DessertsVegan Mint & Chocolate "Cheesecake"
ROASTED ALMOND & SALTED CARAMEL EASTER "CHEESECAKE"
A layered dream that’s rich but not too sweet, with a perfectly chewy base, velvety almond-cashew cream, and a swirl of salted date caramel. We love serving this one at dinner parties (and saving slices in the freezer for ourselves).
Hello everyone! This is Rita here. Sometimes I fear we'll be too overwhelmed and incapable of sorting through the dozens of recipe ideas we constantly shoot each other with. Between the projects we work on, university, gym, leisure and some much needed rest, we still manage to find the time and inspiration to work on a weekly recipe for the blog. Some are more creative than others, some more impressive than others. But this one, I might say, is our definite favourite so far.
I must say, we weren't thinking about posting another vegan "cheesecake" recipe so soon. But Easter is just around the corner and we did promise you heaps of them when we posted our Lemon & Raspberry "Cheesecake", so we figured the time was right. A few weeks ago we took on the challenge of creating a healthy vegan "cheesecake" recipe inspired by all sorts of sinful Easter treats and this delicious, gorgeous and IMMENSELY addicting dessert was born. Like we always do, we tested this recipe a couple of times before even photographing it and I had imagined we would still have a bit more of this deliciousness hanging in the freezer by now, but a-hem. It's nearly all gone. Dozens of slices of sweet, decadent perfection (perhaps a fourth round is in order?).
Traditional portuguese sweets around this time of the year are all about this sort of flavours: the warmness of cinnamon, the sweetness of caramel and the toasty flavour of roasted almonds (and chocolate actually, but we're saving that one for some other goodies!). But these desserts could not be further from being healthy (or plant-based, for that matter) and we've had more than enough of that! You can put the dairy and the eggs and the rock hard artificially coloured sugar aside, because this baby right here has everything you could wish for. The almond cinnamon cashew cream tastes like cookies and the salted medjoul date caramel is, well... Salted. Date. Caramel. We threw in some sliced almonds in between layers for some extra crunch and voilá! Best dessert ever. It may involve some soaking and freezing but believe me, this is actually really easy to make and it is worth all the time in the world.
Roasted Almond & Salted Caramel Easter "Cheesecake"
16 portions
>4 hours soaking + 1 hour prepping + 8 hours freezing
Ingredients
BASE
- 10 medjoul dates, pits removed
- 300 g blanched almonds
SALTED DATE CARAMEL
- 15 medjoul dates, pits removed
- 2 tbsp roasted almond butter
- 2 tbsp melted coconut oil
- 2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
- ½ tsp himalayan pink salt
- 35 gr almond slices (for layering)
ALMOND CINNAMON CASHEW CREAM
- 400 gr raw cashews, soaked overnight (or for a minimum of 4 hours)
- 250 ml unsweetened almond milk
- 125 ml melted coconut oil
- 180 ml rice malt syrup
- 70 g roasted almond butter
- seeds of 1 vanilla bean
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
Start by gathering, preparing and measuring all of the ingredients. This will improve your dynamic in the kitchen.
BASE
- Preheat your oven to 150ºC (300ºF).
- Spread the almonds on a baking tray and roast for about 20 minutes (or until they turn golden brown).
- Remove from the oven and allow them to cool completely.
- Add the almonds and pitted dates to your food processor/blender and process for about 30 seconds, until they turn into a sticky, fine meal.
- Scoop out a ¼ cup of this meal and set aside, for garnish.
- Line an 20 cm (8-inch) square pan (23 cm [9-inch] round pan) with parchment paper, pour in the mixture and press it down firmly.
SALTED DATE CARAMEL
- Soak the medjoul dates in hot (but not boiling) water for 10 minutes.
- Drain the dates and squeeze the excess liquid.
- Add the dates along with the rest of the ingredients to your food processor and process for a few minutes, until the caramel is smooth and there are no chunks of dates left.
- Pour the caramel over the "cheesecake" base and spread evenly with the help of a spatula.
- Sprinkle the almond slices over the caramel layer and place the pan in the freezer for a few minutes, while you work on the cashew cream.
ALMOND CINNAMON CASHEW CREAM
- Rinse and drain the soaked cashews.
- Add them to the food processor/blender and process for a couple of minutes, stopping a few times to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Process until the cashews turn into a smooth paste.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and process at the highest speed for a few minutes until you get a rich, creamy mixture. Be patient and blend until the cashew cream is completely silky.
- Remove the "cheesecake" pan from the freezer and pour the cream into the pan.
- Gently shake the pan a little to even out the surface and remove any air bubbles that might be trapped in the cream.
- Place the "cheesecake" in the freezer for at least 8 hours so it sets completely.
TO SERVE
- Remove "cheesecake" from the freezer and slice immediately.
- Allow the slices to thaw out for 20 minutes, sprinkle with some almond-date meal and a few almond slices and serve.
PS- The "cheesecake" will hold in the freezer for 6 weeks. You can slice it and freeze the slices separately. This way, you can have a slice of cake whenever you want!
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39 CommentsI know this is a very old post but I just had the opportunity to make it. I purchased a round pan and wasn’t sure how to line it with the parchment paper. I winded up making a circle bottom and cutting strips for the sides. Now I don’t have the slightest idea how to get it out of the tin 🫣 If I make it again I’ll grab a springform or square pan 😂 I really should have come back to the blog and looked at the pictures first. If you have any suggestions on how to get it out without destroying it that would be great. 
Hi there!
First of all, I’m thrilled you tried this recipe! 😄 If you're having trouble removing the cheesecake from the pan, I suggest running warm/hot water over the bottom and sides of the pan for about 30 seconds. Then, gently shake the pan and try sliding the cheesecake out. 😅
I apologize for the delayed response, but I hope by now you’ve managed to get it out and enjoyed it!I tried your recipe but i had a problem: my cream didint set well and it was runny so we ate it with spoons :( Maybe you know why this happenedHi Rita ! I've just discovered your wonderfull blog and I would like to try this recipe for the new year (this look soo good !). However, I didn't understand well how you soak the cashews... In hot water ? Thanks for your help, I'll let you know how it worked ! Best wishesCan i replace almond instead of cashewMade this yesterday and so tasty. The caramel in particular is a winner. The only problem I had was the base which did not hold together at all! With only dates and almonds there was not enough moisture to hold the base together. The short term solution - turn the cheesecake upside down and let the base be the topping. The longer term solution? More dates or coconut oil???Are we suppose to put the cake into freezer(-18deg) or refrigerator(+7deg)?Hi Kate! This "cheesecake" needs to be frozen solid before slicing and serving, so into the freezer it goes. :) xoHi Can you make this using peanut butter instead of almond butter ?Hi Caitlin! For sure! You can make any kind of nut or seed butter using this method. :) xoHi Rita,
Cheeky question - How do you slice the cheesecake to evenly and give it such clean and sharp corners? Could you let me know how can I cut these in more equal squares and ensure that parchment paper doesn't take the base edge off? I've yet to make this recipe but the other ones I've tried in the past, I keep running into this issue. Please guide...Hi Sophia, thanks for stopping by! :D I usually slide the cheesecake of the base and onto a cutting board first, with the help of the parchment paper. And then I sliced it all up straight after, while it's still rock hard, using a very (VERY) sharp knife and a whole lot of arm strength. And wipe the knife blade before cutting another slice. With some other raw vegan cheesecakes, I'll wait until they're thawed out to slice them, but this one I find works best the other way around. :) xoin what do you soak the cashews overnight?? thank you for your answer, Kim from BelgiumHi Kim! Usually, in a ceramic or stainless steel mixing bowl. The size will depend on the amount of cashews. Hope that helps! Much love :) xoMmm what a great idea!Was awesome loved it not being sweet was a gr8 alternative2normal desserts. Carla jhb south africaThat's so great to hear Carla! :D I appreciate your feedback, I'm glad you enjoyed this treat. Much love from Portugal. :) xoHi I haven't tried this yet but I wanted to know what is in the pan is that parchment paper I read but maybe I missed it I bake a lot and I've seen this technique just been embarrassed to ask anyone its silly I know to afraid to ask so I won't do a recipe I really want. SmhHi Michelle! You've got nothing to be embarrassed about honey. :) We do use parchment paper for lining, as it facilitates the process of taking these cheesecakes out of their pans. However, it won't be necessary if you own a springform pan or a pan with a removable bottom. :) xoHi Rita! I love all of your recipes. I already tried some of them at home and they turned out amazing. I really wanted to give this cheesecake a try, but is there any substitue for the rice malt syrup? Here in Brazil, I can only find Agave nectar or honey (although is not vegan.) Would it work with the agave? (It is also impossible to find Maple Syrup, so I don't have much options left.)Oh, you already answered that! Thanks! <3Hehehe, indeed, agave nectar is perfect Yasmin! Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed this. :) xoIt was super fun to make this recipe and it came out very tasty! I will say that the cheesecake, because it does stay in the freezer for most of the time, and even with thawing time, it's like eating ice cream on the top; which is nice!
I was wondering, do you have the nutritional information available for this recipe?
Thanks!
-EliseHi Elise! :D Thank you so much for your feedback on this recipe. We're glad to hear you enjoyed it. We don't have the nutritional information because we don't really count macros or calories, but if you're curious, you can use the site cronometer.com to check out the specs of this cheesecake. It's quite the calorie bomb, but in all the good ways! :) xoThis exceeded my expectations. The texture was just the same as cheesecake. Simply delicious. My crust was crumbly and next time I'd add a little coconut oil to it. Definitely will make again.YAY! Thanks for the feedback Amy, I'm super glad you enjoyed this treat. The texture of the crust may depend on how 'wet' or 'dry' your medjoul dates are. Sometimes our dates turn out to be a bit drier than what is ideal, in which case we add little bit of coconut oil or maple syrup to the mix. :) xoThis looks so, so amazing and I would love to make this for my boyfriend's family!! However, he lives an hour's drive away from my home - would the cheesecake last during the drive, or would it turn too liquidy and be ruined by the time I get there?Hey Ash! :) You can totally do that! We've actually driven 2 hours with three raw vegan cheesecakes in the car (AC on!). Take the cheesecake straight from the freezer, wrap it in tinfoil (helps keep it cool), and if possible, put it in a cooler bag with a couple of ice blocks in it. Ours got to their destination pretty much frozen, as if they had just come out of the freezer. Let us know how it works out for you! :) xoHi there, This looks delicious!!! Can I use maple syrup instead of rice syrup? I have everything except for the rice syrup, and I can't find it where I am.Hi Avi, thanks for stopping by! You can use any sweetener as long as it's texture is syrupy, maple works great. :) xojust discovered your precious cite where did you purchase that square pan and also the parchment liners?thank you diana in toronto canadaAH Diana only got to your comment now! I'm sorry for taking so long. We bought this square pan and the parchment paper roll (we cut the liners by hand) in a store here in Portugal, but if I'd recommend getting this pan: https://www.amazon.com/Fat-Daddios-Anodized-Cheesecake-Removable/dp/B0012Q5QFU/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1510156796&sr=8-6&keywords=square+cheesecake+pan+removable+bottom&dpID=41OuE6O96BL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
It is very similar to the one we use. :) xohi, how are you ur recipe sounds amazing especially it is a new idea for cheesecake rather the old fashioned one :)
your recipe is hard for me to make it if u could apply video version on how you make those it will be great :) cuz its sounds very delicious but its hard for me to make it :(
i dont have rice syrup and barley syrup can i use corn syrup or molasses?Hi there! Can you believe I only came across your comment today? So sorry for the super late reply. We're definitely into the idea of making videos for some of our recipes, so stay close! In regards to the rice syrup, you can substitute it for any mild flavour syrupy sweetener. :) xoI couldn't find rice syrup and the lady at the store said barley syrup is close. Should I use this. Also do you blanch the almonds and then toast them for the base?Barley syrup is close indeed, you can totally use it. :) And yep, I blanch the almonds first in order to remove their skins and then I toast them for that extra nutty flavour! ❤️Hi. So I can substitute macadamias for the cashews? Can't have cashews. This sounds heavenly. I miss cheesecake so this will be perfect if I canYou totally can! 😄 I've never tried it but I've seen plenty of raw vegan cheesecake recipes with macadamias instead of cashews. They're pretty similar in texture. Let me know how it turns out! xoThank you so much for your advice. I ended up making the recipe x 1.5 and it turned out a treat. Thankfully the bride and groom loved it! xxxI'm so glad to hear this Diahann! 😄 As far as we know, you were the first person to make one of our recipes for such a special event. Best wishes to the bride and groom and happy cooking to you sweetheart!! xoxoI made this last night and oh my googness YUM!!! I'm actually going to use your recipe for a wedding cake I have to make next weekend. I wonder if you could give me some advice though please? I will make the cake round but would like it to be double the height. Just wondering if you think it would work if I layered it...base, caramel, cheesecake, caramel, then cheesecake or should I just double the cheesecake quantity. Love you expert advice :)
Thanks so much DeeOpps, that was meant to say goodness, not googness! ;)Hi Dee! I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! :D I'd say to still layer it base-caramel-cheesecake (one layer each). More than that might make it a bit unstable when you start slicing it. As far as quantities go, it will totally depend on how wide your springform pan is... Double all quantities and layer the cake with all the base, half the caramel (reserve the other half for serving) and all the cheesecake. :) xoWhat could I substitute for the dates, as I can't have dates or figs.Hi Sue! I've given some thought to this and I'm afraid the dates can't really be substituted in this particular recipe. There's nothing quite like the medjool dates for the salted caramel! You can however skip the caramel altogether and substitute the dates for the same amount of dried apricots or 2/3 cup of raisins. I hope this will do the trick for you! :) xoHello! Have you made this dessert in the Thermomix? I ve seen it in your drawings.Yes, I have Sara! It works wonders, I've found it's the best for this sort of recipes. :) xoWhat can be substituted for the rice syrup?Hi Jennifer! :) You can use any syrupy sweetener instead of the rice syrup, such as agave nectar, maple syrup... You name it! xoMade this for Thanksgiving. Beautiful presentation, decadent flavors. One of the best desserts I've ever served. Thank you!Oh Pascazio! You just made my day, thank you so much for the feedback :D I'm thrilled to hear you liked this recipe, stay close! xoHi there! I don't use raw nuts that often and got a little confused with the "sliced almonds" used for layering in the recipe. Are those raw almonds sliced or roasted almonds sliced? Thanks for the help!Thanks for stopping by Alissa. :) We used raw sliced almonds for the layering part. But you can totally use roasted, it'll add that nutty flavour to the extra crunch! xoxoHi Rita, I just made the cheesecake for the second time and I think this time it will taste even better. This time I put out all the ingredient as you suggested and it made it easier to make. Thankyou for the awesome Receipe. AnnOh yay! Thank you so much for the feedback Ann. I'm glad to hear the recipe went well. It is also one of my faves, the cheesecake never lasts a full week in the freezer. ;) xoHi Rita! I would love to try this but I am allergic to cashews (and the obvious substitute macadamias) do you think the cream would work with soaked hazelntus? I have found soacked almonds don't go creamy enoughHi Mariah! I'm so sorry to hear you're allergic. I've never tried using anything other than cashews or macadamias but I highly doubt that hazelnuts would work... They seem way harder in texture than the naturally creamy cashews. However if you google "nut free vegan cheesecake" a couple of interesting recipes do show up. Perhaps a version of our almond & caramel cheesecake would turn out yummy using a coconut milk + cacao butter combo. :) xoCan you use regular almond butter, and is a substitute for rice malt syrup?Hi Stephanie, thanks for stopping by! You can use regular almond butter and good substitutes for rice malt syrup would be agave nectar, maple syrup, barley syrup... Any gooey syrup-y sweetener will do. :) xoHey Rita, another question about almond butter, can it be substitute with normal peanut butter?Totally! A peanut butter & salted caramel cheesecake sounds delicious :) xoHi Rita, love the dessert, looking awesome! So I was just wondering, for the salt you used instead of using himalayan pink salt, is normal salt okay or do you have any suggestions on other salt that can be used?Hi Syafiqah! Thanks for stopping by. I particularly love using himalayan salt in desserts. I recommend steering away from refined table salt, but other than that... Regular sea salt is yummy as well! :) xoLooks amazing!! Could u just use regular dates instead of medjoulHi Sophie! The medjoul dates are really what makes this cheesecake so caramely and delicious. My guess is if you were to use another kind of dates to make the caramel layer, you'd have soak them for at least half an hour in warm water to get them as soft and gooey as the medjoul are. Let me know how this works out if you give it a go! :) xoHi Rita, I can’t use the rice malt syrup for diet issues wondering if I could use a date past for the sweeter instead? Thanks, this looks amazing :)Hi Deb! Date paste doesn't quite have the same consistency, so I'd recommend using date syrup, agave nectar or maple syrup. Let me know how it turns out if you give this a go. :) xoThis looks so good. Can I use toasted cashews and soak them?Hello Karou, unfortunately you cannot. It must really be natural, raw cashews in order to get the most creamy and neutral in flavour cashew cream! Let me know how it turns out! :) xoHi, this looks yummy that I stopped and consider to make. But I 'm worried that the cashew cream would taste funny since they aren't cooked. Would it taste raw nut? ThanksNot at all Novi, this cashew cream tastes somewhat like almond cookies! I guarantee you there is no raw nut taste whatsoever. :) Let me know how it turns out if you do give a try! xoYour food photography is so beautiful!Thank you Somarly! :) Stay close! xoThis looks delicious! Great flavours too, thanks for sharing. 😃Thanks for reading Lucy! 😄 Let me know if you give this a go! xoxo
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Cocoon Cooks
https://www.cocooncooks.com/en/recipes/roasted-almond-and-salted-caramel-easter-cheesecake
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