A Summer Classic: Raw Strawberry Cheesecake

A Summer Classic: Raw Strawberry Cheesecake

This post is also available in: Suomi (Finnish)

So I made a cake. It was my husband’s birthday yesterday and being a food blogger and a passionate baker, I feel it’s my duty and calling to make a cake for my loved ones. And sometimes for myself too. But making a cake for someone else is a lot more fun. But okay, let’s get back to this cake. I posted a raw strawberry cheesecake recipe here on the blog a few years ago, but I felt it needed a bit of an update so I decided to make a new version of it. I chose to make it this weekend, as strawberries are now in their best season here in Finland, and this cake has a lot of them. I also got a bit carried away on the process…

You see, I intended to make a pretty two-layer cake and then top it with just fresh strawberries and coconut flakes. Like this.

A Summer Classic: Raw Strawberry Cheesecake with all the toppings | tuulia blog A Summer Classic: Raw Strawberry Cheesecake with all the toppings | tuulia blog

It’s pretty, but kind of minimalistic. And I felt like doing something over the top. So I got this idea to add some ice cream on top… and serve it with more ice cream. And yes, I did both of them.

A Summer Classic: Raw Strawberry Cheesecake with all the toppings | tuulia blog

And DAMN was it good. Like r.e.a.l.l.y. good.

The cake was super creamy, but not too ‘greasy’, like raw cakes sometimes are when you add a lot of coconut oil to the batter. I added only a few tablespoons of coconut oil to the filling and kept the batter really thick, and then sweetened it only with a banana and a very small splash of honey. The strawberries are now so sweet, that you really don’t need that much additional sweetener. Meaning you can have a huge scoop of ice cream on top of your slice. Hehe.

I’m starting to feel that this post is turning out totally different than it was supposed to be, but let’s see this ramble just as a declaration of love for summer, ice cream, and strawberries tasting like little pieces of heaven. And for the fact that’s it’s holiday season, time to ditch the city, and spend the next couple weeks at summer cottages and around the archipelago. Picture a very satisfies smiley face here. It’s me. I plan on making a lot more yummy recipes and eating all the berries I can find during the next couple weeks. I hope you guys are having a great summer and spending it in a way that makes You feel good. And eating strawberries too. Sending hugs to all of you guys, be well! xo


Raw Strawberry Cheesecake

notes: I rarely have very exact measurements when I make a raw cake, as I think it’s best to taste the filling as you make it and add some sweetener, berries, lemon juice, or something else, if I feel like the filling needs something more. so feel free to modify my recipes to your liking!

8-inch / 20 cm springform cake pan

Crust:
1 1/2 cup walnuts (or pecans / almonds)
a tiny pinch of salt
6-8 fresh dates, pitted

Filling:
1 1/2 cup cashews (soaked overnight)
1 ripe banana
1 big lemon, juiced
2/3 cup coconut milk
3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1-2 tbsp organic honey (or maple syrup)
1/2 tsp vanilla powder
4 cups fresh strawberries

Toppings:
sliced strawberries, coconut flakes & (vegan) ice cream

METHOD:

1. Place the cashews in a big bowl, cover with water and soak overnight or for at least 4-6 hours until making the cake.

2. Start by preparing the crust. Add walnuts and salt into a blender or a food processor and grind until fine crumble. Cut the dates into smaller pieces and add in couple turns. Blend until you get a sticky dough. Line the bottom of a cake tin with baking paper and press the dough to the bottom of the cake tin. Place it in the freezer while making the filling.

3. Rinse the blender. Drain and rinse the cashews and add them to the blender. Add the banana, lemon juice, coconut milk, honey, 2 tbsp of coconut oil and the vanilla powder. Blend until very smooth and creamy. Taste, and add more honey / lemon juice, if needed.

4. Take the cake tin from the freezer and pour about 1/3 of the filling on top of the crust. Add about 2 cups of strawberries and 1 tbsp of coconut oil to the blender and blend until smooth. Pour the strawberry filling on top of the first layer and place the cake back to the freezer for 4-6 hours, until the filling has set.

5. When the filling has set, take the cake from the freezer and remove the sides of the cake tin carefully. Let thaw for 15-20 minutes before serving and then decorate with the remaining strawberries, coconut flakes, and some ice cream if desired. Serve, and enjoy!

6. The cake will remain good in the fridge for a couple of days, for longer periods, store in the freezer.

10 Comments

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  1. Hey Tuulia!

    This looks beautiful, thank you for sharing! When I make raw strawberry cakes, I like to add a little bit of beet powder to make it a nice rich, dark pink color. It turns out really beautifully! Also, if I don’t have a springform pan on hand, I just double the crust ingredients and then make it in a pie pan – turns out good that way, too. Thank you for inspiring us with your wonderful recipes and gorgeous photos! Much love to you!

    • Hi Rayelynn! Thanks so much for your lovely comment and sharing your experiences, adding a bit of beet powder sounds brilliant! I’m going to try it next time too :) Have a lovely summer, and thank you for leaving me a comment! <3

  2. Another gorgeous recipe, Tuulia! Great job! And I am having a hard time finding vegan vanilla powder in the grocery stores here in the US. Do you have any recommendations for what to look for? Or ideas for alternatives? Thank you! I am very inspired by how beautiful your photography is, it always makes me happy to come to your blog! :) And I love how you always feature recipes with seasonal ingredients, it makes it easy to prep with what’s in the garden or in stores now! Love everything you do! XOXO

    • Thank you so much Portia for your beautiful comment, it means a lot to me! You can use vanilla extract too if that’s easier to find? I alternate between the extract and powder depending on which one I have at my cupboards at the moment. The extract is just a lot stronger so a tiny drop is enough! For example this could be a good one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002UN7PI/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1501230824&sr=8-1&keywords=organic+vanilla+extract

      Happy summer days to you! xx

    • Hi Tuulia, thank you for this inspiration, the cake looks amazing! :) I’m just about to make it for my partner as a birthday cake :)) Can I just double check the amount of coconut oil? Is it really 2/3 of tbsp? I usually make raw cakes where there’s more coconut oil so just want to be sure that this one will turn out well haha.
      Thank you for your inspiring recipes!

      • Hi Diana, I’m so sorry for not noticing that typo! It should be 3 tbsp and I just fixed it to the recipe. I hope you like the cake! :)

  3. Nice post, Tuulia! I love the idea of doing two layers on a cheesecake, it looks very beautiful that way! I am a big fan of your work, and your blog is really well done. Can you tell me what hosting site you use for your blog? It might be different in Finland, but in the US we have ones like SquareSpace, Wix, WordPress, etc. I’d love to know what you use! Thank you! I’m already looking forward to your next post and excited for your next recipe! :) :) :)

    • Thank you Katie, your comment really means a lot to me, it’s so nice to hear some feedback :) I run my blog on WordPress and I think it works well! Hope that helps! xx

  4. I simply love this recipe! It’s like, the perfect dessert topped with an even better dessert, I can’t even hahah Thank you so much for sharing this!

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