Wed, 19 December 2018
INGREDIENTS
Base layer:
· 300g cashew nuts
· 100g pitted dates
· 2 tbsp coconut oil
Cashew cheese layer:
· 250g cashew nuts raw - boil for 10 mins so super soft or soak overnight
· 250g vegan cream cheese
· 100g coconut oil
· 150g maple syrup
· 1 tbsp vanilla extract
· 1 jar of Happy Pear Raspberry sugar-free jam (or alternative)
· 200ml dark chocolate approx 60% cocoa solids
· 150ml boiling water
· Ice
INSTRUCTIONS
· First step boil the kettle. Soak the raw cashew nuts in boiling water ensuring that they are fully covered. Set them aside to soften.
· For the base layer, blend the nuts in a food processor until they reach a crumb like texture. Next add the chopped pitted dates, coconut oil and blend till they start to come together and all is nice and smooth. This should take approximately 2-3 minutes.
· Line a 24cm/ 9 inch spring form tin with baking parchment. Pour in the base mixture and compact firmly using the back of a spoon to ensure its level, smooth and well compacted.
· Drain the cashew nuts and add to a clean food processor along with the rest of the ingredients for the cashew cheese layer. Blend until super smooth. The texture should be super smooth & fine like a cheese cake. Scoop out using a spatula and pour in on top of the level base layer. Level and smooth.
· Take the raspberry jam and pour ½ the jam on top of the cheese cake layer and being careful slowly and delicately mix through the cheese layer to create a ripple effect. Don’t over mix so that it becomes a unified pink filling. It’s important here to create a raspberry ripple effect. Once you have reached a raspberry ripple effect put in the fridge for 2 hours to set.
· While they are in the fridge time to make our raspberry chocolate mousse, chop 200g of chocolate finely and put in a metal bowl or a glass bowl (the bowl needs to be able to conduct or transfer heat). Put approximately 150g of ice and 150ml of water in a second larger metal bowl.
· Take the remaining half jar of raspberry jam and add to 150ml of water into a sauce pan. Bring to the boil and boil for 5-10 minutes. Strain with a sieve and measure out 150ml of boiling raspberry syrup, pour on top of the chopped chocolate.
· Using a whisk, stir until all the chocolate melts and you have what looks like a giant hot chocolate in a bowl! Put the bowl with the melted chocolate on top of the ice bath and stir continuously for 3-5 minutes.
· The chocolate will thicken, leave it on the ice bath until it reaches the texture of stiff cream - where it’s still slightly runny but will hold its shape when piped in a piping bag. Remove from the ice bath and set aside for decoration.
· Remove the cheesecake and cherry jam from the fridge. Put the chocolate mousse into a piping bag and pipe on the chocolate mousse into nice blobs with points - do this until all the mousse has been piped on the cake and it’s covered. Put in the fridge to set for 1 hour. Cut and enjoy!
