Raw Strawberry Cheesecake
The following recipe was shared by Erin and Steve, some of our newest team member's from Mission Viejo, California. I have had this cheesecake and actually love it better than the real thing - this is the real thing!
Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!
A creamy cheese filling is set on a thin almond flour crust and topped with a sweet strawberry sauce. Refrigeration will give this pie the texture of cream cheese. Use fresh strawberries, if available, otherwise, use whole frozen ones, and defrost before using.
Crust:
1 cup almond meal (whole almonds just ground up to crumbles in a food processor)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup pitted Medjool or other semi-soft dates
Filling:
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1/2 cup lemon juice
4 - 6 drops of doterra essential lemon oil :)
1 1/2 cups cashews
3/4 cup filtered water
Seeds from 2 vanilla beans or 2 tablespoons alcohol-free vanilla extract (optional)
Topping:
1 1/2 cups strawberries
To make the crust, combine almond meal, salt and dates into the food processor. Process until all 3 ingredients are uniform and crumbly. Press the crumbly crust into the pie pan and use your fingers to flatten out and smooth the crust into the pan.
Process all the ingredients for the filling in the food processor until it is a creamy, smooth texture. Pour the filling into the pie. Set in the refrigerator so the filling starts to cool and solidify.
Use fresh or thawed out strawberries (or another fruit of your choice) and process the fruit in the food processor until they are the consistency you are looking for as a topping. Some people like their strawberries chunky, and others like it smooth. It is just personal preference. If you like a really sweet topping, you can always add a natural sweetener to the strawberries. Pour the strawberries on top of the pie once the pie has hardened enough in the refrigerator. There is no cooking or baking of this pie. It is raw, healthy, and delicious!!!
