Can you believe that in just 10 sleeps it will be Christmas? I am so excited! Especially because one of my recipes to make for Christmas Day has just been ticked off the list, courtesy of this Cranberry and Pistachio Raw Cheesecake. I also plan on making a wild rice salad (don't worry, I'll share that recipe as well) and potentially a roast pork, lamb or something or other to that description.
Our family always bands together on Christmas, with not one person having to cook all of the food. We each bring a few dishes. There is always a spread of beautiful salads, cold meats and desserts. It's so nice being able to eat what each other has made because it's always a little different to what I would normally make, but always completely delicious.
Although I'm sure my family are all rolling their eyeballs when I tell them I'm bringing a raw cheesecake to our Christmas Day lunch. Eating refined sugar free isn't something that just happens overnight, it takes time to retrain your tastebuds not to love the super sweet stuff. To me, this cheesecake is super sweet but to others it may not be. Feel free to adjust with extra maple syrup if you're still in the process of retraining your taste buds.
Raw treats are incredibly forgiving so you can do things like that if you fancy. Mind you, I would leave the base as is. The base probably wouldn't be quite so forgiving when adding extra liquid.
Tips for Making Raw Cheesecake
To get really neat, clean slices, it's best to use a very sharp, HOT knife. Clean the knife between cuts and cut when frozen.
After slicing, place into a container and into the freezer to store until you're ready to serve. All you need to do then is remove them around ten minutes before serving to allow them to soften. I do the toppings just before serving as well. Don't put the toppings on and then freeze because it will ruin the look of the toppings (especially if using fresh fruit).
Because I am a chocolate addict, I've chosen to drizzle with melted dark chocolate. I love buying the Loving Earth brand because it's dairy free and refined sugar free (they use coconut milk to make it creamy and coconut nectar to sweeten). There are lots of other yummy organic dark chocolate brands out there though, so feel free to use whatever you can find.
The next recipe to hit the blog will be my Chocolate Coated Ginger Truffles, which would make a delicious, edible gift for a loved one come Christmas Day. Remember to join the community here if you'd like to receive the latest recipes and articles straight to your inbox. I've still got some more gut health friendly, gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar free Christmas recipes coming your way.
Sending you all of the festive, holiday vibes.
Enjoy,
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Ingredients
Cheesecake
- 4 cups raw cashews soaked overnight or for at least 2 hours
- 1 vanilla bean seeds scraped out
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- ½ cup extra virgin coconut oil
- ½ cup coconut milk tinned
Base
- 1 cup almonds
- 8 medjool dates seeds removed
- ½ cup cranberries organic
- 2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
- ½ cup pistachios
Toppings
- ½ cup pistachios roughly chopped
- ½ cup cherries + ½ cup extra
- 50 grams organic dark chocolate
Instructions
Base
- To make the base, place all ingredients for base into a food processor and blend on high until well combined and sticking together.
- Press base mixture into a square baking paper lined cake tin and place in the freezer while preparing the filling.
Filling
- Clean out food processor and add the cashews, vanilla bean paste, pure maple syrup, coconut oil and coconut milk. Blend on high until very smooth and creamy.
- Remove base from freezer and pour filling on top of base. Smooth out with the back of a spoon, spatula or frosting knife and return to the freezer until filling is frozen solid.
- Once frozen, remove from the freezer and use a hot knife to slice cheesecake into squares. Clean the knife between each slice.
- Store cheesecake slices in a container in the freezer until ready to serve.
Toppings
- Remove pits from ½ cup of cherries, slice in half and place in a small saucepan with a tablespoon water.
- Bring to a low heat and allow to simmer for about ten minutes. Use a fork to mash the cherries to release juices.
- Once the juices have reduced into a syrup like thickness, remove from heat and strain using a mesh sieve.
- Break chocolate into pieces and place in a small metal bowl atop a saucepan of boiling water. Stir continuously until melted. Add a small amount of coconut oil to thin the chocolate if needed.
To Serve
- Top each slice with about one teaspoon cherry liquid, a sprinkle of chopped pistachios, a whole cherry and a drizzle of melted chocolate. Allow cheesecakes to sit for approximately ten minutes to soften slightly before serving.
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