Blackberry Cashew “Cheesecake”

Ingredients

Directions

1. Soak raw cashews and dried dates separately in boiling water for at least an hour.
2. Drain cashews and transfer to a food processor. Pulse with lemon juice, maple syrup, cashew milk, and vanilla bean paste until smooth and creamy, scraping the sides down frequently. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate.
3. Rinse out your food processor. Drain dates (the soaking water is good to drink warm) and pulse until smooth. Add cacao powder plus salt and process until incorporated. Transfer the date paste to a bowl. Add the almonds and walnuts to your food processor (no need to rinse it out again) and pulse until the nuts are chopped into a crumble. Add the date paste back and pulse until a ball forms. Press this mixture into the bottom of 4 ramekins.
4. Spoon the cashew cream over this layer and smooth out the tops. Refrigerate for a few hours until fully chilled.
5. Heat blackberries in a small pot and mash when defrosted (if using frozen). Simmer until reduced by half, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in sugar until melted, then transfer to a small bowl and refrigerate until fully chilled.
6. To serve, I like to pop the "cheesecakes" in the freezer for 20-30 minutes, then spoon the blackberry jam over top when ready to eat, but if you don't want them extra chilly, you can spoon the blackberry jam over the cheesecakes ahead of time and refrigerate until you want to eat them.