The Orange Kitchen

Double-Decker Raspberry and Chocolate Cheezecakes.

BEHOLD....THE DOUBLE-DECKER, RAW VEGAN, REFINED SUGAR FREE, OIL FREE RASPBERRY AND CHOCOLATE CHEEZECAKE.

These. Are. The. Goods.

I mean just look at them. They look delicious. I can verify (through copious consumption of them) that they taste delicious.

These came to be because my friend Annabel (hi there if you're reading) gave me a block of Loving Earth's Raspberry Chocolate. I've always wanted to try the chocolate's from Loving Earth but as a uni student who has just moved into an apartment and had to furnish said apartment, I couldn't justify spending the money on chocolate. But, when that chocolate is a present - well, go to town my friend!!

So, taking the chocolate and its raspberry flavour as my inspiration, adding in a whole heap of raspberries (YUMMMMM), some cashew nuts, and a few other things, these eventuated and they're mighty good if I don't say so myself!!!

Ingredients;

The Base
1 cup raw hazelnuts
1/2 cup raw almonds
12 medjool dates
2 tbsp rice malt syrup
2 tbsp raw cacao powder

1. In a blender, combine all of the above until you have a mixture free from large chunks of nuts. This can take a few minutes an you might need to scrape down the sides of the blender.
2. Take a muffin tin and some baking paper (parchment). Cut the baking paper into thin strips, approx. 2cm wide. Lay the strips across the whole in the muffin tin so they form a cross. You will use these as little handles to remove the cheezecakes from the tin when they're frozen.
3. Take a spoonful of the base mixture and mould it into the muffin tin hole so that the mixture forms a flat, and properly pressed down base. A spoon can be helpful to press the mixture firmly into the tray, otherwise clean hands work well. Repeat until you have no base mixture left and then place in the freezer whilst you make the filling.


The Filling
1 1/2 cup raw cashew nuts
200ml coconut milk (from the can, it's extra creamy!)
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or 1 vanilla bean)
1 apple, peeled and cored
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries

1. Soak the cashew nuts in water overnight. In the morning drain them and place in the blender along with all the other ingredients, keeping aside 1/2 cup raspberries. Blend this really well. Like I'm talking for at least 5 minutes, even more. The longer you blend, the smoother your mixture will be, and that makes for a better result.
2. Take 1/3 of the blended mixture and blend the extra 1/2 cup raspberries into that mixture. Then, set aside in a covered bowl in the fridge overnight.
3. Remove the muffin tin with the bases from the freezer. Using the 2/3 of the remaining mixture, pour the filling into the muffin moulds, using all the mixture. If you have any leftover, add that to the 1/3 you set aside earlier. Return the now full muffin tins to the freezer, making sure the ti is flat as to avoid lopsided cheezecakes. Freeze overnight.
4. If you have shallower muffin tins, as I did, the following morning I removed the bases and level one of the cheezecakes from the moulds, repeated the step with the parchment and then poured the 1/3 of the mixture I had set aside into the tins and froze that overnight, keeping the base and layer one in a covered container in the freezer also. This worked well as I kept a tiny amount of mixture in the fridge to use as 'glue' the next day to stick the two layers together. Otherwise, if your tins are not full, simply pour the second layer on top and freeze again overnight.

To serve, I added a dollop of raw raspberry jam (blended raspberries, chia seeds and rice malt syrup) on top, then some raw chocolate (equal parts rice malt syrup to raw cacao powder) and then topped with a square of the Loving Earth chocolate, but presentation is the fun, creative part, so be inventive!!!