Vegan Cashew Cheesecake

Crust Ingredients

2 cups soaked almonds (overnight)

1 cup of pitted medjool dates

1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes 

To make the crust process dates and almonds in a food processor and process to desired consistency.

Spread coconut flakes on the bottom of a 9" spring form pan, this will prevent the crust from sticking.

Spread crust mixture evenly on bottom of pan and slightly up the sides by pressing with fingers or spatula. 

Filling Ingredients

3 cups soaked cashews (at least 3 hours or overnight)

3/4 cup of lemon juice

3/4 cup of virgin coconut oil

3/4 cup of honey

1/2 cup young coconut meat (optional, I had it on hand so I threw it in)

1-2 vanilla beans or 1-2 tsp vanilla extract.

To make the filling, blend everything in a high speed blender until creamy. If you do not have a high speed blender a food processor might work. If not using a Vitamix blender you may have to add extra liquid to get everything to blend, add as little as possible and make sure your coconut oil and honey are in a liquid state. Then pour this mixture on top of the crust, it should be the consistency of cake batter. Place this in the freezer overnight, and thaw 1 hour before serving. Then spoon topping over it.

Cranberry Topping

1/2 bag of cranberries
1/2 cup dates or 1/2 cup dates soaked in coconut water (nectar of the gods sweetener)
1/2 cup agave nectar or honey

I decided to cook this topping like a fruit compote. I added everything to the pan, with about 1/4 cup of water, and stirring constantly cooked until it was a thick sauce, about 20 minutes.
This could easily be done with any kind of fruit, like raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, cherries.
You could also make a raw version by blending the ingredients in a blender or food processor.