I’m back. Mostly I’ve just been cooking stuff I’ve already posted on here, but I saw this recipe on the Post Punk Kitchen Blog and it looked really interesting to me for some reason, so I had to try it. Thus, this is not my recipe at all, but it’s pretty tasty! I put the raw in quotations because it would’ve been completely raw if I didn’t use blanched almonds. Those are the only ones I had in the house, however, and I’m not actually raw and didn’t want to spend more money so…oops. I should mention that when I think of raw foods my first thought is, “oh shit this is gonna take forever and be really complicated,” but this was a lot easier than it looks. Mostly just a bunch of blending and the waiting for the nuts to soak.

“Raw” Strawberry Cheesecake
from the Post Punk Kitchen Blog

Crust
– 1 cup pecans
– 1 cup almonds
– 1/4 tsp. salt
– 4 medjool dates, pitted and chopped

Filling
– 3 cups raw cashews, soaked overnight (or at least 3 hours)
– 1/2 cup agave nectar
– 1/4 cup water
– 1/4 cup lime juice
– 1 tsp. vanilla extract (alcohol free preferred for raw desserts)
– 32 oz. strawberries (reserve about 9 for decorating)
– 3/4 cup coconut oil

Fluffy White Frosting
– 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight
– 1/2 cup water
– 2 tbsp. agave nectar
– 1/2 tsp. vanilla (alcohol free preferred for raw desserts)
– 1/4 cup raw coconut oil

Strawberry Coulis
– 2 cups chopped strawberries
– 3 tablespoons agave nectar

Lightly grease a 9 inch spring form pan with coconut oil and set aside.

To prepare the crust, pulse nuts and salt in a food processor fit with a metal blade. When nuts are fine crumbs, add the dates and pulse until the dough holds together when squeezed between your fingers. Firmly press crust into the bottom of prepared cake pan. Set aside.

To prepare the filling, pulse cashews in food processor until crumbly. Add agave, water, lime juice and vanilla and puree until very smooth, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to make sure you get everything. Feed the strawberries through the top of the food processor and puree until incorporated. The filling should turn a pretty pink. With the processor running, add the melted coconut oil in a steady stream. I don’t have a big food processor so I just put everything at once into my blender and it was fine.

Pour the filling into the cake pan. It will look like a smoothie and you’ll think wtf this is weird, but it worked out okay for me. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to set for at least 4 hours.

Prepare the frosting in basically the same way as the cake. Pulse the cashews in the food processor until crumbly. Add the water, agave and vanilla and blend until smooth. With the food processor running, stream the coconut oil in through the top until combined. Pour into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Chill until set, about 2 hours.

Prepare the sauce when you’re close to serving. Just mash the strawberries up with the agave until it’s all red and syrupy. I forgot about this part, but maybe you’ll want to try it! Mine was still mighty tasty without it, but now I have extra strawberries.

To assemble release the cake from its springform prison. Use a mini scoop to place 8 mounds of icing around the perimeter of the cake and one in the center. Slice the tops off the reserved strawberries and gently smush them upside down into the frosting mounds. If you don’t have a mini scoop, just use a spoon and make them as pretty as you can, they’re gonna get smushed anyway.

To serve, place some Strawberry Coulis on the plate and serve the cake over it. Dig in! Nomnomnom.

This might be sort of diabetic friendly as well because any carbs (and it is mostly nuts except for the strawberries) are balanced out by all the protein and there’s no processed sugar, just the agave, which has a pretty low glycemic index. I’m not really an expert though.

My pictures are a bit shitty because I really wanted to eat it.