Raw cashew dreamcake + happy women’s day!

Happy women’s day! I think it is so important to empower women- not just today, but everyday. Thanks to Beyoncé, I like to think of myself as a strong, independent woman, and highly encourage everyone to think of themselves that way. While I recognize that feminism is a broad concept and is comprised of many different sects, I don’t think it’s as complex as everyone thinks it to be. The underlying principle of my feminism is very simple: equality; liberation; empowerment; choice. No, I am not a radical second-wave feminist. I do, however, strongly believe in working towards an equal society where women are respected and don’t have to worry about being sexually harassed or called a slut because of the way they act or dress, unequal pay, or even something as (seemingly) simple as choosing to be a stay at home mom. A woman should be able to sleep with however many people she wants without being judged. She should be able to work and receive the same pay a man receives for the same work they do. She should be able to be a working mother without being called a bad or negligent mother, and she should be able to be a stay-at-home mom without being called the anti-feminist. I’m not looking for a society where women are superior to men, but for an equal society. Where everyone has the choice of doing what they please without prejudice, regardless of their sex. We should be living in a society where being a woman and feminism is celebrated everyday.

Well, now that I’ve told you all about my views on gender equality and feminism, I present to you: a raw cashew dreamcake!

I think I have found the cake of cakes. If it isn’t the cake of cakes (the melt-in-your-mouth chocolate cake is a pretty big contender), it is still definitely one of the more special cakes I’ve made.

I love cheesecake, but sometimes the density of it is too much for me to take. And, after a huge cheese and bread filled lunch last weekend, I have decided to limit my dairy intake. I think it is, unfortunately, safe to say that my stomach does not fare well with huge quantities of cheese!*

Last week I stumbled upon a simple solution to my cheesecake problem: I could make raw, vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free cheesecake with cashews. Considering my love affair with cashews, to say that I was beyond excited is an understatement. And, as always, the best part is: not only is it super healthy, but it ALSO TASTES AMAZING! You can make it with or without the crust, and have it not only for dessert, but for breakfast too. It’s that healthy. You can also replace the strawberries with raspberries, blueberries, cocoa- whatever your taste buds prefer.

This recipe for raw cashew dreamcake is from My New Roots, a food blog by my art teacher from high school. I don’t think she remembers me, but I certainly remember her because a.) she has an awesome blog and b.) she once made us vegan banana ice cream in class and it was beautiful.

Raw cashew dreamcake
Crust:
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup soft dates (Medjool)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling:
1 1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked overnight
juice of 2 lemons
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup liquid honey (vegans: use agave nectar!)
1 cup strawberries

To make the crust, food process the almonds and dates with salt until it reaches your desired consistency, as long as the ingredients hold together! Press your crust mixture into a 7 inch pan.

In a small saucepan, melt and blend the coconut oil and honey on low heat.

Place the cashews, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and coconut-oil-honey blend in a food processor/blender until smooth, and no chunks remain. Pour 2/3 of the mix onto the crust. Add the strawberries (if you’re using frozen fruit, make sure they’ve thawed!) to the remaining mixture and blend until as smooth as the first layer.

Freeze until solid, and remove from the freezer 30 minutes before munch time. Mine froze in a funky shape because I used a silicone case, and there wasn’t enough room in my freezer!

Recipe from My New Roots

*This is what I had for lunch last weekend: camembert baked in sourdough, courtesy of my lovely friends Rachel and Vivek. It was divine, despite being heart disease on a plate.

08 Mar This entry was published on March 8, 2013 at 8:28 pm. It’s filed under Breakfast, Brunch, Dairy-free, Desserts, Gluten-free, Sugar-free, vegan, Vegetarian and tagged cake, dairy-free, feminism, food, gluten-free, healthy, raw, recipe, sugar-free, vegan, vegetarian, women's day. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.