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Raw Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake
In our house, this raw vegan chocolate cheesecake is affectionately called “triple chocolate insanity”.
Not surprisingly, because it is insanely chocolatey – a chocolate crust, with a chocolate cheesecake filling and topped with grated raw vegan chocolate.
There’s so many things to love about this cheesecake, that I can’t decide where to begin.
Let me see, it’s:
- insanely delicious
- quick and easy to make
- raw and vegan
- completely nut free, gluten free and dairy free
- packed with the goodness of chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate
However, my raw vegan chocolate cheesecake is not low fat, by a long shot.
Packed with the goodness of cacao butter and cacao powder, one serve of this heavenly concoction delivers a generous dose of healthy fats.
So if you’re after a low fat recipe, run away screaming now.
If, on the other hand, you’re after the most divine chocolate fix in the world, then you’re definitely in the right place.
It all starts with a simple, nut-free raw chocolate-coconut crust.
It takes barely five minutes to whip this mixture up in the food processor, and you’ve got yourself one awesome nut-free cheesecake crust.
Then you just chuck the filling ingredients in the blender, and in another five minutes, you’ve got yourself the perfect nut-free chocolate cheesecake filling.
The longest part is waiting for the filling to set, so you can finish off your masterpiece with some grated raw vegan chocolate.
But, boy, is it worth the wait.
This raw vegan chocolate cheesecake is melt-in-the-mouth, lick-the-plate, go-back-for-more good.
I promise.
So who are you going to impress with this chocolate bliss bomb first?
Raw Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake recipe
Make sure to read the tips below the recipe to get the most out of this insanely delicious raw vegan chocolate cheesecake recipe.
Raw Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake
This raw vegan chocolate cheesecake is nut-free, super quick to make, insanely delicious and packed with chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate.
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Makes: 16 slices
Calories per serve: 294kcal
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 1/4 cups shredded coconut , fine, unsweetened (180g)
- 3 tbsp cacao powder (60ml) *
- 1 tsp vanilla bean powder
- 1 1/2 cups medjool dates , pitted (360g)
- pinch salt
Filling
- 1 cup cacao butter , grated (168g)
- 1/2 cup cacao powder (50g)
- 1/4 cup agave nectar (80g)
- 400 ml coconut milk
- 1/4 tsp vanilla bean powder
- 1/64 tsp salt , finely ground
Topping
- 2 squares raw vegan chocolate (your favourite flavour)
Method
Crust
- Put shredded coconut, cacao powder, vanilla and salt into a food processor and pulse briefly to mix.
- Add the pitted dates and process until the dates are finely chopped and the mixture starts to clump.
- Press into a 20cm (8 inch) flan, cheesecake or springform tin and leave in the fridge to firm a little while you prepare the filling.
Filling
- Put all ingredients into a high-speed blender in the order listed.
- Blend on low until combined, then blend on high until it reaches 42°C.
- Pour filling into the crust and leave uncovered in the fridge to set for 4 hours or overnight.
Topping
- Grate a couple of squares of your favourite raw vegan chocolate over the top of the cheesecake.
- Slice and serve.
- Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to three months.
Preparation
- Before: -
- After: 4 hours or overnight
- Need: Food processor, blender
Notes
* Australian tablespoon = 20mlNutrition Information
Serving: 1slice; Calories: 294kcal; Carbohydrates: 23.7g; Protein: 2.6g; Fat: 23.7g; Saturated Fat: 17.8g; Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g; Monounsaturated Fat: 4.2g; Sodium: 11.6mg; Potassium: 347mg; Fiber: 5.1g; Sugar: 16.1g; Vitamin A: 50IU; Vitamin C: 0.8mg; Calcium: 50mg; Iron: 2.2mg
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And to help you make the most of this delicious recipe, I've also thrown in all of the super-handy tips, FAQs and suggestions for variations.
Tips for making vegan chocolate cheesecake
- Any unsweetened, desiccated, fine, shredded coconut will work for this recipe.
- If you don’t have any raw cacao powder on hand, you can substitute cocoa powder. Just make sure it is unsweetened cocoa powder, or it will taste way too sweet.
- Vanilla bean powder is just fresh vanilla beans air-dried and ground into a powder using a spice blender or coffee grinder. You can make your own or you can buy it from your local health food shop. If you can’t get your hands on any of this, you can just scrape out a fresh vanilla bean or two into the mix, or add 1-2 tsp of vanilla extract.
- Medjool dates are big, sweet, soft and sticky dates that you usually find in the fresh produce section, or at your local health food store. They’re softer than regular dates, and have more of a caramelly taste and add a rich sweetness to recipes. If you’re using regular dates, you’ll need to soak them in water for a couple of hours first. Drain them, but keep the soak water to use in the recipe, for an extra date-y taste.
- The crust appears a little crumbly, but holds together once you squash it into your springform tin. If you like, you could probably add a couple of teaspoons of finely ground flax meal to help with the binding, but you don’t really need to.
- Make sure that your cacao butter is finely grated (or in kibbles) before you add it to the blender. If it is in large chunks, it won’t break down and incorporate properly before the mixture heats up to 42°C. Using melted cacao butter is not as ideal as grated, as the increase in starting temperature gives you less time to blend the filling before it overheats.
- If you don’t want to use cacao butter at all, you could try using shea butter, or even a mix of shea butter and coconut oil. If you use all coconut oil, the filling will not set firmly enough.
- You can substitute the agave nectar for your favourite liquid sweetener, such as maple syrup (not raw), coconut nectar, yacon syrup, raw honey (not vegan) or something else. I haven’t tried making it with any of these, and I’m guessing that they will change the flavour slightly, but the filling should still set just fine.
- You can use tinned coconut milk (which is what I use) or make your own from shredded coconut and water. You may find the that the fat content of the coconut milk affects the final texture and firmness of the cheesecake filling, so try a few different brands to see which one you like best. So far, we’ve found that it seems to work well with a lower fat content coconut milk, such as Spiral Organics light coconut milk (the same one I use for my vegan coconut vanilla ice-cream), which has around 6% fat, but it also works fine with an 18% fat coconut milk. But if your coconut milk is too watery, you may find that your filling does not set properly.
- I use pink Himalayan crystal salt in my dishes because it contains lots of trace minerals that are good for you, and apparently it tastes better too. We make sure ours is finely ground (we use a mortar and pestle) to avoid any nasty salty pockets in the finished dish from undissolved salt grains.
- The idea is to blend the filling for as long as possible without overheating it, as this adds volume and lightness to the filling when it sets.
- If you’re not sure how to check the temperature of your mix as it blends, there’s a few options. You can feel the outside of the jug, and stop once it starts to feel warm. You can also stop blending as soon as the mix starts to steam just a little. Both of these methods are very rough and can’t guarantee that the mix won’t overheat. If you want better accuracy, you can use a kitchen thermometer, and for speed and convenience, I highly recommend getting yourself an infrared thermometer. Mine has become one of my favourite kitchen gadgets and we use it ALL the time.
- Once you’ve poured the filling into the crust, be sure to leave it uncovered for at least a couple of hours to cool down. Otherwise, it will sweat, and you’ll get nasty condensation forming and spoiling the surface of your masterpiece. Once it’s set, you can safely cover it or put it into an air-tight container to stop it from drying out.
- This raw vegan chocolate cheesecake is completely nut-free, making it perfect for social occasions where people might have allergies to nuts.
- One slice of this cheesecake does go a long way, so you may find that you need (or want) to cut them even more finely – partly to ensure that people don’t get overwhelmed, but it also helps the cake to go further.
- This cheesecake can be covered and frozen, for up to 3 months. It doesn’t cut very well straight from the freezer, so I recommend leaving it to thaw in the fridge for several hours before trying to divvy it up.
Raw chocolate cheesecake variations
- Different toppings: I used a homemade raw vegan chocolate orange chocolate for grating, but you really can use anything you like – plain, mint, orange – the possibilities are endless and give you lots of ways to dress up your cheesecake. You don’t even have to use grated chocolate, either. You could try shredded coconut, crumbled dried oranges, a mint cashew “icing” or whatever you normally love pairing with chocolate.
- Different crusts: If you want to add a bit of crunch to your crust, try adding some walnuts, pecans or activated buckwheat to the mix before you process it. Of course the walnuts and pecans would mean that this dessert is no longer nut-free.
- Mini Chocolate Cheesecakes: Add a layer of crust to a small bowl or ramekin and pour a layer of filling on to top make mini cheesecakes.
- Nut-Free Chocolate Parfait: Make some cashew cream (or your favourite raw vegan cream), and layer it with the chocolate mix and fresh fruit to make a parfait.
- Nut-free Chocolate Mousse: You can skip the crust altogether, and just make the filling, and pour it into bowls or jars instead, for a nut-free chocolate mousse. In jars, you can pour a little melted chocolate in a layer over the top to help seal it, and in bowls, you can just grate a little chocolate over the top to finish it off.
- Nut-free Chocolate Biscuits: The chocolate crust mixture is perfect for forming into all kinds of shapes – cookies, macaroons, truffles, energy bites. Just shape the mix, squish it a bit so it holds together, and refrigerate, freeze or dehydrate until they’re firm and ready to eat. Or, you can eat the mix straight out the bowl like I do!
- Carob Chocolate Cheesecake: Given the similar taste and properties of carob versus cacao, you could very easily swap out the cacao powder for carob powder and make yourself a chocolate-free raw vegan cheesecake.
- White Chocolate Cheesecake: If you’re feeling adventurous, you could try making a “white chocolate” version of this cheesecake. Basically leave out the cacao powder from the crust and the filling, and see how it goes. This is something I’ve been wanting to try for a while, but I haven’t got around to it yet.
- Caramel Cheesecake: You could try substituting the cacao powder for mesquite powder, or even lucuma powder to create a caramelly-flavoured cheesecake. Again I haven’t tried this, but maybe one day…
- Berry Cheesecake: If you swap the cacao powder for freeze-dried berry powder, either in the filling-only, or even in the crust and the filling, you could create a really nice berry-flavoured nut-free raw vegan cheesecake. Just saying!
My vegan chocolate cheesecake budget
Here’s roughly how much this raw vegan chocolate cheesecake cost me to make:
| Ingredient | Amount | Price | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coconut, shredded | 2.25 cups (180g) | $20 / kg | $3.60 |
| Cacao powder | 1/2 cup + 3 tbsp (75g) | $30 / kg | $2.25 |
| Vanilla bean powder | 1.25 tsp (4g) | $350 / kg | $1.40 |
| Medjool dates | 1.5 cups (360g) | $32 / kg | $11.52 |
| Pink salt | Pinch (0.25g) | $10 / kg | $0.01 |
| Cacao butter | 1 cup (168g) | $40 / kg | $6.72 |
| Agave nectar | 1/4 cup (80g) | $20 / L | $1.60 |
| Coconut milk | 400ml tin | $2.65 / tin | $2.65 |
| Raw vegan chocolate | 2 squares (1/3 block) | $7 / 45g block | $2.33 |
| TOTAL | 1282g | $25.02 / kg | $32.08 |
- All prices are in Australian dollars
- Your costs may vary quite a bit depending on whether you buy in small or large quantities, as conventional or organic, and the time of year.
Ways to reduce the cost of this recipe
- This is not exactly the cheapest dessert you’ll ever make, but the great news is that because it’s so rich, you can make it go further by cutting very thin slices, and people will still be totally satisfied.
- The medjool dates in the crust are the biggest cost in this recipe, so see if you can find a good deal on these, possibly by buying in bulk.
- The cacao butter adds a reasonable cost to this dessert as well, but it is key to helping the filling to set properly. You might get away with using a mix of cacao butter and coconut oil, or even a mix of shea butter and coconut oil, but I can’t guarantee it will set as well, or that it will be much cheaper.
- The vanilla bean powder is the most expensive ingredient per kilo, so if you want to reduce this cost, you can use vanilla extract instead (not vanilla essence).
FAQs about raw chocolate cheesecake
Why didn’t my cheesecake filling set?
The fat content in the raw cheesecake filling is very important to help it to set properly.
If your filling hasn’t set, it might be because the coconut milk you used was either too watery (i.e. from a 1L UHT container instead of a 400ml tin) or that it didn’t have a high enough fat content (i.e. it was a “light” coconut milk).
You can check the fat content of your coconut milk by looking at the nutritional panel and seeing how much fat there is per 100ml. Around 15-25% is great, 10% is on the low side but should still work. And 5% or less just won’t be enough for it to set properly.
With this recipe, the more fat the better!
Why doesn’t my cheesecake filling have little bubbles in it?
This is probably for the same reasons as above – the fat content of your coconut milk.
I’ve found that the higher to fat content of the coconut milk, the more it seems to trap air bubbles in my raw vegan recipes, so check your fat content, and use a higher one if you want to get the “whipped” effect in your filling.
The other thing you might want to do is make sure that you’ve blended it for long enough.
This recipe was the result of over-blending our raw vegan chocolate recipe, so don’t worry about overdoing the blending a little.
Just keep an eye on the temperature if you want to be sure to keep it 100% raw.
Can I make the cheesecake filling in a food processor?
Honestly, I’ve only ever made this in my Vitamix blender, so I can’t say for sure.
I will say that you do need to blend it VERY well to make it super smooth and to warm it up enough that all of the oils melt completely.
One of my readers tried doing it with a stick blender, but that didn’t turn out very well at all and made a big mess.
It will depend a bit on how big your food processor is, how well it contains liquids and how well it copes with running for extended periods until the contents warm up.
Why is my cheesecake crust so solid?
There’s a couple of reasons why your crust may have turned out a little more solid and sticky than mine.
Firstly, if you over-process the shredded coconut and medjool dates, it can turn into more of a smooth, sticky paste.
So only go as far as you need to until the ingredients are well combined and the dates are chopped finely, but no more.
Secondly, it could also be that your dates were wetter than the ones I used, so they turned into mush instead of getting chopped into little pieces and mixing with the coconut.
What can I use instead of agave nectar?
With this raw vegan cheesecake recipe you should be able to use any liquid sweetener you want to.
Things like maple syrup (not raw), raw honey (not vegan), coconut nectar, yacon syrup, blackstrap molasses (not raw) or brown rice syrup (not raw) are all possibilities for using instead of the agave nectar.
One of my readers even used a banana to add some additional sweetness.
I haven’t made this dessert with any of these agave nectar alternatives, so I can’t say exactly how each of them will work.
Most likely, they will change the flavour a little, but the filling should still set just fine.
Keep in mind that these are all still forms of sugar, so unless you have a specific issue with fructose (which agave is especially high in), they all should be used in moderation in a healthy diet.
Where can I get cacao butter from?
You should be able to buy raw organic cacao butter from your local health food store.
It’s usually available in blocks, buttons, flakes or kibbles. I prefer kibbles or flakes because then I don’t have to grate it myself.
If you don’t have any luck there, try going online for a local supplier who can ship to you.
Here’s some options from Amazon to get you started:
- Healthworks Cacao Butter Raw Organic, 1lb
- Terrasoul Superfoods Raw Organic Cacao Butter, 16 Ounces
- Divine Organics, 16oz Raw Cacao Butter / Cocoa Butter
What can I use instead of cacao butter?
The cacao butter is a key ingredient for getting this raw cheesecake to set properly.
The only other ingredient that has similar properties is shea butter, which sets a little more firmly than cacao butter. You might also be able to use a blend of shea butter and coconut oil to achieve a good firm set.
Keep in mind that you’d need to find a food-grade shea butter, and it might not be any less expensive than cacao butter.
You might also be able to swap some of the cacao butter for coconut oil, although that would mean that the filling doesn’t set as well, and it will readily melt once it comes out of the fridge or freezer.
Can I use carob powder instead of cocoa powder?
Absolutely!
The properties and taste of carob and chocolate are similar enough that it should work really well to substitute the cocoa powder for carob powder.
I have’t tried this myself, but I expect that it would be really delicious.
You’d need to still use the cacao butter, to get the filling to set properly, although you might be able to use shea butter instead, if you want to avoid cacao altogether.
Did you really mean 1/64 of a teaspoon of salt?
Yes, I did.
I bought myself one of those fancy measuring spoon sets that goes down to 1/64 of a teaspoon, so I can be super accurate with my recipes.
I am a scientist after all!
I found that if I used more than that amount, it was too salty, but without it, the flavour just wasn’t quite right.
If it’s any help, it’s 1/4 of 1/4 of 1/4 of a teaspoon, or you could just go with a small pinch of pink salt and see how it goes!
My inspiration for making raw vegan cheesecake
This amazing triple-chocolate cheesecake was the result of yet another happy accident.
We were playing with making homemade raw vegan chocolate in the blender, and accidentally overcooked the chocolate.
Of course, there was no way we were going to throw out a batch of chocolate, so instead we threw in a tin of coconut milk (minus the tin), and discovered this amazing nut-free filling that’s a lot like chocolate mousse.
And then I whipped up a quick and easy nut-free chocolate-coconut crust to go with it, and this raw vegan chocolate cheesecake masterpiece was born.
Just in time for my birthday, too. What a birthday cake. Happy Birthday me :)
Vegan chocolate cheesecake resources
Discover the best kinds of natural sweeteners here:
- Top 10 Natural Sweeteners & Sugar Alternatives @ Dr Axe
- A guide to natural sweeteners @ PCC Markets
Learn more about cacao butter and cacao powder here:
- What Is Cocoa Butter and Raw Cacao Butter? @ The Spruce
- The Ultimate Guide To Raw Cacao (Powder, Butter, Nibs) @ Eat Drink Paleo
And discover the difference between vanilla extract and vanilla essence here:
- Vanilla Extract vs. Vanilla Essence @ World of Foods
Have an awesome day and enjoy the chocolate bliss!
I studied Biochemistry and Genetics at Monash University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science, with Honours.
I've always had a passion for natural health, having grown up with asthma, eczema and numerous food allergies, and I wanted to help my kids avoid the same issues.
I love blending science and alternative approaches to find the best of both worlds, and I'm always looking for ways to create more amazing health and happiness in my life.
Learn more about me
Contents » Recipe : Tips : Variations : FAQs : Budget : Inspiration : Resources
Nicole says
Totally pinned! I am getting more and more into Paleo Recipes. This looks so good. Can’t wait to try it.
Nikki says
Hi Nicole,
Have fun with it :)
Gregor says
This cheescake is a winner!!!! I totally love it and everybody who tried it! I just ordered another 3kg of cocoa butter…so let the fun begin :) I used the crust recipe for energie bites I eat during my longer cycling routes. Great tasting and so easy to make :) Any other ideas I could use for this matter?
Nikki says
Hi Gregor,
I’m so glad you’re enjoying it. It is a very versatile recipe, and here’s some more ways I think you could use it:
And I’m sure there’s heaps more possibilities as well. I’d love hear what you create :)
Kiah says
I tried this recipe out, read everything in fine detail and got all the correct ingredients. No idea what went wrong but the filling didn’t set at all (left over night). It just looks like chocolate liquid.
:(
Nikki says
Hi Kiah,
I’m really sorry it turned out like that. I honestly don’t know what might have gone wrong, except that maybe what we call one thing in Australia is actually a different ingredient in the UK?
Mike says
I’m a bit late here but might be worth clarifying ‘Coconut Milk’. A 400ml tin of coconut milk (which I would assume is what you meant) is very different to a 1L carton of milk-substitute coconut milk (e.g. Alpro / Coconut Dream) or even a tin of ‘light’ coconut milk both of which are watery. That may be what happened here.
Recipe looks awesome though, will give it a go as soon as I can get my hands on some cocoa butter…
Nikki says
Thanks for the tip, Mike, and that might have been what went wrong with the filling that didn’t set properly. And yes, I tend to use tinned coconut milk which would definitely be thicker than UHT.
It’s really hard when products vary so much around the world, but I’ve specified as much detail as I can in the tips under the recipe, including the brand – which is mostly irrelevant unless you live near me (in Australia) – and the fat content, which I think might be the most important factor in getting it to set.
Hopefully that will help anyone else making this in future :)
Phili says
Hey Nikki,
This is a great recipe, is there a substitution for the agave nectar?
Nikki says
Hi Phili,
Thank you. You could use any liquid sweetener you prefer – like maple syrup, coconut nectar or yacon syrup. I haven’t tried any of these, and they will probably changed the flavour a little, but the filling should still turn out just fine.
I’ve updated the tips now to include this information. Thanks for noticing that I’d missed it :)
Mel says
I just made this this morning and it looks great however I’m not sure if its right. It has set but mine didn’t whip up like it looks like yours has. I didn’t have a thermometer so I just stopped blending once all the cocoa butter had melted and the bowl was warm. Should have I blended it for longer? Also I went by the weights rather than the cup measures but it seemed like there was a lot more cocoa butter and dates than the cup measures. … my base was very solid and sticky rather than crumbly. Can’t wait to try it tho. A few licks of the bowl tells me it’s yummy!
Nikki says
Hi Mel,
I’m not entirely sure why it didn’t turn out like mine.
For the base, I’m wondering if maybe you processed it for longer than I do, or maybe your dates (and even your coconut) were wetter than mine.
For the filling, it’s possible that the brand of coconut milk makes a difference. I had that same issue with my coconut vanilla ice cream – some brands just behave differently, maybe due to differences in fat content, or extra ingredients.
It sounds like you blended it for long enough. Ours was the result of accidentally overblending a chocolate recipe, but if your bowl was warm, that should be enough. And it’s quite runny to begin with, but sets up nicely once it cools, so hopefully that will happen with yours.
I normally can squish 240g of medjool dates into my 250ml cup measure, and the cocoa butter might look different depending on how it was grated, but my weights are pretty accurate (I tend cook by weight, especially for a fiddlier dish like this).
At least it tastes good! I’d love to know how it goes when you’ve let it set and slice it up.
Stephanie Easter says
I made this last week and already left a review on your Facebook page. I am a pescetarian and a few friends and my neice are Vegan. I wanted to make a dessert for them. This was a huge hit! SO good!
Nikki says
Hi Stephanie,
Thank you! So glad everyone loved it :D
Susan says
Is the canned coconut milk full fat or lite?
Nikki says
Hi Susan,
The version of canned coconut milk I used doesn’t call itself “light”, but it does have a lot lower fat content than many other coconut milks I’ve looked at.
That said, I don’t think it would hurt at all to use a higher fat content milk, as the extra fat content should help the filling to set even more firmly.
elizabeth says
First a confession – I ate some for breakfast
This was sensational. I did have a few issues at first with the filling but I put it in the nutribullet and kept blending long after I normally would in that thing. I may have gone above the 42 mark but Im not a raw purist so no matter for me.
I used stevia to sweeten it and maple syrup. On taste it was not quite to my sweetness preference so I popped in a banana and that was lovely.
I made the crust with a mix of dates and walnuts as I like the bit of crunch.
A big fat winner in my house
Thanks heaps
Nikki says
Hi Elizabeth,
If it’s any consolation, I just ate some of my Coconut Chocolate Pudding for breakfast.
I’m so glad it turned out well for you, and depending on who you ask, raw is anything less than 40°C to 45°C, and I’m certainly no purist either.
I like the idea of the banana for extra sweetness, and I’m a big fan of a date and walnut crust too. Have you tried my macadamia and walnut cake?
Neisa says
Hi,
Recipe looks great. Can I ask where you get your cacao butter from in Australia?
Thanks ?
Nikki says
Hi Neisa,
I actually just buy it from my local health food shop, but the brand I buy most often is from Loving Earth.
sarah says
I didn’t have a blender I tried to use a stand mixer and the filling went everywhere, so I used my hand mixer but that didn’t seem to combine the butter. Anyway I thought I’m going to put it back in the stand mixer and put a tea towel to cover it, half the butter ended up on the tea towel and it had separated in the bowl. The mixture wasn’t that warm only at 26 degrees… so disappointed made such a mess its gone all over me the kitchen and my computer! Think ill have to use the food processor next time but I’m not sure that will do the job either.
Nikki says
Hi Sarah,
I’m so sorry it didn’t turn out very well for you :(
I’ve never tried making it in anything other than my blender, so I can’t say for sure if the food processor will work better than your stand mixer or hand mixer, but it sounds like it might contain the mess a little better.
It might be worth picking up a cheapy blender if you can, if you want this to turn out better, but definitely give the food processor a try first.
All the best and let me know how it goes.
Lulu says
HI! I’m confused on the salt measurement. 1/64 tsp. Not sure how to measure that. Any advise? Thank you..
Nikki says
Hi Lulu,
I have this super-duper teaspoon set that allows me to measure 1/64 of a teaspoon (like these ones at Amazon: Mini Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons), and in it, the 1/64 is called a drop.
It really is the tiniest amount of salt I can measure, so you might call it a very small pinch of salt between your fingertips. It’s also a 1/4 of a 1/4 of a 1/4 teaspoon, so you could take a 1/4 teaspoon of salt, split it into quarters, and then take one of those quarters, and split it into quarters, to give you 1/64 of a teaspoon of salt.
Perhaps if you can find something in your kitchen that will hold a tiny amount of salt, you can use that, and then adjust the amount later if it doesn’t taste right.
Another thing to keep in mind is that amount of salt is less critical in the cheesecake recipe than it is in the original homemade vegan chocolate recipe that this was derived from, so don’t worry if you can’t get it exactly right.
Zia says
I’ve made this a few times now… and LOVE it! It’s ridiculously easy to make and super delicious. I love that it’s nut free too.
Nikki says
Hi Zia,
I’m so glad it’s become one of your favourites! It really it amazing, isn’t it? And being nut-free is totally a bonus.
Thanks for letting me know how much you love it!
Erika says
Hi Nikki,
I just came across this site a few minutes ago, and I must say that I like how this cheesecake looks. My brother is celebrating his 30th birthday at the end of the month, and he has asked me to make him a jaffa cheesecake. I’ve been searching the net for dairy and nut free cheesecakes, and I’m so glad I found this one. I’m just wondering for the base, can I substitute the dates for something else, as I follow a ketogenic Woe. I also want to find out, what kind of coconut milk you used? I also live in Australia, so would like to get the right one.
Erika says
Forgot to also ask. I’ve got cacao butter buttons at home, would they be ok to use, instead of the block?
Nikki says
Hi Erika,
The cacao butter buttons are definitely fine – you just melt it all down anyway.
Nikki says
Hi Erika,
I used the Spiral Organics coconut milk with a 6% fat content, but I have also used coconut milks with an 18% fat content. It should work fine, so long as the coconut milk is not a watery one.
As for the dates, honestly I don’t know. They’re used to hold the base together, so you could try other sweeteners, but as I understand it, all sweeteners are not ideal on a ketogenic diet, so I really don’t have a better alternative.
Maybe yacon syrup would work, but I’ve never tried, so I’m really not sure. Here’s a list of alternative sweeteners for the ketogenic diet, but I really don’t know which ones will work best:
https://ketodietapp.com/Blog/lchf/Top-10-Natural-Low-carb-Sweeteners
Claire says
Can I substitute the cacao butter for anything else in in the UK and it’s really expensive?
Nikki says
Hi Claire,
Cacao butter is also pretty expensive here in Australia, where it can be more than $50 a kilogram. That’s one of the reasons I describe this dessert as “decadent” and “insanity”.
Cacao butter is solid at room temperature, which is part of what makes this cheesecake work, so you’d need to use something with similar properties to avoid a collapsing cheesecake.
You might find that coconut butter will do it, although it does melt at a slightly lower room temperature than cacao butter, so you’d need to make sure the cheesecake didn’t get too warm (i.e. keep it in the fridge).
You could also try shea butter, which has a higher melting temperature than cacao butter, and there’s a chance that it could be slightly less expensive than cacao butter. Just make sure to buy high quality unrefined organic shea butter, so it’s suitable for eating.
One other thing you could try is using a mix of cacao butter and coconut oil (maybe a 50-50 mix), which would reduce the cost, but keep some of the richness and firm-setting qualities of the cacao butter.
Hopefully one of those options is workable for you. Let me know how it goes :)
Julie Schechter says
I made this and it came out Insanely Good! I took it as a gift to friends who are not into health food and they loved it. Then I made it in a pan without the crust, put it in the freezer and served it as fudge squares for desert and breakfast. Thank you for sharing!
Nikki says
Hi Julie,
I’m so pleased your friends loved it. It is insanely good!
I love the idea of freezing the filling and serving it as fudge, and for breakfast no less. Awesome!
Cheryl says
This looks amazing! What kind of cocoa butter did you use?
Nikki says
Hi Cheryl,
I just used raw cacao butter from my local health food shop.
Here’s a link to one of the products that I’ve used in the past: Organic Virgin Cacao Butter from Loving Earth
I’ve used kibbles, as well as solid blocks (the kibbles are easier to melt), although I’ve never used buttons, but they’re all the same thing in the end – just the extracted oil from cacao beans.
Does that answer your question? Let me know if you were after something different.
barbara says
Could carob be used instead of cocoa or chocolate?
Nikki says
Hi Barbara,
I don’t see why not. I’ve certainly used carob in place of chocolate in many of my own recipes, although admittedly not in this one (yet).
You might need to play with the balance of flavours a little, but I can definitely see it working out.
You probably would still need to use the cacao butter so that the cheesecake sets properly, or potentially you could use shea butter instead to get the same setting properties, if you want to avoid cacao products altogether.
Ioana says
This looks heavenly. Have to try this for the kids in the house
Nikki says
Hi Ioana,
It is pretty divine, and also very rich, so a little goes a long way.
Hope the kids enjoy it!
Kellie says
OMGGGG… This is divine! ?
Could not get enough of this cheesecake. I made it for a friend and was at first worried it wouldn’t set but cut into it and it was pure perfection.
It will be a regular dessert I think! I did add a bit of rice malt syrup as a sweetener. Looking forward to trying the variations
Thanks so much x
Nikki says
Hi Kellie,
I’m so glad to hear that you loved it. Hopefully your friend was super impressed too!
Have fun playing with the variations. I’m sure they’ll all be delicious.
Jelena says
Hello, this cake sounds awesome and I would like to make it for my sons’s first birthday. I have a question – the cAke in the picture is taken out of the mold. Is that difficult to do?
Any tips? Also, I have a regular blender, will it work? I have never tried warming things up in it. Thank you
Nikki says
Hi Jelena,
I used a springform tin, so once the cake was set, I could easily remove the tin from around it, without inverting it or anything.
I don’t know how it would go in a regular blender. I do know that some blenders may struggle a little with so much hard work, so the only way to find out is to try it, and stop if your blender base gets too warm or seems to be struggling.
E says
Hi Nikki,
Something is wrong with the website.
That’s how I see the ingredients list:
Crust
2 1/4 cups (180g)
3 tbsp* (60ml)
1 tsp
1 1/2 cups (360g) , pitted
Pinch
Filling
1 cup (168g) , grated
1/2 cup (50g)
1/4 cup (80g)
400ml
1/4 tsp
1/64 tsp , finely ground
Topping
2 squares of your favourite
Nikki says
Hi E,
Thanks for letting me know and my apologies for the troubles. I’ve edited the recipe now so hopefully you can see it properly.
I was trying to be helpful and add links to ingredients, but my silly recipe plugin is misbehaving.
Would you mind letting me know what kind of device (mobile, desktop), brand (iPhone, Windows 7) and browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari) you were using?
Thank you!
E says
Thank you :)
I was using desktop (Win 10) + Chrome 70.0.3538.102 64bit.
Nikki says
Hi E,
Thanks for the detailed info. Much appreciated!
I’ll troubleshoot my recipe plugin and see if I can fix the issue.
Alex says
For me this was a 5-hour nightmare… In the end it kind of worked and was still yummy but I’ll definitely make adjustments next time. Maybe the recipe requires a very specific brand of ingredients and blender, I don’t know. I used canned coconut milk (actually canned coconut cream and added a bit of water to compensate; maybe that was my mistake). But the cocoa butter simply didn’t mix with the water: it was solid chunks (very small because it was grated) and water that didn’t mix. So after trying a blender, two different food processor as well as a double-whisk mixer, and making an absolute mess, I decided to just heat up the mixture by submerging the bowl in hot water, then whisking it by hand as it cools down in a bowl of cold water; then as soon as it thickens, poor it in and put it in the freezer to set it before it separates. It kind of worked but definitely wasn’t smooth (it was “grainy” from the cocoa butter). Next time I’ll try to replace some of the cocoa butter with coconut oil which is softer and use only the solid parts of the coconut cream can, and cross fingers…
Nikki Stokes, Eating Vibrantly says
Hi Alex,
I’m sorry to hear you had so much trouble with this recipe.
You’re not the only one who couldn’t get it to set properly, so there must be some key differences in an ingredient that’s being added to either the coconut milk or the cacao butter.
I wish I knew what it was!
Thanks for providing such detailed troubleshooting steps, as they’ll help others who run into the same trouble. Crossed fingers indeed!
SNK Social Fame says
Damn! It’s looks so delicious and yummy chocolate. I will definitely try this home. Thanks for sharing us.
Nikki Stokes, Eating Vibrantly says
Thanks!