Chocolate Peppermint Mousse

sugar-free, soy-free, gluten-free

Look good? It is!

Get the recipe here at The Sweetest Vegan who graciously let me be a guest blogger on her fantastic website.

Raw Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake

That's right friends. And it's as good as it looks.

So far the biggest benefit of my soy/gluten freedom month has been the forcing of creativity and innovation. I have to admit, I used to have a sort of prejudice against raw desserts disbelieving in their potential goodness. Oh was I wrong. This is one of my favorite desserts I have ever made. Ever. The chocolate hazelnut cheesecake is so rich and creamy and pure. But wait there's more, it's also healthy!

Raw Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake

gluten-free, soy-free, sugar-free, raw, vegan

Crust

1 cup hazelnut meal

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp raw cocoa powder

3 Tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla

1 pinch sea salt

The best pan to use for this recipe would be a Flexi-pan or other type of silicone mold. Otherwise a spring form pan works great. If you're very brave and don't have a Flexi-pan but want individual cheesecakes, use a muffin pan, lightly oiled. It will take a little tlc to get the cheesecakes out, but you can do it! This recipe would fill a 9" spring form pan or about 12 individual molds.

Blend all ingredients together in a food processor until it starts to come together. Press the crust into the bottom of desired pan, about 1/4 inch thick.

Set aside while you making the filling.

 The Filling

2 cups raw cashews, soaked overnight and rinsed

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp hazelnut butter (peanut butter works too)

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup water

1/2 tsp salt

In a food processor or mixer blend together cashews, maple syrup, water, and salt. Mix until totally smooth, scraping down the sides of the processor as necessary. Add cocoa powder, hazelnut butter and coconut oil to cashew mixture and blend all together, scraping down again, until mixture is uniformly combine.

Spoon or pipe filling on top of crusts. Stick cheesecake in the freezer until solid all the way through (at least 2 hours for individual cheesecakes, 4 for large cheesecake).

Once frozen remove cheesecake from pan. If using silicone mold, they will easily pop out. If you have a muffin tin, run a sharp, hot knife around the edges of each cheesecake, flip tin upside down and give it a few good whacks again the counter. They could start to slowly side out at this point. Be patient, gravity is on your side. If a few minutes have past and the cheesecakes are still refusing to drop, use a lighter to heat the bottom of the tin briefly; the heat will help release the cake.

Place cakes in the refrigerator and make the chocolate sauce.

 Chocolate Sauce

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup cocoa powder

Mix ingredients together with fork. Scoop a little onto cold cheesecake. Place back in fridge and let sauce harden.

Top with hazelnuts. Serve cold

Pepperjack Cashew Cheese

Oh my my, I love cashew cheese. There are a lot of store-bought, processed vegan cheeses out there, and some of them are quite good but few are meant to be eaten without melting first. This Pepperjack recipes is inspired from The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions, which I talked about here.
This recipe makes a lot of cheese and could easily be cut in half.

Spicy Pepperjack Cashew Cheese

Soy-free, Gluten-free, Vegan

1 Tbsp agar powder

3 cups water

2 cups raw cashews, soaked

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Prepare a loaf pan (9x5 or so) by lightly oiling the bottom and sides.

Blend the cashews in (ideally a Vita-mix) mixer or food processor until totally smooth. Add the lemon juice, nutritional yeast, salt, onion and garlic powders, and red pepper flakes and mix together until smooth.

Meanwhile measure 1 Tbsp of agar and mix with 3 cups of water. Bring to a full boil and then boil for five minutes, whisking often.

Pour the cashew mixture into agar/water pot and stir together until well combined and smooth. The cheese should come together at this point and clear the sides of the pot.

Immediately fill your prepared loaf pan with the cheese and smooth over the top.

Refrigerate until hard. When ready gently pull cheese away from the sides and flip it out. Cut with a serrated knife. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator for up to one week. For longer storage tightly wrap the cheese in plastic wrap several times and store in freezer.
Enjoy with crackers or fruit.