Vegan orange cake

I have baked many things since I began this blog, but a lot of the recipes have been with hard-to-get fruits or unusual combinations. I have not made many of the standard bakes, like a sponge cake, with normal flavours like orange and lemon. So I decided it's about time I do so, starting with this delicious and oh-so-simple orange cake. Give it a go :D

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 cup sugar (I reduced this to 3/4)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup orange juice
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
zest of a large orange
Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and line a 8 inch cake tin with grease proof paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
3. In another bowl, whisk the juice, oil, vinegar, vanilla and orange zest until bubbly. Pour into the dry ingredients and fold until just combined. 
4. Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the cake tin and cooling completely in a wire rack. Very orange-y, yum!

Original recipe: Vegan orange cake

Vegan mango cake or cupcakes

Mango mania! I discovered the recipe for this cake a while ago but somehow never got round to baking it. This week I asked my mum to buy a couple of tins of mango puree and oh my god the cake was simply divine! Why oh why did I wait so long to bake it? It was devoured within a couple of day so of course I had to make more, but the second time round I made cupcakes instead. They of course turned out just as yummy, as I'm sure the other students on my will attest to. I took some cupcakes with me to celebrate the last day of our last attachment ever earlier this week :D

Makes 1 cake (8-12 slices) or 12 cupcakes
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cardamom powder
1 1/2 cups mango puree (you can use fresh mangoes, it takes 4-5, or use tinned mango puree like I did)
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup sugar (double if using fresh mangoes - the tinned mango is sweetened)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and line a 8 inch cake tin with grease proof paper. If you want to make cupcakes instead, line a muffin tin with cupcake cups.
2. In a bowl sift the flour, salt and baking powder. Add the cardamom and mix until blended.
3. In another large bowl, whisk together the mango, oil, sugar and vanilla. Slowly add the flour a little at a time and stir until just combined.
4. To make a cake pour the batter into the cake tin and smooth the top. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the tin. To make cupcakes divide the batter into the 12 cupcake cups and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm or cold, yummy either way!

Original recipe: Eggless mango cake

Vegan sweet potato spice cake

Happy Valentine's day! Here's the second last recipe of the week - a yummy sweet treat for this special day. Enjoy!

Serves 16
1/2 cup raisins
3 cups plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp mixed spice
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup soya milk
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 cups finely grated sweet potato (1 medium or 2 small sweet potatoes)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or nuts of your choice)
Tofu frosting
Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Grease a 10-inch cake tin with soya margarine.
2. place the raisins in a small bowl and cover with boiling water for 10 minutes, then drain and set aside.
3. In a bowl combine the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and mixed spice. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the milk and lemon juice.
4. Stir the flour mixture into the oil mixture until a thick batter forms. Fold in the sweet potato, nuts and raisins. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the tin to cool completely.

Original recipe: Sweet potato spice cake

Week 22 Dish 1: Vegan banana oat cake

These days we seem to have many bananas that become overripe. I think it's because we have so many other fruits and snacks in the house that they have just been forgotten. But I can't let them go to waste so I've been making muffins or bread to use them up (which probably hasn't helped us eat the remaining bananas...vicious cycle). This time I decided to try and find a new recipe. It was difficult because I've already made banana bars, muffins/ bread and 2 types of cookies (here and here). So I thought I would go for cake or scones, and I happened to find a yummy cake recipe first so I went for that!

This cake is a bit dense because its made with oats and oat flour, and has banana pieces in it rather than just mashed banana, but boy is it delicious!

I topped my slice with left over vegan tofu frosting - tasted yummy! If you want to cover the top of the cake with it you will probably only need about a third of what I made for that recipe.
Serves 8-10
Ingredients
2 cups oats, processed into flour
1/2 cup oats (not processed)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp oil (coconut or other)
2 medium very ripe bananas, mashed
1/23 cup applesauce
1/4 cup soya milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 ripe banana cut into chunks
Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and line an 8 inch cake tin with grease proof paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix the oat flour, oats, sugar, spices, baking powder and salt.
3. In another bowl, combine the mashed banana, oil, applesauce, soya milk and vanilla until smooth. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and incorporate until just combined. Finally, fold in the banana chunks and chopped walnuts.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for at least 15-20 minutes before removing from the tin and allowing to cool completely.

Original recipe: Rustic chocolate chip banana oat cake

Week 21 Dish 2: Vegan spiced pumpkin cake with vegan tofu frosting

It was a good friend's birthday last week and I wanted to surprise her with cake at her birthday dinner. I thought about making banana cake initially (good thing I didn't choose this as another friend made an amazing banoffee cake) but then I found some pumpkin puree in the freezer which I completely forgot about. So I decided to go for a spiced pumpkin cake, and it was a big hit! It's the spice that makes it really irresistible in my opinion. The birthday girl loved it (yay) and everyone at the dinner gobbled it up! There is definitely no complement like a clean plate :D

Serves 12 (though we managed to get 18 respectably-sized slices!)
Ingredients
For the cake
2 1/4 cups sifted plain flour
1/2 cup + 2-4 tbsp sugar (depending on how sweet you want it)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup pumpkin puree (you can replace this with any type of squash puree, or sweet potato puree - though bear in mind that sweet potato is sweeter than pumpkin so you can reduce the amount of sugar)
1 cup soya milk
1/4 cup honey/ maple syrup/ agave nectar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Optional: 1/2 cup raisins and 1/2 cup walnut pieces
For the tofu frosting
350 g extra firm tofu
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp soya milk if needed
Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degress C and line two 8-inch cake tins with grease proof paper - I don't have two round tins so I used rectangular ones and it worked just as well. 
2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and mixed spice.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, milk, honey, vanilla, oil and lemon juice. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients (add in the raisins and walnuts now if you want) and stir gently until just combined. 
4. Pour half the batter into each tin and bake for 24-27 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely in pans before removing.
5. In the mean time make the frosting. Add all the ingredients to the blender and blend until smooth. It's easier if you mash the tofu up before. Add soya milk to help blend but only if necessary and as less as possible. Put in a container and in the fridge to set a bit while the cakes cool. 
6. Once the cakes have cooled completely, place the first cake upside down on the serving plate, remove the grease proof paper and cover the base with a layer of frosting. This isn't a very thick frosting so don't make it too thick or it will ooze out the sides. Remove the grease proof paper from the second cake and gently place the right way up onto the frosting layer. Cover the top with the remaining frosting (I had some left over). Keep in the fridge until ready to serve!

Original recipe: Vegan pumpkin cake

Week 20 Dish 1: Vegan yule log

Happy New Year everyone (for tomorrow)!! It's New Year's eve, and I'm sure everyone is getting ready to go out and party!! Or, as I'm doing, have a house party. Frankly in this weather, I feel that a house party is the way to go. It should be a brilliant night - with good friends, good food, and lots of alcohol!

Of course as is the norm these days at my house, when I have people over I plan a yummy dessert. Today is no exception as I have made a completely vegan yule log!! I may be a bit late for Christmas, but it's the perfect way to end the year before everyone begins their new year healthy eating resolutions :D Let's see how fast it gets eaten :p.....

Ingredients
For the cake
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 cup caster sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup soya milk
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp cider vinegar
Icing sugar for dusting
For the filling
225g extra firm tofu, patted dry
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup non-dairy dark chocolate chips
2-3 TBSP warm soya milk
For the ganache topping
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup soya margarine, softened
1/4 cup soya milk
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and line a baking tray (with raised edges) with grease proof paper.
2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and bicarbonate of soda into a large mixing bowl.
3. In another bowl combine the oil, milk, orange juice and vanilla extract. Add to the dry ingredients and combine.
4. Stir in the vinegar, pour into the tray and put into the oven as fast as possible. Bake for 25 minutes.
5. Place a piece of grease proof paper bigger than the tray on the work surface and dust generously with icing sugar. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, carefully invert onto the prepared paper and remove the bottom lining paper.
6. Roll up the cake with the paper inside (all while still hot) and then allow to cool completely. Don't worry about any cracks.
7. For the filling, melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pot with simmering water.
8. Add the tofu and vanilla extract to a food processor and puree till smooth. Add as little warm milk as necessary to help the food processor if it's having trouble. Pour in the melted chocolate and blend until well combined. Put into a container and cool in the fridge but don't let it solidify!
9. Next, prepare the topping. In a large bowl, use an electric beater to cream the sugar and margarine until thick but well combined. Add the milk, cocoa powder and vanilla and continue to mix until smooth.
10. Once the cake has cooled completely, unroll carefully. Cover with the filling and then roll up once more, this time without the paper. Place onto the serving plate.
11. Finally, cover with the chocolate topping and use a fork/ toothpick/ chopstick to create the bark-like pattern. Decorate with powdered sugar and anything else you feel like using. YUM!!!

Original recipe: Yule log cake, chocolate ganache topping, tofu chocolate frosting filling (I used different bits from different recipes because those are the ones I found easiest)

Week 15 Dish 1: Vegan carrot cake with cashew cream cheese frosting

Ahhh this week has been a bit boring... I'm on my ENT placement and it's really not an area I'm interested in. I've spent the week looking up noses, in ears and down throats - lovely. Thankfully it's only a week long so it's over. But of course, it hasn't put me off my baking!

This week my netball team had a team dinner, and though I couldn't make it (very sad) I contributed with vegan carrot cake! You really can't go wrong with carrot cake, everyone finds it yummy, so I though it would be perfect. I've been told that everyone loved it, and hopefully they weren't lying, so it's definitely one to try out! Other than the faff of grating the carrots, it's easy peasy...

Ingredients

For the cake

3 1/2 cups out flour (made by grinding oats in a food processor)

3 tbsp ground linseed

1 tsp heaped cinnamon

1 1/2 tbsp baking powder (though the cake doesn't really rise much)

2 1/2 cups soya milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp orange juice

1/2 tsp orange zest

1/4 cup melted vegan margarine

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup raisins

2 1/2 cups chopped grated carrots (use a food processor to further chop the grated carrots)

For the frosting

2 cups cashews, soaked 4 hours (use chopped cashews in warm water to make this faster)

3 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp liquid coconut oil

1/3-2/3 cup maple syrup/ honey/ golden syrup

Water as needed (use as little as possible)

Decorations as preferred - I used finely chopped walnuts and orange zest

Method 

1. Preheat over to 180 degrees C and line a 13x9 inch cake tray with grease proof paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix the oat flour, linseed, cinnamon and baking powder.
3. Fold I'm the soya milk, vanilla extract, orange juice and orange zest.
4. Melt the margarine and add the sugar to it. Melt it further if necessary to make a thick paste and add this to the bowl and combine.
5. Finally, fold in the carrots, nuts and raisins and pour the thick batter into the preparers cake tray. Bake for 40 minutes. Allow to cool completely.
6. While the cake is baking, prepare the frosting. Blend all the ingredients in a blender until completely smooth, adding as little water as possible. You will have to keep stopping to give the ingredients a stir to encourage the blender.
7. Once the cake is completely cool, you can frost it using a palette knife and decorate as you like! 

Originals recipes: Vegan carrot cake, cashew cream cheese frosting

Week 12 Dish 2: Vegan banana walnut muffins

As I mentioned before, I started experimenting with vegan dishes because my dad recently decided to become vegan. He actually make this choice early this year, but I was so busy with 5th year and looming exams (nightmare!) I never really baked anything vegan until July after my exams were finally over. What really inspired me to begin were 3 extremely overripe bananas; usually used to make banana bread but the recipe was not vegan. So I thought, it can't be that hard to find a vegan recipe can it? And it wasn't hard at all! I found so many, chose the simplest one with ingredients that most people would have, and voila! Vegan banana bread! Soon this became a standard treat I would bake if the bananas became too mushy (and thanks to the gorgeous summer we've had, this has been pretty common). I've since experimented with bars and cookies, but nothing beats a moist muffin! So here is the recipe, which can be made as a bread, muffins or cake.

Makes 12 muffins/ one bread loaf/ one 8 inch cake
Ingredients
225 g plain flour
3 heaped tsp baking powder
100 g brown sugar (I've been reducing this to 75 g)
3 tsp ground cinnamon or mixed spice or a combination of the two (I've been using 5 tsp and would recommend it to anyone who loves cinnamon)
3 large mushy bananas, mashed
75 g vegetable or sunflower oil (weight)
50 g walnuts (or other nuts or dried fruits)
Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and get the muffin cases ready.
2. Add the mashed bananas, sugar and oil to a large mixing bowl and mix well.
3. Add the sieved flour, baking powder and cinnamon/ mixed spice and mix until combined.
4. Stir in the nuts/ dried fruit and spoon into the muffin cases.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean.
6. To make as a bread, bake in a greased and lined loaf tin at 180°C for 20 minutes, then check. If the loaf is browning, cover with foil and bake for another 40 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean. Remove from the tin after cooling for 10-15 minutes. Allow to cool completely before slicing.
7. To make as a cake, bake in a greased 8 inch cake tin at 180°C for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick come out clean. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before removing from the to and cooling completely on a wire rack.

Original recipe: Vegan banana bread
Like I said, a very simple recipe with scrumptious results! Because vegan muffins are usually made with oil, they are often more moist and soft than their non-vegan counterparts - try them and see for yourself!!

Week 12 Dish 1: Vegan red velvet cake with cashew cream cheese frosting

It was my sister's birthday yesterday!! Happy belated birthday Sis!! Unfortunately I'm away in Somerset at the moment, but I did go home last weekend so we celebrated her birthday on Sunday. I baked a cake (of course) and we went out for a yummy meal (cake first, then the meal - this is the way it should always be :p). The cake I baked for her was a vegan red velvet. The original recipe was for a two-tier cake but I knew that it would be too much for my family to finish especially with all the Diwali sweets I made, so I only made half the recipe, and as you can see below I made it in a skull cake tin - so cool!! I also left out the food colouring because I didn't have the right type, and didn't put on any frosting because it would just be too sweet for us. But the recipe below is for a two-tier cake with frosting. Enjoy!!

Ingredients
For the cake
440 g plain flour
300 g sugar
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
4 tsp cocoa powder
470 ml soya milk
155 ml vegetable oil
3 tbsp red food colouring - this should be a non-natural type for the colour to stay red. Apparently beetroot juice works too but I haven't tried it!
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract
For the cashew frosting
2 cups cashews, soaked for 4 hours
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp liquid coconut oil
1/3-2/3 cup maple syrup/ honey/ golden syrup
Water as needed
Decorations as preferred e.g. nuts, raisins, chocolate etc
Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees C. Line two 8 inch cake tins with grease proof paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, bicarbonate of soda, salt and cocoa powder. Create a well in the centre and add the milk, oil, food colouring, vinegar and vanilla. Mix until combined.
3. Divide the cake batter evenly between the two cake tins and place in the oven spaced evenly apart. Bake for 35-45 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean and the cakes pull away from the sides of the pan.
4. Let the cakes cool for 10 minutes in the pans, then remove and let cool completely on a wire rack.
5. While the cakes are baking and cooling, make the frosting. Blend all the ingredients in a blender until smooth. Add as little water as possible. Set aside.
6. Once the cakes are cool, you can frost them. Place one cake upside down (slice off the rounded bit of the cake if it doesn't stand straight). Using a palette knife, spread some of the frosting, about 1/4-1/3, over the top of the cake. Carefully set the other cake on top, again upside down and with some of the rounded bit sliced off to help it sit straight if necessary. Cover the cake with the remaining frosting and decorate however you like!!

Original recipes: Red velvet cake, cashew cream cheese frosting

Week 10 Dish 2: Vegan baked pumpkin cheesecake

I'm continuing with the pumpkin theme with a baked pumpkin cheesecake (my huge pumpkin yielded 15 or more cups of pumpkin pure)! This is my first baked vegan cheesecake, made with tofu. Sounds a bit weird right, tofu in cheesecake? That can't be nice...can it? Wrong wrong! It's pretty amazing how yummy it is! If you really think about it, tofu hasn't really got much taste, so it's perfect to make the cake nice and firm, and easily flavoured. So don't knock it till you've tried it...I'm taking it to my friend's for dinner so I hope everyone loves it, fingers crossed (I'm not really worried :p).

Ingredients
For the crust
1 1/4 cups finely ground digestive biscuits (I used Asda's own brand, which seem to be vegan from the ingredient list)
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp metled coconut oil
1 tbsp soya milk
For the filling
1/2 cup whole cashews soaked in water for ~4-5 hours (overnight would be good too but if you've forgotten, roughly chop them and then soak for 2-3 hours to make it easier)
1/4 cup mashed banana (about half a banana)
340-400g pack firm silken tofu, drained
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp melted coconut oil
3 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp grated orange zest
1/4 tsp salt
1 2/3 cups pumpkin puree
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
For the topping
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp vegan margarine
1 cup pecans. roughly chopped
Method
The crust

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and grease a 9 inch springform cake tin with vegan margarine.
2. In a bowl mix together the ground biscuits and sugar, then add the coconut oil. Combine with a spoon then add the soya milk and continue to stir until completely mix (should be crumbly but sticky).
3. Pour crumbs into the tin and press firmly into the bottom to form an even base. Bake for 10 minutes until firm and allow to cool. Keep oven at same temperature for the cheesecake.

The Filling

1. Drain the cashews and place in a blender with the banana, tofu, sugar, coconut oil, cornflour, lemon juice, vanilla, orange zest, and salt. Blend until completely smooth.
2. Set aside 1/2 cup of batter. Add pumpkin puree, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg to the remaining batter and blend again until smooth. Poor into the cake tin on top of the crust. 
3. Spoon dollops of the reserved batter randomly onto the cheesecake, then poke the end of a chopstick into the dollops and gently swirl to create a marble pattern.
4. Bake the cheesecake for 45-50 minutes. Remove from the oven halfway and sprinkle on the topping (instructions below) before returning to the oven to continue baking. It is done when the top is lightly puffed and the edges of the cake are golden. Allow to cool for 20 minutes, removing the sides of the tin as soon as you can. Transfer to the fridge to complete cooling for at least 3 hours (overnight is better). Slice with a thin sharp knife dipped in cold water to serve! Doesn't it look amazing?? Tastes even better...

The topping

1. In a bowl mix together the margarine and sugar until well combined, then add the chopped nuts and stir to coat with the mixture. This is now ready to use.

Original recipe: Pumpkin cheesecake with pecan crunch topping

I have to say, all the pumpkin recipes (including the bread) are from Post Punk Kitchen - all their recipes just look so amazing! Definitely check out their site if you get the chance!

Week 8 Dish 1: Vegan plum cake

I love fruits - which I'm sure you've all noticed with all my fruity bakes. But I really do love fruits, so I've been working my way through as many as I can. This week I've baked with a new fruit - plums! I bought them from Aldi - it was one of their Super 6 last week. I actually bakes this on Tuesday after Bake Off but I've been so busy that I just haven't had a chance to post it up - sorry for making you all wait. I also managed to find cheap strawberries again from another fruit shop but decided that I want to eat them this time rather than make a baked good. So here is the recipe for the very simple, not too sweet plum cake!

Ingredients
1 tsp dry yeast
1 tbsp warm water
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 cups wholemeal flour
3/4 cup sugar (this amount just gives a slight sweetness, double if you want a sweet cake)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon (this gives a very strong flavour so reduce to 1 tsp if you prefer)
1 1/4 cups soya milk
5 tbsp melted coconut oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
8 plums, sliced or quartered
1 tsp grated orange zest
Method

1. Dissolve yeast in the tablespoon of warm water and set aside. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and grease and flour a 9-inch cake dish.
2. In a large bowel, mix the flours, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
3. Stir in the milk, coconut oil, vanilla extract, yeast mix and orange zest and fold in until combined. The batter should be fairly stiff.
4. Spoon into the cake dish and arrange plums atop batter, pushing them in slightly.
5. Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown on top, or until tester comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before removing and cooling on a wire rack. Serve while still warm or when cool.

Original recipe: Vegan plum cake

I'm making my next dish tomorrow morning, and let me tell you it's going to be amazing!! It's a treat for my friends who are doing their joint birthday celebration tomorrow, can't wait to see what they think of it!!! :D

Vegan, gluten free cashew cheesecake (no-bake!)

I have been meaning to try this recipe for a while. I absolutely love cheesecake and it's always my dessert of choice when I'm out for a meal. So I was a bit apprehensive about how this would turn out, and boy was I shocked at how good it tastes!! Simply delicious! And my whole family loved it too! I am definitely going to experiment with flavours in the future, so watch this space. In the meantime, I urge you to try this recipe, it's really worth it. Just bear in mind it does need at least 4 hours of cashew nut soaking beforehand and about 2 hours after for it to set.

Ingredients
For the crust
1/2 cup walnuts (or pecan, or almond, or other nut of preference) - no soaking required
1/2 cup soft pitted dated, soaked for 5 minutes
1/4 cup desiccated coconut
pinch of salt
For the filling
2 1/4 cups raw cashews (soaked for at least 4 hours or overnight, then drained)
1/2 cup agave nectar or honey
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted (this is what helps hold it together so don't substitute it for anything else)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Prepare the crust first. In a food processor, chop the dates, nuts, desiccated coconut and salt. Process until it holds together when you press it between 2 of your fingers. I didn't soak the dates beforehand so I needed to add a little bit of water. Set aside.
2. Add the cashews, agave nectar/ honey, coconut oil, lemon juice and vanilla into a blender and blend well. Make sure it's completely smooth - blend more to be on the safe side.
3. Press the crust into the bottom of an 8 inch spring form cake tin. Pour the filling on top and freeze for at least 2 hours. To serve, let it thaw for about 30 minutes and cut into slices - I did 12 because it is quite heavy and filling, but do 8 if you prefer bigger ones :)

Original recipe: Raw cashew cheesecake
Store any leftovers in the fridge if it's not eaten straight away.