Raw cheesecake is a popular dessert item often made with raw vegan ingredients blended together and refrigerated to resemble a traditional cooked cheesecake. When making a raw cheesecake, the crumb crust is often made with ground almonds, walnuts or pecans to resemble the conventional graham cracker crust. Pureed cashews often make up the filling of a cheesecake made with raw foods, blended with lemon juice, raw honey or agave nectar and coconut oil or cacao butter. Some raw cheesecakes may contain raw cacao powder for a chocolate cheesecake, or pureed squash or pumpkin for an autumn treat.
Most traditional cheesecakes use a graham cracker cookie crust, yet a raw cheesecake often uses ground nuts like almonds, walnuts and pecans as its base. Coconut oil and dates can often be combined in the crust to form a firmer cheesecake base, resulting in a richer and sweeter crust. A raw cheesecake may also use spices like cinnamon and ginger in the crust to form a holiday-inspired flavor, with a little salt to bring out the overall flavor of the ingredients. Once chilled for a specific amount of time, a raw crust may often resemble that of a traditionally baked cheesecake crust in both flavor and texture.
The filling of a raw cheesecake often contains a smooth nut like cashews blended with a small amount liquid until smooth and creamy. Lemon juice is often used as one of the liquid ingredients to mimic the slightly tart taste in conventional cheesecakes. Since a cheesecake made with raw ingredients must be firm after refrigeration, melted coconut oil or cacao butter is often blended into the filling to enhance the firmness of the dessert. Raw honey or agave nectar is often the sweetener of choice in the filling of a raw cheesecake, as is pureed fruit like dates or apples.
Popular ingredients like raw cacao or raw chocolate powder are blended into a raw cheesecake filling to resemble a conventional chocolate cheesecake dessert. Pureeing raw pumpkin with various spices, although somewhat difficult, is sometimes used with the filling to create a raw pumpkin cheesecake. Almost all raw cheesecakes are refrigerated or frozen until firm, as the pureed filling can often melt if left at room temperature. Although a raw cheesecake uses vegan ingredients that haven’t been cooked, a cheesecake made with raw ingredients still may contain sugar and a high amount of calories.