Cultured Cashew Cheesecake | Cinnamon Pecan Crust

This cashew cheesecake is fermented with rejuvelac, sweetened with coconut nectar, filled within a cinnamon pecan crust, and topped with a sweet tart cranberry sauce.

Cultured cheesecake is a luxuriously rich and creamy special treat, loaded with probiotics and healthy omega fatty acids. If you are looking for a recipe that takes 30 minutes to make, this is not the cake for you. This cheesecake is a step above and beyond raw vegan cheesecake because it involves sprouting and fermenting. It takes a week to make.

That being said, the creaminess and richness along with the exquisite taste is out of this world. My craving for real cheesecake doesn’t exist anymore, I actually prefer the cashew cheese over real cheese!

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Nothing better than cultured cashew cheesecake with fresh berries and cherries from the farmers. 😍❤️Recipe @ amandanicolesmith.com #foodheaven #thankful #fermented #vegan #foodporn

A post shared by Amanda Nicole Smith (@amandanicolesmith) on Jun 26, 2016 at 3:46pm PDT

If you’re looking for a recipe that will win the hearts of your friends and family, even those who are not vegan or raw vegan, this is the recipe!

Although this cheesecake doesn’t take much physical time preparing, it does take a couple of days to ferment. You have to sprout and ferment the starter such as quinoa or wheat berries, to make rejuvelac a fermented liquid. Rejuvelac mixes in with the cashew cheese and creates air bubbles to fluff your cheese like you’ve never had before.

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😍Cultured cashew cheesecake is my favorite probiotic rich breakfast in the world!! Many people, including myself, rave about how it’s better than real cheesecake, straight up! And this is coming from non-vegans 😲 The recipe is on my website amandanicolesmith.com/cultured-cashew-cheesecake #veganfoodporn #rawvegan #cheesecake #food #foodporn #glutenfree #dairyfree #probiotics #fermentation #recipe

A post shared by Amanda Nicole Smith (@amandanicolesmith) on May 13, 2016 at 5:06am PDT

This special treat takes time and care, but when finished it is well worth the time and effort! Also with experience you will find that it is actually quite simple, and making similar recipes at the same time can be really convenient. Try this spiced shallot cultured cream cheese.

Cultured Cashew Cheesecake Schedule

Here I have provided a method on how to prepare your rejuvelac, cultured cashew cheese base, crust, and topping on a schedule.

For this schedule I have decided to use the quinoa rejuvelac rather than the wheat berries because quinoa tends to sprout quicker.

Day 1

Monday

I start on Monday so I can make the actual cheesecake Friday or Saturday.

1. Sprout Quinoa, or wheat berries. My favorite method is to cover with water in a bowl over night. In the morning, dump quinoa into a strainer, give a rinse, and put the strainer over the old soak bowl. Rinse once at night and once in the morning, until you see little tails.
2. Rinse Quinoa one last time after you see tails, and put in a clean mason jar. Fill with 2 cups water and cover with a towel.
3. Let grains sit and ferment for 2-3 days.

Day 3 or 4

Wednesday or Thursday

Which day depends on how fast your rejuvelac ferments. It is done when you see a significant amount of bubbles at the surface. The rejuvelac can also be stored up to two weeks in the refrigerator if necessary.

1. Make the cultured cashew cheese base recipe
2. Cover bowl and let cheese sit and ferment for 1-2 days.

Day 4 to 6

Friday, Saturday or Sunday

Which day depends on fast your cheese and rejuvelac fermented. It is done when the top has crusted and you see lots of air bubbles throughout the cheese.

1. Add the flavoring to your cheese.
2. Process your crust ingredients, and pat down in
3. Make the Cranberry Sauce Topping or another topping of your choice.

Food Processor vs. Blender

It is true that a recipe can turn out completely different based on the technique and tools used. In this case making the cultured cashew cream cheese base with a food processor is not recommended, it will result in a thick grainy cheese. If you’re going to put in all this effort to make this extra special cheesecake you don’t want a grainy cake.

A blender will make a nice smooth cream, especially a high powered blender such as a vitamix. I caution though to use the lowest setting available because if you mix too fast and furious, you may end up making nut butter cheese which is most dense and sticky, not fluffy and airy.

You want to grind the nuts by themselves until you make a nut flour. The flour will build up on the blender walls, If you have a vitamix or blendtec, you can just use the tamper tool while blending. With a standard blender, you’ll have to pause and scrape the blender walls.

For the crust, a food processor is definitely the way to go, a blender will not evenly chop the nuts into a fine graham cracker like consistency.

Print Recipe

Cultured Cashew Cheesecake and Cinnamon Pecan Crust

A fermented cashew cheese base, mixed with coconut nectar and vanilla, on top a walnut and date crust.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Servings: 8

INGREDIENTS

Cinnamon Pecan Crust

• 2 cups pecans
• 1/2 cup flax seed
• 6-8 dates
• 1 tbsp coconut nectar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt

Filling

• 4 cups cultured cashew cheese base
• 1 cup coconut nectar
• 1/2 cup coconut oil; extra virgin unrefined
• 1/2 vanilla bean; or 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt

INSTRUCTIONS

Cinnamon Pecan Crust

• Grind pecans into a flour in a food processor.
• De-pit dates and add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor.
• Process until the crust begins to stick to the walls of the food processor.
• Pour the crust into a 9 in. spring form pan.
• Use a clean spoon to smooth out the graham cracker crust and build the walls by starting from the center and working your way out and around. If it starts to stick to the spoon, clean the spoon and start again.

Filling

• Melt the coconut oil in the dehydrator or a double boiler.
• Mix all the ingredients together.
• Pour the filling into the crust.
• Put in freezer for 2 hours to firm up, refrigerate for the remaining time.

NOTES

When you make your cultured cashew cheese base, double the recipe but don't use all 1 cup of rejuvelac, to create a firmer cake.

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Rejuvelac

Rejuvelac is sprouted grains, such as wheat berries or quinoa, fermented in water. It is full of probiotics and living enzymes to aid digestion. Rejuvelac can be a refreshing drink or a stater for cultured cashew cheese.

Prep Time20 minutes mins

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup wheat berries = 1 cup sprouted wheat berries
• 4 cups purified water

INSTRUCTIONS

Sprouting

• Soak wheat berries in a bowl of purified water for 8 hours.
• Rinse and Drain the wheat in a strainer 2-3 times per day.
• Once you see little tails appear rinse and drain your wheat berries for the last time.

Fermenting

• Add sprouted wheat to a mason jar and add 4 cups of purified water.
• Cover with a paper towel or coffee filter to allow the ferment to breath without getting any dust or bugs in it.
• Let sit for 2-4 days or until you see bubbles at the top and hear fizzing.
• Refrigerate if not using right away. Can be stored up to 2 weeks but I advise using within 1 week.

NOTES

Use any kind of wheat, my favorite is rye followed but soft white wheat, I always switch it up.
I leave my wheat berries in the strainer or colander until they have sprouted so it is more convenient. Then you put the strainer over the bowl you used to soak the wheat.
Make sure everything you are using is really clean or sanitized as an extra precaution.
I don't recommend soaking wheat berries with tap water, rinsing and draining with tap water seems to be okay.
Distilled water does not work very well for fermenting, I advise not using it.
I only use purified water for the actual ferment. The chemicals in tap water can prohibit the lactobacilli from growing thus preventing the fermentation process.

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Cultured Cashew Cream Cheese Base

Fermented cashews made into a luxuriously smooth cashew cheese. This base can make many different recipes including vegan cheesecake and garlic and herb cheese spread for crackers.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Total Time1 day d 18 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Servings: 8

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups cashews
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 cup rejuvelac start with a little less than 1 cup and add more as necessary.

INSTRUCTIONS

• Soak cashews for at least an hour and no longer than 3 hours.
• Rinse and drain cashews.
• Grind cashews and nutritional yeast in blender or food processor.
• Add a little bit of rejuvelac at a time into the blender of food processor until the cashews are creamy.
• Process until smooth.
• Put cheese into a glass bowl, smooth out the top and cover with a towel.
• Let sit out for 2-3 days or until the top hardnens and you see a lot of little air bubbles underneath the cheese "crust".

NOTES

Using a blender will result in a creamier texture than a food processor.

Print Recipe

Raw Vegan Cranberry Sauce

A simple fresh cranberry sauce.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Servings: 8

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups fresh cranberries + 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup soft medjool dates + 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp clove
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp salt

INSTRUCTIONS

Food Processor - Chutney

• Process cranberries and 1/2 cup water.
• Process dates and 1/2 cup water separately.
• Combine the “date paste” with the cranberry mixture and add your spices.

Blender - Classic

• Process all ingredients together.

NOTES

If your dates are not soft, soak them for an hour in purified water, discard the water when done.
Using the food processor method results in a cranberry chutney. Using the blender method results in more of a cranberry jelly that resembles classic cranberry sauce.
The cranberries can be soaked and or dehydrated to soften cranberries like a grape for a smoother consistency.

I hold this recipe very near and dear to my heart.  It has taken me 4 years and numerous cakes later to come up with the perfect cultured cashew cheesecake recipe. I truly hope you enjoy!

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