Raw Vegan Strawberry Rhubarb Cheesecake

There was a time in my life when I used to have to have a piece of cheesecake every weekend.  I would drive to a bakery that made the best cheesecake in my opinion at the time, and buy what I thought to be the largest slice (and yes, I would look and point one out that I wanted to buy).  Also, it had to be vanilla...no adornents.  I would bring it home, put on my comfy clothes and savor every last morsel...it was so perfect, smooth and light, but substantial enough to be creamy.  I would be sad when it was gone and look forward to the next time I would buy it.  I was in college at the time and since then, I do not always have a piece of cheesecake every weekend.  But, I now know how to bake my own and still love it.  Also, I have branched out from vanilla cheesecake and now feel like I need to create exciting new flavors!  I have been experimenting with raw vegan cheesecakes lately, and it is funny because the former me who was buying that slice of vanilla cheesecake every weekend would have thought that crazy!  But...times have changed, and I am a lot more open to new things than I used to be.

The latest of my experiments was a raw vegan strawberry rhubarb cheesecake.  I have been in love with strawberries and rhubarb lately, and pretty much putting them in everything I can think of.  For the crust, I used a simple pecan, date and sea salt mixture, as that is my favorite raw crust.  It is just so good...crunchy and a little salty sweet!  It is perfect against a sweet creamy filling.  For the filling, I used a cashew base sweetened with a little agave nectar and vanilla bean and enriched with coconut oil with a hint of lemon juice thrown in to make the flavors pop!  I blended half with fresh strawberries and vanilla, but kept half vanilla because I wanted to swirl it. 

Simply having a bit of strawberries and rhubarb in the base was not enough to satisfy me however, I decided to make a raw strawberry rhubarb sauce and swirl that in as well.  I thickened it with a few chia seeds for added nutrition and it did the trick! 

The cheesecake was beautiful once it had set with the swirls atop it and the cashew cream I had garnished it with!  I couldn't wait to try it, luckilly I didn't have to wait as long as I would have had it been a dariy cheesecake. 

I cut myself a large slice and dove in...it was delicious!  So creamy with a hint of vanilla, and the sweetness of strawberries and tartness of rhubarb...with that nutty crust! If I had to eat this in place of dairy laden cheesecake for the rest of my life I wouldn't mind. 

If you would like to try some for yourself, I have included the recipe.  The best part is you don't even have to heat up the oven...you just need a food processor. 

Raw Strawberry Rhubarb Cheesecake

Makes one 6 inch cake

Swirl:

1 cup organic strawberries

1 cup rhubarb

1 Tbsp lemon juice

3 Tbsp agave nectar

2 Tbsp chia seeds


Crust:
3/4 cup pecans

1/8 teaspoon sea salt
3 soft medjool dates, pitted and chopped

Filling:

2 1/2 cups cashews (preferably soaked overnight)

1/4 cup plus 3 Tbsp coconut water

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1/3 cup plus 3 Tbsp agave nectar

1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp coconut oil (warmed to liquid)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract and seeds from half a vanilla bean (other half reserved for topping)

1 cup fresh organic strawberries

1/4 cup fresh organic rhubarb, diced

Cream Topping:
1/4 cup raw cashew pieces (preferably soaked overnight)
1/4 cup coconut water

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp fresh young coconut meat
1 tablespoons agave syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla and seeds of half a vanilla bean (the other half of the one you used for the filling)
2 Tbsp coconut oil (warmed to liquid)

To make swirl, a day ahead, puree rhubarb, strawberries, lemon juice and agave nectar together and stir in chia seeds. Let sit overnight to thicken, then puree again until smooth. Set aside in the fridge.

Spray a six inch spring form pan with coconut oil spray (or other oil spray) and set aside.
To prepare the crust, process pecans and sea salt in a food processor until the pecans are fine crumbs, then add the dates and process until the mixture holds together when squeezed between your fingers. Firmly press crust into the bottom of prepared pan. Set aside.

To make filling, drain cashews and combine them with coconut water, lemon juice, agave nectar, coconut oil, sea salt and vanilla in a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. Remove the filling from the food processor and divide evenly between 2 bowls. Place half back into the food processor and add the strawberries and rhubarb.  Puree until smooth. Drop the filling alternating between the vanilla and strawberry rhubarb (in about 3 tbspful amounts) over crust in pan, and also the strawberry rhubarb swirl in teaspoonfuls until all is used up, sort of in a checkerboard fashion. Tap on the counter to level (keeping pan level) and swirl with a knife to create marbling. Place in the freezer or fridge until it is set, 6 hours or overnight (overnight in the fridge, but the freezer might get too hard after a few hours).

To make topping, drain cashews and blend all ingredients until smooth in a food processor, and set in the freezer about 30 minutes until a frosting consistency. Place in a pastry bag and pipe decoratively on top of the cheesecake.