Raw Vegan Chocolate Cashew Caramel Cake + Oat Pecan Crust

• Vegan
• Gluten free

• Produce

  • 2 1/2 tbsp Cacao powder
  • 1 cup Dates
  • 1 cup Deglet dates, pitted
  • 1/2 Lemon (~1 tablespoon, juice of

• Breakfast Foods

  • 1 cup Rolled oats

• Baking & Spices

  • 3/8 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp Nutmeg
  • 1 pinch Sea salt
  • 1/2 Vanilla bean

• Oils & Vinegars

  • 5 tbsp Coconut oil, virgin

• Nuts & Seeds

  • 2 cups Cashews
  • 1/2 cup Pecans

Found on willfrolicforfood.com

Description

Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 1 cup dates
• 1 tablespoon melted virgin coconut oil
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 cups cashews, soaked for 8 hours or overnight
• 1/2 vanilla bean
• 1 cup pitted deglet dates + 1/3 cup more dates
• 4 tablespoons melted virgin coconut oil
• juice of 1/2 lemon (~1 tablespoon)
• 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (plus more to your liking)
• 2 1/2 tablespoons cacao powder
• pinch sea salt
• garnish: cacao powder, shaved dark chocolate, coconut macaroons
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes (I used large flakes sometimes called “coconut chips”)
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon melted virgin coconut oil
• 3 tablespoons superfine natural almond meal
• pinch sea salt
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract OR 1/4 vanilla bean, scraped of its seeds

Directions

• Add the rolled oats the bowl of a high powered food processor fitted with an S blade. Grind until the oats are semi coarse, about 30 seconds. Add the pecans and grind again, until the mixture is sandy. Add the dates, coconut oil and cinnamon. Blend until the dates have broken down and the mixture is malleable when squeezed between your fingers. Scrape the crust out into a 6” spring form cake pan. Press the crust firmly and evenly into the bottom of the pan using your fingers.
• Drain the cashews. Chop your 1/2 vanilla bean very finely, including the pod but discarding the hard bit at the end of the bean. This my new no-waste method for using vanilla bean as the pod itself is edible and offers lots of extra vanilla flavor. If your vanilla bean is very hard, soak it in hot water for 10 minutes before chopping.
• In the bowl of your high powered food processor, combine the soaked cashews, pitted dates, finely chopped vanilla bean, melted coconut oil, lemon juice, cinnamon and nutmeg. Blend for 3-4 minutes until the mixture is totally smooth and creamy, stopping the food processor to scrape down the sides as needed. Taste the cream and choose to add mor cinnamon/nutmeg to your liking.
• Remove 1 cup of the cashew caramel cream and set aside. To the food processor, add 1/3 cup more dates, cacao powder, and pinch of sea salt. Blend again, 2-3 minutes, until the dates have totally broken down. This is your chocolate layer!
• Spoon and scrape the chocolate layer into your spring form pan, on top of the crust. Use a rubber spatula to spread it into one layer. Add the cashew caramel cream on top, spreading it out into one smooth layer. To get the top totally flat I gently work the spatula over the top in a circular motion starting from the outside and working in. Cool the cake in the fridge for 4 hours up to overnight. For a faster cooling time you could freeze the cheesecake, but just note that it'll need to be thawed to room temp before serving.
• To serve, slide a sharp, thin knife around the edges of the cake to release the edges from the pan. Release the latch on the spring form pan and gently lift the walls of the pan away. Use a wide knife or thin spatula to lift the cake out of the cake pan base. Slide the cake onto your serving platter. Dust the top of the cheesecake with cocoa powder. I use a tea strainer for this, filling it with cocoa powder and then tapping cocoa lightly over top until its perfectly coated.
• Top with coconut macaroons and shaved dark chocolate. It would also be lovely topped with berries, pomegranate kernals, flowers or drizzled chocolate!
• Add the unsweetened coconut flakes to the bowl of a high powered food processor fitted with an S blade. Blend for about 30 seconds to break the coconut down into smaller bits.
• Add the maple syrup, melted coconut oil, almond meal, pinch salt and vanilla extract / bean (I don’t blend in the pod here because it darkens the color of the macaroons).
• Use a tablespoon to scoop the macaroons into half moon shapes, pressing them firmly into the spoon and leveraging them out with a sharp knife. They’re a little finicky, but you get the hang of it after a minute.
• Set them on a baking sheet or plate and freeze them for at least 30 minutes up to overnight before eating them or using them as decoration on this cake.