Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake

This Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake is chocolatey and decadent. With a creamy and smooth filling and a thick crunchy cocoa crust. Vegan or not, you are in for a treat!

Course Dessert

Cuisine gluten-free, no-bake, raw, vegan

Prep Time 35

Cook Time 4

Total Time 1 19

Servings people

Calories 469kcal

Author Hannah Sunderani

Ingredients

For the crust:

1 cup almonds
1.5 cups medjool dates , pits removed (approx. 17 dates)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch sea salt , finely ground
2 tbsp coconut oil , melted

For the filling:

2 cups raw cashews , soaked overnight and strained
1 can full fat coconut milk (400 ml can)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup agave
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

In a food processor add almonds, pulse until it's a flour-like substance. Then add dates, cacao powder, peanut butter, cinnamon and sea salt. Melt coconut oil in saucepan on medium-high heat and pour into food processor. Pulse ingredients until combined and a dough-like substance.
Cut a sheet of parchment paper into a circular shape, sized to cover the bottom of your springform cake pan (I used an 18cm/7-inch diameter springform cake pan with removable bottom)*. Then press the dough into the bottom of the pan making a thick and level crust.
In a blender add your soaked cashews (strained), coconut milk, cocoa powder, agave, peanut butter, vanilla extract, cinnamon and salt. Blend until smooth.
Pour cheesecake filling into the centre of your cake pan. Place cake in freezer for 2-4 hours**, or until solid.
When ready to eat remove cheesecake from freezer and let thaw 15-30 minutes before slicing. (Optional to lightly dust the top with more cacao powder using a small sieve). It's easiest to cut cake with a hot sharp knife (run the knife under hot water and towel dry before slicing).

Notes

Be sure to soak your cashews overnight. Soaking the cashews helps them break down easier, resulting in a more smooth and creamy filling. If you forget to soak your cashews ahead of time, you can speed up the processes by pouring boiling water over them in a bowl, and having them soak for one hour.

*For this recipe I used a springform cake pan with removable bottom to mould the cake. You can buy one of these pans on Amazon. The size of the pan doesn't make a huge difference for this recipe. But the one I have is 18cm/7 inches in diameter.

If you don't have a springform cake pan with removable bottom you can definitely use a normal cake pan. My recommendation would be to cut out a circle of parchment paper to fit snug into the base of the cake pan, then place long strips of parchment paper fanned out in a snowflake to go up the sides of the pan. This will stop the cheesecake from adhering to the pan, so that you can lift it out more easily.

**Chill time for this recipe is at least 2-4 hours. You want to give the filling enough time to solidify in the freezer. Better to leave it too long than not long enough. The cake can be prepared one week ahead of eating. Leave in freezer, wrapped well. Remove from freezer and let thaw for 15-30 minutes before serving.

Cake will keep in freezer, wrapped well, for one month, but best served fresh.

Nutritional information is a rough estimate

Nutrition