I won’t lie. I’m fascinated by raw desserts. They are definitely one of my favorite things to make. Not only are they really easy to prepare, but I’m yet to make a raw dessert that wouldn’t turn out to be delicious. Like this raw lime cheesecake – creamy, slightly tart, and perfectly sweet.
I made this cheesecake for a friend’s surprise birthday party this past weekend and I’m so happy to report that it was all gone within 30 minutes. Raw desserts are the best kind of raw food you can show off to entice your non-raw friends. After all, desserts are most people’s (if not everyone’s) favorite course (food).
If you’ve never tried making raw lime cheesecake, try it. The main ingredients for all raw desserts are pretty much the same – nuts, seeds. fruit, maple syrup, raw honey, coconut oil, cacao powder, vanilla, and cinnamon. While it’s not much, the combinations are very versatile. I don’t know if you can recreate any dessert using only raw ingredients, but cheesecake definitely does have a healthy raw version. I’ve played with various flavors, but this raw lime cheesecake is one of my favorite.
Although you might not believe me when I say that this raw lime cheesecake tastes like the real thing, I assure you – it does! The texture is so rich and velvety that even a small slice is very satisfying.
Tips for Making Raw Lime Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust
I feel like I talk about dates, especially Medjool dates, all the time. However, for this raw cheesecake, you don’t actually need Medjool dates. The dates in this recipe only serve as a binder for the crust. They don’t need to be pureed into a perfectly smooth paste, like in these truffles or fudge. Of course, Medjool dates are the best, but go with any dates you have on hand. As far as the nuts go, I used a mix of almonds and walnuts, but it really doesn’t matter what type of nuts you use. Pecans or hazelnuts are particularly delicious!
Filling
Vegan or not, cashew cream is beyond delicious. I use cashews for the majority of my raw vegan cheesecake recipes because they have a neutral (slightly sweet) flavor, a wonderfully smooth texture, and are naturally high in fat. Mixed together with come thick coconut cream, the cashews mimic the taste and the texture of cheesecake very well. To help the cashew cream set and create the smooth cheesecake texture that melts in your mouth, using a little bit of coconut oil is essential. Coconut oil is the main reason you should keep this cheesecake in the fridge or the freezer because it melts at a room temperature.
To sweeten the cashew-coconut cream, I always opt for a liquid sweetener. Granulated sugar isn’t the best for raw creams because it doesn’t seamlessly mix in, leaving you with a gritty texture.
Finally, the flavor – strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, peanut butter, caramel … the sky is the limit. Just don’t omit the lemon juice regardless of the flavor you choose. Lime juice provides a tangy, tart flavor you expect from a good cheesecake.
Technique
For making the actual cheesecake, you’ll need to use a powerful machine (be it a high-speed blender or a food processor). I find that food processors work the best for crusts made from nuts while blenders excel at making smooth fillings. However, you could make the filling in a food processor as well. (I did, and it worked perfectly fine). The best pan for making a cheesecake is a spring-loaded pan. It’s essentially a cake pan, which allows you to remove the sides of the pan while preserving the integrity of the cake’s edges.
For smoothing out the filling, I use offset spatulas. The size of the spatula I use depends on the size of the cake. The spatula should reach to about the center of the cake when held steady and comfortable. For the smoothing process itself, hold the spatula in the same place to an angle to the cake, tip at the center, and use the other hand to rotate the spring form pan. You could use a turnable, but it’s not necessary.
Tools You’ll Need
1. Food Processor (Breville Sous Chef) | 2. Blender (Vitamix 5200) | 3. Spring-Loaded Pan (9-Inch, Wilton, Coated Steel) | 4. Measuring Cup (4 Cups, Pyrex, Glass) | 5. Mesh Strainers (Set of 3, Cuisinart, Stainless Steel) | 6. Can Opener (Zyliss, Stainless Steel) | 7. Offset Spatula (6-Inch, ECYC, Stainless Steel) | 8. Measuring Spoons (Set of 6, 1Easylife, Stainless Steel) | 9. Measuring Cups (Set of 6, Bellemain, Stainless Steel)
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Raw vegan cheesecake with a golden base and creamy, slightly tart, and perfectly sweet filling made with cashews.
- 1/2 cup raw almonds
- 1/2 cup raw walnuts
- 1 cup Medjool dates, pitted
- 1/4 tsp. fine sea salt
- 3 cups raw cashews, soaked*
- 1 cup coconut cream or full-fat coconut milk
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
- 2 limes, juice only
- 1 lemon, juice only
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
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Place the almonds into a food processor and pulse until they've broken down a bit. Add the walnuts and pulse until you've reached your desired fineness. Add the dates and pulse until everything begins to stick together. The crust should hold together when you pinch it in between your fingers. If it doesn't, pulse a little bit more.
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Lightly grease an 8.5" (21.5 cm) spring-loaded pan. Add the crust mixture to the pan and press it firmly down with your fingers or the bottom of a glass to really pack it down. Set in freezer to firm up while you make the filling.
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Place all the filling ingredients into a food processor or a blender and blend on high until smooth. If it doesn't come together, add a little bit more coconut milk. The cream should be smooth and quite thick.
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Pour the cream on top of the crust layer. Cover the cheesecake with a piece of plastic wrap and freeze it for 5-6 hours or overnight.
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Once set, remove the cheesecake from the spring-loaded pan. Serve it frozen or let it thaw at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before serving.
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Store leftover cheesecake in an airtight container in the freezer for 1-2 weeks.
*Soak the cashews in water for at least 8 hours (or overnight) so they soften up and are easy to blend. To quick-soak cashews, pour boiling hot water over the cashews and soak for 1 hour uncovered. When the cashews are done soaking, drain the water and rinse the cashews thoroughly. (Note: if you do the quick soak, the cheesecake will no longer be raw).
**Use a full-fat coconut milk and let the coconut water separate from the cream in the can. The easiest way to do that is to pop the can of coconut milk into the refrigerator over night. I use the brand Native Forest or Thai and it always separates really well. It will depend on the brand of coconut milk you buy. If your can doesn't separate, you can still use the unseparated milk. The filling just won’t be as thick.
***Prep time does not include soaking the cashews (8 hours).
HI,
I like your raw lime cheesecake but i am not sure about 1cup =? but i really want make this cake ,can you tell me what about the gram in it?eg: 1 cup=?gram almond , i know each city may be different on this cup…can you give me the precise weight about this recipe on gram ,thank you so much^^
Hi Jasmine, A cup is a standard measuring unit in North America. If you do a Google search “how many grams is in one cup of …. ” you will be able to find it. For instance, 1/2 cup of almonds is 70 g, 1/2 cup of walnuts is 65g, 1 cup Medjool dates equals 10-12 Medjool dates, 3 cups of cashews is 450 g, 1/2 cup maple syrup is 120 ml, 1/3 cup coconut oil is 80 ml, 1 cup coconut cream is 240 ml. Hope it helps 🙂
Hi Petra,
Thanks for sharing this recipe and for your really good content production in general. I tried the recipe and everything turned to be perfect.
I wonder if adding some zests into the filling wouldn’t be even more lemony-tasty!
Hi Jonas – so happy to hear you liked the cheesecake 🙂 Yes, adding some lemon zest is an excellent idea for even more lemon-y flavor!
If I want a vanilla cheese cake how should I do it? Do I still add lemon and lime juice and add vanilla extract? How much should I add
I would recommend using less lemon/lime juice (but not leaving it out completely because you do need that sour-ish/tangy flavor) and adding 1 vanilla pod (halve the vanilla pod lengthways, then scrape out the seeds). I hope it helps 🙂
Hi,
I’m hoping to make this as pumpkin cheesecake any suggestions would be most helpful. I was going to add 1 can of pumpkin, add more vanilla, and 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice.
Hi Lisa, here’s what I would do: 3 cups of cashews, 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk, 3/4 cup pumpkin puree, 1 cup maple syrup (+ more to taste), 1/3 cup coconut oil, lemon + lime juice, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, etc.). I’ve never tried it myself, but those are my suggestions. You might also add a little bit of pumpkin pie spice to the crust. Hope this helps 🙂
Superbe recette que je viens de faire ! J’ai juste pr l’instant goûter la crème et c’est trop trop gourmand !
J’avais une question ! Ce cheesecake est t’il gras ?
Salut Pierre! Merci poour ta question 🙂 Well, there are nuts in this cheesecake so it is not particularly low in calories. But it’s also very filling because it’s made from whole foods. So you don’t need to eat a lot of it to feel satisfied 🙂 Let me know if you have any other questions.
Hi,
how much is 3 cup soaked cashews to you in grams ? three cups of cashew before of after being soaked ? 🙂
Also I tried two days ago and something weird happened I blend the cream and as it was warming up a little bit it became something strange like less creamy more thick like a flan
I don’t really know what happened.
Maybe a chemical reaction between lemon and emulsion between cashew water and coconut cream… did you already experience that kind of thing ?
thank you for the recipe
Hi Allan!) 1 cup of raw (unsoaked) cashews is about 140 g (no worries if it’s a few grams more or less). The “reaction” you’re describing sounds as if the cream started cooking in your blender? If you have a really powerful blender and you let it run for a while perhaps the cream warmed up too much from the friction? Honestly, it has never happened to me. But what you could try is blend all the ingredients for the filling except for the coconut cream (until it’s all nice and smooth) and THEN add the coconut cream. This way you won’t have to blend the coconut cream for too long because the cream will already be smooth. This should do the trick. Let me know how it goes if you give it a try 🙂
Hello Petra! I made this goodness today! Me and my boyfriend just tasted it and I had to write to you straight away! It is a dream! I am so surprised that I made it right as it is my first attempt and it become sooo delicious! Thank you so much! Greets from two happy cheesecake fans 🙂
Yay! I am so glad you (and your boyfriend) liked the cheesecake 🙂 It’s always so good to get some feedback from other people who make the recipes. So thank you so much for taking the time to comment and leave such a positive review.
Can I use straight vanilla bean powder instead of vanilla extract ?? 🙂
Hi Danny – yes, you can use vanilla powder. My best experience is that you should use 1/4 tsp. of the vanilla powder for each teaspoon of vanilla extract. Let me know if you have any other question 🙂
Are you supposed to use just the cream, reserving the liquid for another purpose?
If you have access to a can of coconut cream only, i would use the coconut cream. Personally, I have a hard time finding pure canned coconut cream so I usually use a can of full-fat coconut milk. I scoop out the coconut cream first (to see how much there is in the can) and then top the amount with the liquid from the can. The recipe will work whether you use coconut cream or canned coconut milk. Let me know if you have any other questions 🙂
Hi,
Do you keep it in the freezer after it’s ready? How long?
Thanks, 🙂
Hi Inbal – either freezer or the fridge. If you keep the cheesecake in the fridge, it will be a little bit softer (which is what I prefer). However, for a longer storage, keep it in the freezer. The cheesecake will last about 7 days in the fridge and up to 6 months in the freezer (if stored in an air-tight container).
Is there a nutrition facts on it?
Hi Michelle, I don’t have any nutrition facts for this recipe, but you could use various online nutrition calculators. If there is anything particular you’re wondering about, let me know and I’ll calculate it for you.
Omg the absolutely best cheesecake ever!Thank you!
Thank you so much, Helen! I am so happy you like the recipe. I really appreciate your comment 🙂
I’m going to make this today as it looks AMAZING! My husband is diabetic and my daughter is insulin-resistant. Any idea of the carbs and sugar count for 1 serving?
Hi Carol – I hope your family love the cake 🙂 There are lots of online apps you can use to calculate the carbs for a specific recipe. I put all the ingredients into Spark People app and it said that the whole cake contains 450 g carbs out of which 40 g is dietary fiber. So the net carb content is approximately 400 g (for the whole 8.5″ cake). Please, let me know if you have any other questions. I am happy to help 🙂
Love your YouTube channel!
I would like to try adding 1/4 -1/2 c of cream cheese for flavor. Do you think it would change the recipe to the extent that it wouldn’t work out after freezing?
Hi Patty – thank you 🙂 I am so happy you’re enjoying the my videos! I wouldn’t use cream cheese for one reason – it’s completely possible to freeze cream cheese, but it does alter the texture. Thawed cream cheese is less creamy and a lot more crumbly than fresh cream cheese. For extra creaminess, I would add more coconut cream, which freezes well. Please, let me know if you have any other questions or substitution ideas 🙂
May i know how much is the total calories and the nutrition facts?
Hi – I am really sorry, I don’t really count calories. However, you can use an online app, such as Spark People, to get the calorie count and nutritional facts. Please, let me know if you have any questions.
Loved it! I took it today for Mother’s Day and everyone loved it!
Thank you!
Yay! Thank you so much for the feedback, John 🙂 I am so happy the cheesecake was a success!
Will this work in a 7 inch pan or will i have to convert the amount of ingredients?
Hi Karli – it depends on how tall your springform pan is. If it’s tall, it will fit. However, if it’s standard size (3″ tall), the cheesecake might not fit. To convert it, I would multiply every ingredient by 0.7. Let me know if you have any other questions 🙂
Hi Petra, this cheesecake looks absolutely amazing! I’m in a bit of a hurry, so is it possible for coconut milk to separate into coconut cream in the freezer, for a shorter period of time? If so, how long? Thank you so much!
Hi Michelle – I wonder if I am responding too late since you were in a hurry. Yes, you can put the can in the freezer. Just make sure the coconut milk really doesn’t freeze. Some brands tend to get grainy when you freeze them. Just a warning 🙂
I always tend to get a little bit of a gritty texture when using soaked cashews for desserts.. Is this normal? Do you have any tips to improve the texture of the cheesecake?
Hi Monique – two things come to mind – how long do you soak your cashews for? 12 hours would be ideal so they are nice and soft. The second thing is your blender. Before I got Vitamix, I had a regular blender (not high-speed) and whenever I blended nuts for icing or creams, the icing/creams were slightly gritty no matter how long I let the blender run for. Then I started using Vitamix and never had this problem again. So I KNOW that a high-speed blender is the most important factor here. What type of blender do you use? Is it high-speed?
I had the same problem…even if I have a high speed blender 1500w. The solution I found was adding a whole avocado instead of coconut milk. It got perfect! Besides it has given to the cheese cake a light green color that really matches perfect with lemon.
Hi Jackie – I am just reading your comment. I will have to try the avocado and see what results I get. It sounds like a brilliant idea! Do you get a gritty texture even when you soak the nuts for a few hours? And how long do you let the blender run for? I have to let it run for several minutes to get completely smooth texture …
I was using a high speed blender but apparently I was blending at a high speed for long enough. I tried it again and got MUCH better results. thanks!
Hi can I use Brazilian nuts or macademian nuts for the filling instead of cashew nuts? Karen
Hi Karen – I wouldn’t use Brazilian nuts because they are darker than cashews (the filling wouldn’t be white). However, macadamia nuts should work just fine here 🙂
Hi Petra,
I made your cake yesterday, covered with plastic wrap and put in the fridge. But the color of my cheesecake changed from brillant to darkest white. Do you ave any suggest to mantain the white color?
I’m looking forward for your reply.
Thank you for your time.
Manuel
Hi Manuel – thank you for reaching out. Just to clarify – the frosting was bright white when you made it but turned dark white in the fridge?
Yes, the frosting was white and turned grey, or something like a dark white after 6 hours in the fridge.
HI Manuel. I do have to say that this has never happened to me. However, I searched the internet to see if I could find an answer. Apparently, some cashews do turn gray or even light brown (after they have been soaked). I couldn’t find an answer to why this happens but one source mentioned that it’s because of the cashews’ gray-brown-ish shell. Hope the cheesecake was delicious nonetheless 🙂
What a strange story!!! Thank you for your time Petra! The cake was very delicious nonetheless. Have a good days here in Europe!
Thank you so much, Manuel! I forgot to mention that I have had cashews turn purple on me a few times. (The purple is the juice of the cashew fruit, which is reddish purple in color). I just wanted to mention it in case this ever happened to you. I am happy you enjoyed the cheesecake 🙂
Спасибо вам за то, что вы так щедро лелитесь прекрасными рецептами – это очень ценно для меня, т.к. моя семья переходит на сыроедческое питание и вы очень облегчаете нам жизнь, Петра!!!❤
Thank you so much for this recipe ive done it several times and its so simple but amazing!!
i have one general questions for raw cakes especially this one: how long can it stay outside the fridge/freezer? i will transport it tomorrow for around 2 hours
thank you :)))
Hi Vera – thank you for the kind words! So happy you like the recipe. Do you happen to have a cooler that you could load up with ice? (my cooler has frozen chill blocks). Or even a few ice packs that you could put around the cake? That would be my number one solution. I always transport my raw desserts in a cooler, so I am not sure how they will hold up without it. I would definitely keep the cake in the springform so it keeps its shape.