Raw lavender apricot and sea salt blackberry fudge cheesecake

Raw Lavender Apricot and Sea Salt Blackberry Fudge Cheesecake…say that three times fast. It’s a mouthful to say; but, I guarantee you won’t mind a mouthful of this raw, vegan, grain-free, and refined sugar-free cake. 

I made a mini version of this cake; but, I will give the measurements for a normal sized cheesecake as that springform pan size is more common.

What you need:

• high speed blender
• 20 cm springform pan
• a freezer
• a chopper or food processor

Ingredients:

Sea salt blackberry fudge layer:

• a handful of organic blackberries
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup raw cacao powder
• 1 cup cashews soaked in water for at least 1 hour
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp sea salt (or more to taste)
• 1/4 cup honey (or sweetener of your choice, you can also use less and sweeten to your liking)

Lavender apricot layer

• 2 cups cashews (soaked and drained)
• 2 apricots (pits removed)
• 2-3 tbsp lemon zest (make sure you’re using organic lemons)
• 3/4 cups coconut oil
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1-2 drops of stevia or sweetener of your choice
• 3 drops of lavender extract
• 3/4 cup lemon juice

Base

• 1 1/2 cups walnuts
• 1/2 cup of dates
• 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• a pinch of sea salt

Directions:

In your chopper or food processor, combine all of the base ingredients except for the dates. Once the nuts are chopped and crumb-like, add in the dates and combine. The chopped walnuts, dates, coconut oil, and sea salt should create a semi-sticky malleable crust. Press this into the springform pan and put into the freezer while you prepare the rest of the cake.

Next, in a high speed blender (I used a nutribullet and it worked great) combine all of the fudge layer ingredients except for the blackberries. You should have a sweet and salty fudge-like mixture on your hands (hopefully not literally). Add this layer into the springform pan and carefully place blackberries into the fudge layer. This blackberry step is actually optional; you could add any fruit you wanted or nothing at all. I simply wanted to have some fruit inside when I sliced up the cheesecake, as shown below. Place into freezer while you prepare the lavender apricot layer.

Finally, clean out your blender and blend together all of the apricot lavender layer ingredients. Add this layer on top of the blackberry layer. Let the cake freeze until solid, probably 4-6 hours to be safe.

You can serve this cake frozen like a cold ice cream cake, or wait about 10 minutes to eat after taking it out of the freezer. I served mine with rose petals and apricot on top and sliced the cake up into cheesecake slices. However you serve it, it will be delicious!