Crust:

• A cup of rolled oats
• One cup of almonds
• 2 tbsp coconut sugar
• 1 heaped tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• large pinch of salt
• 4-5 tbsp coconut oil, melted

Filling:

• One cup cashews, soaked for 4-8 hours (or pour boiling water over them and let them sit for an hour or so)
• A tin of full-fat coconut milk, set in the fridge for at least 2 hours
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• The zest of half a lemon + the juice of 1 whole lemon
• zest and juice of 1 whole orange
• 1 vanilla pod, beans scraped out
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• pinch of salt

Roasted Cherries:

• Two cups cherries
• 3 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 empty vanilla bean pod

INSTRUCTIONS: 

1. Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees celcius
2. Add everything but the coco oil to a food processor and pulse until crumbly, stop before it gets too fine, a few slightly coarse almonds is the ideal. Mix in 3 tbsp oil and pulse again. press it together with your fingers, if it crumbles; add another tbsp of oil. you want it to sort of form a dough once pressed, it will still be very short and crumbly.
3. Press the crust mixture into an 8×8 inch tin lined with baking paper (crumble the paper in your hands, this makes it more malleable and easier to work with) Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, or until just starting to brown
4. Meanwhile, make the filling
5. Scoop out the solid top layer of the coconut milk and add to a blender. Add in everything else and blend until very smooth and creamy. It should be a bit acidic.
6. Pour over the baked crust and bake in the oven for 20 minutes, until the edges start to brown slightly.
7. Once the cake is out of the oven, let it rest for 10 minutes and then transfer to cool in the fridge for at least a couple of hours.
8. While the cake is cooling continue with the roasted cherries. Turn the oven down to 160 c.
9. De-pip the cherries and add to an oven-proof dish. toss with melted coconut oil and the empty vanilla pod. Roast in the oven for 40-60 minutes. If your cherries are a bit sour, add a tbsp of coconut sugar in the last 15 minutes, careful not to burn them.
10. Cut the cake into 9 pieces and top each with a tbsp of roasted cherries.
11. Enjoy!

Vegan cheesecake article written by fridaaholt

All photos are copyright of fridaaholt