Raw Vegan Orange and Cardamom Mini Cheesecakes.

If you have never had a raw vegan cheesecake before you have to put it on your to-do list. They are smooth and creamy and taste even better than the dairy/sugar/fat laden types. The flavour combinations are endless and are a winner with everyone- omnivores included.

AND!! the guilt factor is minimal as they are made completely out of fruit and nuts. No sugar high. All decadence.

Makes 12.

Time: Twenty minutes prep time and a minimum of 6 hours to set (preferably overnight.)

The Base

Ingredients:

• One cup of almonds or macadamias.
• Half a cup of dates.
• Half a cup of coconut.
• A tiny pinch of sea salt.

Method:

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and process on high until the mixture resembles cookie crumbs and sticks together when pressed. Press about a tablespoon each in patty pans or silicon cupcake holders (I recommend the silicon. everything is less likely to stick and they are reusable). Set aside.

The Filling

Ingredients:

• Two cups of cashews. If you don't have a high powered blender, I'd recommend grinding the  dry cashews in a coffee grinder until they make a powder. Otherwise, soak the cashews in water for at least an hour (preferably over night) and drain before adding to the blender.
• One orange sliced, plus the juice of another orange.
• Two tablespoons of grated or thinly sliced orange rind.
• Two tablespoons of agave nectar.
• One teaspoon of ground cardamom.
• A tiny pinch of sea salt.
• One tablespoon of melted coconut oil.
• One teaspoon of ground soy lecithin (I found this at my local health food shop. It can be left out but it does help to bind the ingredients.)

Method:

Put all of the ingredients except the oil and the lecithin into a blender and blend until nice and creamy. Add the oil and the lecithin in and blend a little more. Top the bases with this mixture and then pop them in the fridge for a minimum of 6 hours or overnight. Take the cakes out of the pans and serve. I haven't gotten to this part with the current batch yet, hence there are no photos.

This is a photo from a raspberry lemon cake, so you can see the texture. The base here was made with macadamias. Have a play. To make the raspberry and lemon cheesecake, substitute the orange for 3/4 a cup of raspberries, and substitute the orange juice and rind for lemon juice and rind. Delicious.

                                  

These are almost too good to share. Enjoy!