Raspberry Vegan Cheesecake Recipe
Recipe by | Chef Declan McKerr
The delectable Raspberry Vegan Cheesecake is a Chef Declan McKerr creation! When The Vegan Garden, an online vegan meal delivery service, reached out to us here at More Pleaze for recipe development assistance, we paired them with Chef Declan to create a cake meant to please the masses! Heres the custom recipe for you to recreate at home.
Ingredients
CRUST
2/3 cup pecans
1/3 cup walnuts
6 Medjool dates pitted
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
pinch sea salt
FILLING
2 cups raw cashews soaked in boiling water for 1 1/2 hours
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup canned coconut milk full fat, please!
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil at room temperature
2 tablespoons lemon juice
TOPPING
1 cup raspberries
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup or honey
Method
- Make sure all filling ingredients are at room temperature
- Add cashews to a bowl and cover with boiling hot water. Let set, uncovered, for 1 1/2 hours. Rinse and drain thoroughly.
- Line the bottom of a 6″ or 7″ springform pan with parchment paper (cut out a circle) and lightly oil the sides to make it easier to remove once the cheesecake has set.
- Combine the nuts in a food processor and pulse until you get a coarse mixture. Add the rest of the crust ingredients and pulse several times until it starts clumping up and forming together.
- Transfer the crust mixture into the pan. Press down with your fingers to pack it evenly into the bottom of the pan to create an even base. If it starts to get sticky, lightly wet your fingers with warm water. Set aside.
- Add drained cashews and the rest of the filling ingredients to the bowl of your food processor or into a high-speed blender pitcher. Process or blend until creamy and smooth throughout, scraping down the sides as needed.*Taste and adjust accordingly. Be sure to add more lemon juice if it’s too sweet, more maple syrup if it isn’t sweet enough or a pinch more of salt for more balance!*
- Pour the filling over the crust. Tap on the counter a couple of times to release any air bubbles that may have formed. Set aside.
- Combine the raspberries and honey in the bowl of a food processor until pulverized. Add this mixture on top of the filling.
- Cover lightly with plastic wrap and seal the top with aluminum foil. Let it set in the freezer for 4-6 hours.
- When ready to serve, pull out the cheesecake and allow it to sit at room temperature for about 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving.
About the Chef
Cooking and healthy eating have both always been pillars of my life. I’ve tried everything from low-carb, high-protein diets, to paleo, to no-sugar, to juice fasts, all in search of a healthier body and lifestyle. Like many have experienced, these were short-lived bouts that never really made much impact on my overall health—and offered no benefits for the environment.
My first real experience with a vegan diet was when my youngest sister was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and changed her diet to plant-based in a search for help—and saw incredible benefits, with reduced inflammation in her body, increased energy, and improved overall well-being. With my love of cooking, I enjoyed the challenge of cooking for her and teaching her recipes to help her get the full benefits of a plant-based diet. This triggered something inside of me to change my diet and improve my own overall health.
I started with cooking vegan meals once or twice and week. The benefits were fast, and significant: less bloating after a meal, increased energy, remarkably better sleep, and from a harm-free meal. This led me to further research a vegan lifestyle, and I was horrified to discover the treatment of animals and the cruelty involved to get them to our dinner plates. I claimed to be an animal lover, but in reality, I was contributing to their pain and suffering.
All of this ignited a fire inside me to learn and live a more conscious sustainable lifestyle. We can all thrive on a plant-based diet, knowing the benefits for just us and animals. If humans worldwide ate one or two vegan meals a week, it would cause a global paradigm shift that would improve the health of our planet and all its inhabitants. This possibility fuels me to be the best vegan chef and caterer I can be, so that through wholesome, comforting and memorable food, I can inspire others…one meal at a time.
I fully recognize that this isn’t always easy. Because you’re here, chances are you’re thinking about some of these issues, too. No matter what your reason is for wanting to change to plant-based foods, I can help. Whether new to it, somewhere on the path, or a veteran, good nutrition takes copious amounts of planning (and chopping!). I take the burden of it all off your shoulders and put more plants on your plate.
Namaste!
Chef Declan McKerr
Areas Served
San Francisco for weekly & small dinners
Bay Area for retreats & events
Styles of Cuisine Offered
I would say my style is Californian seasonal. I love to cook what’s in season, fresh is best. But also like to play with flavors, like Mediterranean/middle eastern style, with a little bit of heat. I am primarily interested in plant-based dinners, retreat catering, pop-ups, classes, workshops.
More Pleaze Chef since 2017
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