in freezer until solid.

5. To serve, remove from freezer 30 minutes prior to eating. Run a smooth, sharp knife under hot water and cut into slices. Serve on its own, or with fresh fruit. Store leftovers in the freezer.

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