Raw Cashew Dreamcake.

These are sooooo good! A for sure treat staple in my house. I first had these at Mandy's house, who got the recipe on our friend Brooke's blog, who got it on My New Roots (just giving credit where credit is due... very important). And holy yum! It's originally made in a pie pan, but I converted them to mini muffin tins so I could freeze and have them on hand whenever the hankering for some yumminess came.

The hankerings came real fast... and they were gone from my freezer all too fast. Which means I need to stock pile again. My whole family loved these, and I don't feel a bit bad for them eating them either. Good, and good for you!

Crust

1/2 cup raw almonds (pecan or walnuts will also work)

1/2 cup soft Medjool dates
¼ teaspoon sea salt

Filling
1 ½ cups raw cashews, soaked for at least 5 hours, overnight is best
juice of 2 lemons
the seeds of 1 whole vanilla bean (or 1 teaspoon alcohol-free vanilla extract)
1/3 cup raw coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup raw honey (Vegans use agave nectar.)
1 cup raspberries (thaw completely if using frozen) [i've used blueberries too]

Place nuts and dates in a food processor with sea salt and pulse to chop until they are to your desired fineness (process a finer crust longer than a chunky one). Test the crust by spooning out a small amount of mixture and rolling it in your hands. If the ingredients hold together, your crust is perfect. Scoop out crust mixture in a 7” spring-form pan (if you don’t have a spring-form pan, use a pie plate lined with saran wrap), and press firmly, making sure that the edges are well packed and that the base is relatively even throughout. Rinse food processor well. [I filled my mini muffin pan with liners, used my small pampered chef cookie scoop, dropped mixture into liners and pressed.]

Warm coconut oil and honey in a small saucepan on low heat until liquid. Whisk to combine.

In the most powerful food processor / blender you own (you decide which one has the most torque) place all filling ingredients (except raspberries) and blend on high until very smooth (this may take a couple minutes so be patient).

Pour about 2/3 (just eyeball it, you can’t make a mistake!) of the mixture out onto the crust and smooth with a spatula. [I used the same small cookie scoop, filled it halfway, and filled each muffin tin] Add the raspberries to the remaining filling and blend on high until smooth. Pour onto the first layer of filling. [Then I used the same scoop and scooped about a full scoop onto the cheesecakes.] Place in freezer until solid.

To serve, remove from freezer 30 minutes prior to eating. Run a smooth, sharp knife under hot water and cut into slices. Serve on its own, or with fresh fruit. Store leftovers in the freezer (what leftovers?). [I froze them in the muffin tray, then when they were all good and frozen transferred them to a freezer ziplock and had them on hand for a few days.]

Yum.