Cotton candy cashew cheesecake that is colourful with fruit dyes and easy to make. All the colourings are natural, organic and healthy so suitable for people with ADHD as normal dyes affect brain functionality.
The ingredient list may look daunting but only the base and cashew cream ingredients are mandatory – you can use whatever fruit / berries you want for colour and flavour. This cashew cheesecake is dairy free, gluten free, raw, vegan and refined sugar free.
I came up with this vegan cheesecake recipe for a non-vegan / veggie meetup with the intention of showing people how delicious and tasty raw, vegan and refined sugar free cake can be. I didn’t tell anyone it was raw vegan and someone said it’s the best cheesecake they had ever had.
This raw cake does use coconut oil to help it set. If you are on an oil free diet I recommend making some coconut butter. Homemade coconut butter is raw and will help the cake set. It’s made from pure coconut with nothing extracted so high in fibre.
Cotton Candy Cashew Cake Video Recipe
In the video/photos for the site you can see that the heavy white layer that had no colouring mixed into the lighter blue layer. I was going for neat crisp lines, but it looks good with them muddled in.
Next time I would put the white layer first or you could freeze each layer for 10 mins, but honestly I don’t have the patience for that kind of faff.
The pomegranate and blueberry layer turned the same colour after being in the fridge overnight. I would recommend separating these layers.
You can sub the blueberries in this vegan cheesecake for any other berries that you like. Blackberries and blackcurrants work really well as they give a dark colour.
Strawberries and raspberries taste great but don’t give a deep colour so you may want to add a tbsp of beetroot juice to up the colour. Beetroot juice would be a great addition for my version to give a deep vibrant pink colour.
The most common question I get about my cotton candy cashew cheesecake is; Does the cabbage affect the taste? The answer is no! But like my chocolate avocado mousse people can suddenly taste the ingredient when they know it’s there.
I took inspiration from children’s baking soda experiments to come up with a natural blue dye.
Cotton Candy Raw Vegan Cheesecake
This bright cheesecake is made from just nuts, vegetables and fruit as organic natural dyes! The bright colours come from everyday foods that even a small shop will sell. Some people worry about the blue and purple but honestly you really don't taste it!
Ingredients
GLUTEN FREE CHEESECAKE BASE
- 1 cup / 175 g dates
- 1 cup / 125 g walnuts
- ½ cup / 50 g coconut, desiccated
CASHEW CREAM FOR CHEESECAKE
- 1½ cups / 225 g cashew nuts
- 5 tbsp maple syrup / any sweetener
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 lemons juiced
- ½ cup / 120 ml coconut oil, melted
- 1 cup / 240 ml water
ORGANIC DYES
- ½ pomegranate, juiced
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1/5 red cabbage, juiced
- 1 cup / 100 g blueberries
CHEESECAKE TOPPINGS
- Blueberries / pomegranate seeds / any fruit
Instructions
- Blend all of the raw base ingredients until they stick together in a ball.
- Push the base into a 6″ springform pan.
- Blend the cabbage and pomegranate and then push through a sieve to strain and make juice.
- Separate half of the red cabbage juice and stir in the baking powder in one-half to make blue colouring.
- Place all the cream ingredients in a blender and whiz until smooth, remember to melt the coconut oil first.
- Separate the cream into 5 bowls.
- Then keep one bowl white, stir in 1-2 tbsp of red and blue organic dyes in two other bowls.
- In one bowl stir in 3-4 tbsp of pomegranate juice.
- In one bowl blend together with the blueberries.
- Layer on the cashew cream in the pan to build the vegan cheesecake, then place in the fridge for an hour to set.
- Store the raw cake in the fridge and enjoy within a couple of days.
- You can freeze this raw vegan cashew cheescake and it will last for months. Best to freeze in slices so you can defrost a slice at a time.
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Nutrition Information
Yield
12Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 389Total Fat 26gSaturated Fat 11gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 13gCholesterol 0mgSodium 157mgCarbohydrates 38gFiber 5gSugar 25gProtein 6g
If you have ever wondered why cashew nuts are so expensive check out my video on how ethical cashew nuts are processed from my visit to East Bali Cashews.
You need to use baking soda, not baking powder!
Or rather, I think you meant to write baking soda instead of baking powder ????
Both work great 🙂 Baking powder contains baking soda. It is a mixture of baking soda and cream of tartar. We’ve just listed baking powder as its the most common form where I am.
Thanks for the recipe, I made it last night and it was amazing . it didn’t look quite as good as yours but tasted amazing!
I just found your blog and want to try all your recipes
Thanks June, I hope you like them all as much as I do 🙂
Can you eat straight away? Or does it have to be stored in the fridge for a certain time?
Thanks
It needs some time to chill, 20 mins in the freezer or an hour in the fridge should do it 🙂
I love your recipe. I just made it and it looks like it’s going to be incredible. When I poured each layer of the filling it seemed kind of watery, but I will freeze the cheesecake. I hope it will come out with a thicker consistency.
I love all your recipe and will try them all. Great YouTube page you have.
Thanks so much, glad you like my recipes! That sounds about right – I had to freeze each layer for 10 minutes to set it. Recipes can be a bit difficult with so much variation in natural products but even if it is a bit watery it will still work great as a frozen cheesecake. Let me know how this cheesecake goes for you.
My wife and I just finished the cheesecake tonight. We are the whole thing within 24 hours! That’s how good it was. The cheesecake definitely sets better frozen. I wish I could send you a picture of it. I was just wondering, could I use non-dairy milk instead of water? Would macadamia or pistachio nuts work instead of cashews? Thank you for the great recipe!
Great to hear! Yes you could use non dairy milk if you like. I don’t tend to as don’t like all the waste from buying shop bought plant milk and there’s already the cashews in there. I would add a bit more cashews if you want it creamier. Macadamia nuts work well for this – just don’t tend to use them as they are super expensive for me and lots of people that read here. Not sure about pistachios, I think it will work but will be unusual – but pistachio ice cream does work well so think it would be very good!
Hello,
Honestly Bastian, your web-site is amazing. I’ve tried few of your recipes and ALL of them were so so good. I tried to keep the proportions as they are and everything became exactly as explained. So delicious and so SWEAT. As I red somewhere “The taste is not from this world” and it is healthy. Thank you very much for sharing these miracles.
Julie
Aww thanks, you’re too kind
Thank you, Bastian. The result is amazing!! My mother loved it. Your ideas are so good and creative!! Congratulations!
Ah thanks so much, that’s lovley to hear 🙂
Love the flavor but would cut the water. Mine was so liquidy with a whole cup of water—I had to freeze it to get it to set. I would start with a quarter cup and drizzle in more if needed next time.
Also, the colouring turned grey for me but more power to others if it worked for them!