Cherry Cashew 'Cheese' Cake

This raw cherry ‘cheese’ cake is a delightful summer picnic idea! It can be topped with any type of fresh fruit or your favourite fruit sauce. It is refined sugar-free, grain-free, dairy-free, and packed full of flavour!

Most fruit cheesecakes are full of sugar, red dye and unhealthy fats. This recipe contains honey (a natural immune booster), coconut oil (a rich source of Medium Chain Triglycerides), and mineral-rich nuts. This triple power combination delivers sustained energy and nerve-supportive B-vitamins. 

Ingredients:

Crust:

2 1/2 cups    walnuts or pecans

1/4 tsp          sea salt

1/4 cup         honey (or maple syrup if you want to make a vegan pie)

1 tsp             ground cinnamon

Filling:

4 cups          cashews (soaked for at least 2 hours and drained)

1/2 cup         honey

1/2 cup         lemon juice

1/2 cup         coconut butter or oil

1 tsp             pure vanilla extract

1 tsp             ground cardamon

pinch            sea salt

Cherry Topping:

2 cups          frozen cherries

2 tbs             honey

Optional Topping:

2 fresh          apple bananas, sliced

1/4 cup         shredded coconut

2                   guava, sliced

1/4 cup         pineapple, thinly sliced

Directions:

Crust:

1. In a food processor with the S blade, pulse walnuts/or pecans, sea salt and cinnamon until the mixture is a fine crumble. Slowly add honey and mix. Stop once the mixture starts to form together. You do not want to overdo the processing or it will get too oily and create a nut butter.

2. Press the mixture into a 21-inch pie plate. Set aside while making the filling. You can also use 10 ramekins instead of a pie plate to make individual servings as featured in the top photo.

Filling:

1. Cover cashews in water and let them sit for at least 2 hours. Drain the water off the cashews completely.

2. In a food processor mix all ingredients until creamy. This should be thick in consistency but smooth.

3. Pour mixture into the crust.

3. Let stand in a refrigerator for 4 hours or in the freezer for 2 hours to set.

4. Garnish with fruit prior to serving.

Cherry Topping:

1. Place frozen cherries and honey in a saucepan on low heat. You do not need to cook this sauce, simply warm it up to allow the juice from the frozen cherries to mix well with the honey. You can use another type of sweetener such as maple syrup if you want a vegan pie.

Makes 10 servings. This pie freezes very well.

This cake is great with all sorts of toppings! Pick your favourite.