Strawberry Lemon Cheesecake
It’s been wonderful having 2 short weeks and a long weekend. Plenty of time to travel, sleep, be with loved ones and EAT! But now that it’s over I need something else to keep my spirits up and that is this Strawberry Lemon Cheesecake. I have had the highest positive feedback on how amazing this is! If you are still reading the blog and haven’t tried making anything yet, then I highly suggest you start with this one. The creamy Lemon Cream Cheese Filling is set on a rich Graham Cracker Crust and topped with fresh sweet Strawberries! There is nothing I love more for dessert than cheesecake and this Strawberry Lemon Cheesecake is a perfect tool to win people over with healthy alternatives!
Strawberry Lemon Cheesecake
Graham Cracker Crust:
- 1 c Almond meal
- 1/2 c Dates
- 1 tbls Agave Nectar
- 1 tbls Filtered Water
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Vanilla Powder
- Pinch of Celtic Sea Salt
To make the crust, process the dates in a food processor until they form one ball. In a large bowl add the almond meal and dates and blend using your hands. Add the agave, water and salt and continue blending. Press to the bottom of an 8″ spring form pan, being sure to create a hill at the edges as show in the pictures above.
Lemon Cream Cheese Filling:
- 1 1/2 c Cashews
- 1/3 c Lemon juice
- 1/4 c Coconut Oil, melted
- 1/4 c Agave Nectar
- 2 tbls Filtered Water
- 2 tbls Almond or other Nut Milk
- 1 tbls Lemon zest
- Seeds from 1 Vanilla Bean or 1 tsp Vanilla powder
Add all the ingredients in a blender and blend until completely smooth. Pour the filling over the Graham Cracker Crust and smooth over the top to create an even surface.
Strawberry Topping:
- 1 c Strawberries, chopped
- 1 tsp Agave Nectar
- 1/2 tbls Flax Meal (optional, to thicken)
Blend the strawberries and agave in a Magic Bullet or blender, very briefly. You want to have a chunky consistency with small pieces of strawberries. Using a large spoon, spoon the Strawberry Topping over the top of the Lemon Cream Cheese Filling and smooth over the top. Let set in the fridge overnight.
To serve, remove the spring form sides and garnish with lemon zest and a small strawberry on each slice.
Makes 1 8″ Cheesecake
This is probably the best cheesecake I ever had.
You can even leave it in the fridge a couple of days and it gets even better!!
Thank you for sending a piece to the office for me – I always love trying out your cuisine
joerg
April 12, 2010 at 13:50
And – there is not even cheese in there… how crazy is that?
April 12, 2010 at 13:53
Carla, We made this cheesecake for a family party this past w/e because we all got together for the April birthdays and so this was the “Birthday cake” Raves all around! Wonderful flavor and looked pretty too. Very refreshing after the meal. My cake came out a bit flatter because I noticed my pan was more like 9″ than 8″ so I will likely do a recipe and a half next time. I don’t think anyone will complain if there is more of it to eat!!
thanks for posting this recipe.
April 26, 2010 at 17:41
Hey Carla,
So thanks for introducing it to my entire family, i think you’ve started a revolution!
just to second my mom’s comment the cake was DEEELLLICIOUS! It was fun to hear everyone talk about raw food, be slightly confused, and a bit dissapointed that that was the only cake we had, and then once they tasted the cake, come back for seconds and ask – this really doesn’t have anything in it but fruit and nuts
April 27, 2010 at 21:18
Thank you Carla…..this was a scrumptious recipe!
May 30, 2010 at 17:01
Thank you Pam for making and featuring my recipe on your blog! I’m so happy you enjoyed this Cheesecake!
June 6, 2010 at 18:47
what is the almond meal and do you soak the cashews first?
June 7, 2010 at 00:48
Hi Sarah, almond meal is almonds ground down and the cashews can be soaked for 2 hours before or unsoaked cashews are fine too.
June 7, 2010 at 12:18
What is the rationale behind soaking the cashews? I find that quite a few recipes call for that extra step
June 14, 2010 at 14:13
Hi Maria, it is not necessary to soak the cashews before hand. But if you do, keep the same 1 1/2c of cashews.
June 14, 2010 at 14:20
I absolutely love this cheesecake. I am new to the raw lifestyle but this is amazing. I absolutely love it and I think my partner will too (she’s not interested in raw living yet lol). THANK YOU!!!!!
June 14, 2010 at 02:38
Hi Carla:
Just curious as to WHY one would soak the cashews? Would it be a creamier end result?
June 14, 2010 at 15:06
I have made this recipe with soaked and unsoaked cashews and had the same creamy result. But by soaking nuts and seeds, you neutralize the enzyme inhibitors and increase the amount of vitamins for your body to absorb. And it also helps with breaking down gluten so digestion is much easier. If you decide to soak the cashews first, do so for 2-3 hours.
June 15, 2010 at 07:28
I made it last nite…very very good. I froze it for an ice cream like texture. Do you have any more (fairly simple) desserts that you reccomend?
June 15, 2010 at 14:20
Hi Maria, All of the recipes on my blog are simple to make. If you want another frozen cake then try the Pineapple Icebox Cake. It’s the perfect time of year for it!
June 16, 2010 at 08:18
Hi Carla,
I made this yesterday, it is the first raw cake I have ever made, it is amazing! It tastes so good, and all my non vegan non raw flatmates thought it was the best cheesecake they had ever eaten too. Brilliant. Will definitely be trying out your other dessert recipes soon.
alice
June 25, 2010 at 10:03
Wow Alice, that is just the best feedback! Thank you for sharing it with me! I hope you can enjoy more of the recipes
June 25, 2010 at 14:44
so, so delicious!!!
This is the first “cheescake” I ever make and I loved it, I couldn’t belive the flavor, so amaizing!!
I just couldn’t stop eating !!
thanks a lot!!
June 27, 2010 at 19:23
Thanks for the Recipe! I had to change it based on what I had on hand – (hazelnuts instead of almonds, and orange extract instead of vanilla). Thankfully it turned out delicious, still! I’ll have to try it the original way soon.
Btw, my mom who tends to like a lot of the raw food I make said this was almost better, or at least as good as the raw chocolate desserts I make – and that’s HUGE!
Thanks!
October 3, 2010 at 02:36
I made this cake for a Raw food gathering but I was afraid to take it because I just started transitioning into raw and made the cake for the first time. However, when I got home this evening and tasted it I could not believe one, I made it. It was so good! I just kept looking at it in disbelief. For me, the dates makes the crust two sweet. I would like more of a graham cracker taste, so I will work with it to decrease the crust sweetness. My cake was flat and I used 8 inch pan but I don’t care. Tomorrow I am taking to a friends house because she wants to taste it. My students begged me Friday to bring some in Monday so they can taste it.
Thanks so much for posting it here and on goneraw. I am grateful for your gift of preparing raw and sharing with us. God Bless and please keep it up.
January 30, 2011 at 01:43
Hi Danyell, I’m so happy to hear how much you loved the Cheesecake! It is wonderful to hear feedback like this! For the curst, I did not use Medjool dates which are the sweetest dates so that might be the reason it turned out so sweet. But please try more recipes and let me know what you think of them
January 31, 2011 at 10:30