Raw Chocolate Almond Cheesecake

Oh. My. This dessert. Raw Vegan Chocolate Almond Cheesecake.

I have 2 exciting things to share with you today! First, I was absolutely honored and thrilled when I was contacted by Rawguru and Raw Food Recipes to create some recipes featuring their Rawmio and Dastony products. Raw Food Recipes is a large site with the best source of vegan, vegetarian and raw recipes and is truly a beautiful site, that I’m thrilled to be a part of.

Most of you who follow my blog and know me in real life, know I’m huge on all natural products. I don’t like to use products with weird additives or artificial ingredients. So, getting the opportunity to create some delicious vegan cheesecake using their products with all unprocessed ingredients was like a dream come true. I was like a little kid when the products arrived. A vegan cheesecake was the only thing I could think about. Dairy-free and oil-free, of course.

Their products are raw, organic, vegan, gluten-free, oil-free and stone ground!!

Today’s dessert is highlighting their original chocolate almond butter. It only has 3 ingredients: raw almonds, cocoa nibs and coconut sugar. I immediately opened it and tasted it….so delicious and so pure. I was immediately inspired to create a recipe that highlighted it.

So, to make it a raw healthy dessert, I decided to make a vegan chocolate almond cheesecake with a gluten-free crust. I added some almonds to my cheesecake base to further bring out some almond flavor. To keep the ingredient list low, I repeat the sliced almonds and agave in the crust, so no need for any additional ingredients. By topping it with cocoa nibs and more almonds, it makes the perfect dessert for you guys that love chocolate and almond.

FYI: Cocoa nibs aren’t very sweet at all, so use chocolate chips on the topping if you prefer. My hubby didn’t like the cocoa nibs as much as I did.

It’s super easy to make. Prepare the chocolate crust. Then just add all the filling ingredients to your blender. Decorate and freeze, that’s it! No need to fool with eggs or heating up the oven like a typical cheesecake.

I added almonds and cocoa nibs to decorate the top, but feel free to use shaved chocolate, chocolate chips or leave it plain! Yum. If you are however in the mood for full-on chocolate, then you must try my Raw Vegan Luscious Chocolate Cheesecake. It is to-die-for.

Be sure to leave me feedback below after you make this Raw Vegan Chocolate Almond Cheesecake! I love hearing it!

Disclaimer: I was not paid or under any obligation for this product review. I was humbled to be contacted by them and all opinions expressed are 100% my own.

Raw Vegan Chocolate Almond Cheesecake Bars

Brandi Doming

What can be better than a raw dessert that is creamy and full of almond and chocolate flavor and only 8 ingredients (+water)? This cheesecake is so creamy and rich, you won't believe it is dairy-free or vegan!

5 from 4 votes

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Prep Time 15 mins

Total Time 15 mins

Yields 9 -12

Ingredients

Filling

• 2 heaping cups raw whole cashews 10 oz, 280g
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds or 2 heaping tablespoons almond butter
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup raw agave nectar or maple syrup, 120 mL
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup water 236 mL
• For the swirl: 6 oz jar Rawmio Chocolate Almond Butter a 1/2 cup mixed with 3 tablespoons water (or you can eliminate or use another chocolate spread

Chocolate crust

• 3 heaping cups sliced almonds not whole (11 oz, 310 g)
• 3 tablespoons raw cacao 18 g
• 4 1/2 tablespoons raw agave nectar
• pinch fine sea salt

Please note that weight measurements are also listed for accuracy in the result. Also, if you do not have the Dastony chocolate almond butter, you can just melt some chocolate chips mixed with some almond butter. Just make sure it is a thick consistency and then swirl that into the cheesecake.

Instructions

 

Chocolate crust

• Add almonds and cacao to a food processor and pulse into fine crumbs. Add the agave and pulse again until mixture clumps together and holds it's shape when pressed together between your fingers. Take an 8x8 square pan, spray with nonstick spray and line with plastic wrap hanging over the sides for easy removal later. The spray helps the plastic wrap from moving. Press the mixture evenly around with your fingers, not forgetting about the corners. You can add a little cacao powder to your fingers to help it not stick.

Filling

• If you do not have a high powered blender such as a Vitamix or Blendtec, simply soak the cashews for 5 hours in a bowl covered with room temperature water. Drain, rinse and then proceed with the recipe.
• Add all filling ingredients (except the chocolate almond butter) to a high powered blender and blend until smooth and creamy, a couple of minutes.
• Pour over the prepared crust.
• Mix the chocolate almond butter with 3 tablespoons water until smooth. Drop spoonfuls all over the cheesecake and pull with a knife to make swirls. Do not overdo it or you will lose the swirl effect.
• If desired, add almonds, cocoa nibs, shaved chocolate or chocolate chips on top. Note: cocoa nibs aren't very sweet, so taste them before placing them as a topping, to make sure you want to use them. Place in the freezer for several hours or overnight until firm. Let sit at room temperature about 10-15 minutes before trying to remove the cheesecake with the plastic wrap. You should be able to pull it out with the plastic wrap after it has sat out a bit. Then slice and serve. Cover with foil and return to the freezer to keep it firm.

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