Valentine's Day is a week from today. Who celebrates!? I know a lot of people who do celebrate. But at the same time I know a lot of people who don't. Either way, it's okay! Make this cheesecake to celebrate regardless. You can have a cashew cake party with your boyfriend/girlfriend, parents, siblings, friends, or even alone in your room watching Netflix. All of those ways sound great to me because lets be honest; once you take a bite of this dense, creamy cake your taste buds will sing songs of praise for the remaining hours of the day. This cashew cake is mainly made of cashews (obviously) which makes it smooth and creamy, but still dense and fluffy. Basically a cheesecake, without the cheese! Almost reminding me of a whipped frosting. Mmm! The rich color of the cake comes from beets. No artificial dyes or weird ingredients here. Three cheers for natural food coloring!
Let's take a moment to appreciate the crust of this cake though. It seems like crusts never get enough credit, ya know? We're about the change that right here and right now. No more worries about crusts being ignored or left out. Especially the crust that I'm about to share with you. It'll rock your socks off.
When I was younger I used to love eating pie crust fresh out of the oven. I wasn't interested in what was inside the pie. (Unpopular opinion?!) Just gimme that crust. The crust of this cake is also good enough to eat alone. I kept eating it before I got the cake mixture into the blender. What makes it better is that it's only 2 ingredients! It reminds me of a sugar cookie combined with a soft caramel. Come on now, who could resist that?! Throw it all together and you achieve the ultimate Valentine's Day (or any day) dessert. Simple. Tasty. Happiness.
Beet Cashew Cake
serves 8
Crust:
1 cup dates
1/2 cup almonds
Blend together ingredients and spread evenly into an 6-7" round pan.
Cashew Cake:
2 cups cashews, soaked for 2 hours
1 beet, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup agave or maple syrup
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons water
Blend together ingredients until a smooth consistency is reached. Pour into pan, over crust. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Sprinkle hemp seeds or any other toppings if desired before serving.
Serve, enjoy!
