4th of July Vegan Cheesecake
- Summer Sanders
- Jul 03 2014
- 0 comments
Dinner parties are one of my favorite ways to celebrate life and connect with my friends and family. I love bringing people together and bonding with the people who mean the most to me over great food and wine!
The challenging thing when planning dinner parties (as a vegan) is putting together a spread of food that is beautiful and interesting to all guests. Not everyone is a vegetarian, not every one is vegan, and a large number of my friends enjoy meats in their diet.
My goal when preparing foods for a plant-based dinner party is to make delicious dishes that will satisfy even the pickiest meat eater. Below are some great tips that have helped me feed a variety of diet types with success!
4th of July Vegan Cheesecake
Ingredients:
- For the crust:
- 2 cups raw almonds, dry
- 5 to 7 dates, pitted
- 1 1/2 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
For the Filling:
- 3 cups cashews, soaked for 2 hours
- 1 cup young coconut meat
- 3/4 cup lemon juice
- 2/3 cup coconut oil
- 3/4 to 1 cup coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup maple syrup (optional)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 to 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cup blueberries
- 1/2 cup raspberries
Directions:
- Place almonds, dates, coconut oil, vanilla and salt in a food processor and blend until a dough like consistency forms.
- Press the dough into the bottom of a 9-inch spring-form pan. The crust does not need to be thick, a thin curst is fine.
- Once prepared, place the crust in the freezer to set while preparing filling.
- In your blender combine, cashews, coconut meat, lemon juice, coconut oil, coconut sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract and salt. Blend well. You may find that you need a little water to make sure the mixture blends well.
- Be conservative with the water or the cheesecake may not set up right. Pour the filling into your springform pan.
- Top with berries and transfer to the refrigerator for two hours or more. Enjoy!
Summer Sanders
Summer Sanders has long had a passion for holistic health and fitness. Growing up in Sedona, Arizona, her love of fresh foods, natural healing and fitness was nurtured by this forward thinking community. She trained at the Matthew Kenney Academy and eventually took a job as the head instructor of the online raw food educational program.
Summer now runs a whole food cleansing and health consulting company called Radiantly Raw Lifestyles. She is a certified personal trainer, weight management coach, prenatal exercise coach, and fitness nutrition specialist with National Academy of Sports Medicine. Summer splits her time between San Diego, CA and Sedona, AZ with her husband Mike. She's expecting her first child in October!
