Triple Berry Layered Cheesecake Red White and Blue - a colorfully festive cheesecake with fresh berry flavors, perfect for Fourth of July and all summer long!
I learned about raw cheesecakes in class last month. Wanting to make a red, white and blue dessert for the Fourth of July, I decided to try a layered raw cheesecake. and now I cannot believe I've not tried this before, given my love of cashews and how often I use them in raw and vegan recipes.
Cashews are high in fat, and make a rich creamy dessert. Every raw cheesecake recipe I find includes coconut oil, which is also high in fat. Cashews by themselves would make a cheesecake lower in saturated fat, so I took a big risk in making a simple cashew filling - crossing my fingers that it would set up.
After only three hours in the freezer, it was perfect. In class we also learned the difference between raw and living foods. While the cheesecake filling is raw, the crust includes tempeh - which is fermented and classified as living.
Triple Berry Layered Cheesecake Red White and Blue
dairy, egg, oil and gluten free, vegan, raw
makes one 9-inch cheesecake
living tempeh cheesecake crust (adapted from my apricot bar filling)
8 ounces Medjool dates, pitted
¾ cup pecans
½ cup hazelnuts
⅓ block tempeh (7 ounce package)
1-2 tablespoons water (as needed)
Combine dates, pecans, hazelnuts and tempeh in food processor, blend until crumbly. Add water if needed to add moisture, help form a ball. Press into bottom / sides of 9 inch spring-form pan.
(cheesecake filling layers inspired by the Vegan Fusion Chef Training recipe)
bottom layer cheesecake
1.5 cups cashews, soaked several hours / overnight
juice of two lemons
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
½ cup agave
½ cup blackberries
¼ cup blueberries
Process cashews in food processor, adding lemon juice and acv, blend until creamy. Add agave and berries, blending until incorporated and mixture turns blue. Spread in an even layer over crust, place in freezer.
middle layer cheesecake
1 cup cashews, soaked several hours / overnight
juice of one lemon
½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Process cashews in food processor, adding lemon juice and acv, blend until creamy. Spread in an even layer over blue layer, return to freezer.
top layer cheesecake
1.5 cups cashews, soaked several hours / overnight
juice of two lemons
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
½ cup agave
¾ cup raspberries
Process cashews in food processor, adding lemon juice and acv, blend until creamy. Add agave and berries, blending until incorporated and mixture turns red. Spread in an even layer over white layer. Return to freezer for several hours / overnight.
Red, white and blue - great for a Fourth of July get celebration. Our July Fourth get together will also include:
spiced and grilled corn on the cob
patriotic fruit skewers
double rich chocolate protein cookies
and cheesecake
Have a safe and happy Fourth of July.
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Compensation was provided by Bacardi via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of spabettie and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Bacardi.
Liz says
Your raw cheesecake looks fantastic!!
spabettie says
thank you Liz, this was my first raw cheesecake, pretty dang excited it turned out!
RecipeNewZ says
Beautiful cake! I love all its layers. I have tried raw cheesecake with coconut cream. Now it's time to try cashews 🙂
spabettie says
thanks! I'd be interested in seeing your coconut cream recipe - no nuts in it? sounds delicious!
Nora @ Natural Noshing says
This looks incredible! We must be on the same wavelength...I wanted to make a triple layer no-bake cheesecake and attempted last night...I used agar agar and it didn't set up correctly, a little runny and not-at-all-photo worthy but still delicious (gotta love experiments) so I think I'll have to go with your version for the 4th since I KNOW this one will work 🙂
spabettie says
*sigh* I don't know what it is with that agar agar stuff... never works for me either. I really thought I was taking a chance this wouldn't work, because even in class we used Irish moss to set up. I'm positive yours was still delicious, they usually are! 😉 This does work, I was so happy!
Lou says
Looks AMAZING.... I LOVE raw/living (hehe, living food, hope it doesn't bite me back) food, especially desserts... so decadent, but they still feel GOOD ya know? Sounds like you are learning so much in your classes.... FUN.
spabettie says
oh those classes are GOLD. I learned a lot, even when cooking things I kindof already know about, you know? I thought I was a baker, and I learned so many new gluten free baking tricks. I want to take the class again, just because! 😀 I've been eating almost completely raw since middle of June, and I feel fantastic! <-- because NO, it does NOT bite back! ;)
Averie @ Averie Cooks says
I posted my raw vegan cheezecake recipe 3 yrs ago (before I was fully into coconut oil and never used it in that recipe) and it sets up like a champ...soaked cashews, agave, lemon juice. Crust is almond meal, medjool dates, agave. The whole thing is so easy and no setting-up issues. Yours looks absolutely fabulous!
Heather (Where's the Beach) says
Ok, wow. Really? I think you've outdone yourself this time. And I can't wait for the tofu recipe! Everything looks amazing.
spabettie says
😀 thank you, Heather! and I thought of you when making this tofu - totally a Heather kind of thing!
Allie says
I've never seen a crust recipe that calls for tempeh--too cool and unique! I absolutely love cashew-based "cheese"cakes, but I wait until I visit the family and let my mom make her special recipe--it means I don't have to shell out the $$ for cashews ;D
Have a great holiday!
spabettie says
I've been using the tempeh in my raw bars recipes for a while - it adds a crumbly kind of texture to a creamy (cashew) base. It works here too! 🙂 and I KNOW... my favorite nut of all time is SO expensive. just bought more this morning, $13.99/lb for the raw ones. eeek.
hope you have a good one too, Allie! XO
lindsay says
you know i love your tempeh addition! brilliant, just brilliant!
spabettie says
and Lindsay, I just love YOU! XXO
Heather @girlichef says
I'm definitely intrigued by the idea of a raw cheesecake - it's sure beautiful. And that tofu looks insane...want to reach in and snatch the plate!
spabettie says
thank you Heather! I was happy it turned out, as many cheesecakes as I have made in my life (a lot!), this was my first raw, and first layered! 🙂
Alta says
This is such a gorgeous cheesecake! Love the innovative crust. I would have never thought to use tempeh!
spabettie says
thank you Alta!