Vegan Chai Cheesecake
Courtesy of runner-up of #CravingBhakti competition Annalisa. See more of her awesome recipes at www.annalisamarie.com!
INGREDIENTS
Serves 8-12
For the Crust...
- 1 1/4 cup pitted dates
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1/4 cup shredded dry coconut
For the Filling – 2 Layers... One layer will be chai and one will be chai chocolate so we will be dividing everything in half)
- 3 cups cashews
- 1/4 cup of coconut oil melted
- 2 cups of Bhakti Chai (one bottle of iced chai)
- 1/2 cup of sugar (unless the chai has sugar, then omit this ingredient)
- 1/2 cup of cacao powder (for one of the two layers)
PREPARATION
1. Begin by soaking cashews in bowl with water overnight (makes them softer and easier to digest).
2. To make crust, mix all of the crust ingredients together for one minute in a food processor.
3. Press crust into bottom of your springform pan.
4. For the first layer of filling, blend half the cashews (about two cups because they expanded while soaking) in a blender with 1/8 cup of melted coconut oil, 1/4 cup of sugar (if chai is unsweetened), and Bhakti Chai. Start with 3/4 cup of chai and keep on adding until the consistency is very smooth and slightly thick (think pudding).
5. Pour the first layer of the filling into the pan. Even it out. Cover and put it in the freezer for a few hours until it is hard.
6. Once the first layer is in the freezer, work on the 2nd layer. Blend the remaining cashews, sugar, coconut oil and all of the cacao powder. Start with 3/4 cup of chai and continue adding once again until the consistency is like pudding.
6. Once the first layer is hard, pour the second batch on top. Even it out and freeze again.
7. Take out of freezer 45-60 minutes before serving. Cut while still slightly frozen for nice even slices. Once fully unfrozen, it will be very pudding-like.