Last year lifelong foodie and mum of two boys Marie-Anne Marten made the difficult decision to close her beloved plant-based cafe and wellness centre Beetroot Sauvage in Edinburgh's Southside. Rising costs, a pandemic and general overwhelm meant she had no other choice. Fast forward one year and she’s created a lasting legacy with The Beetroot Kitchen recipe book.
It features 130 pages packed with lovely and simple everyday plant-based recipes for breakfasts, soups, sandwich fillings, hot mains, cheeses, cakes and dessertsincluding this White Chocolate & Raspberry Cheesecake. Here she shares the recipe with egg…
White Chocolate & Raspberry Cheesecake
Serves 10-12
Deceptively simple to prepare with a high-speed blender, this cheesecake is delicious, naturally sweetened and gluten-free. You may want to prepare the cheesecake in a square tin and cut out portions after the initial freeze stage. Keep the portions in the freezer for when you need them, simply take out 2 hours before consuming.
Ingredients
1 cup raw almonds
1 cup coconut flakes (or desiccated coconut)
12 medjool dates, pitted
1 cup agave syrup
1 Tbsp lemon juice
3 ½ cups cashews, soaked for at least 3 hours
½ cup raw cacao butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 handfuls frozen raspberries
fresh or freeze-dried raspberries to decorate (optional)
1 cup coconut oil (look for de-odorized to avoid the coconut flavour), melted
Method
- Line the base of a 21-23 cm diameter cake tin with a removable base with parchment paper.
- In a high-speed food processor, pulse together the almonds and coconut until they look like small grains. Add the dates and process until the mass comes together a little. Press the crust into the cake tin with your hands to form the base.
- Drain the cashews and rinse them thoroughly.
- In a high-powered blender with a tamper tool or a high-speed food processor, process together the agave syrup, lemon juice, vanilla and cashews until creamy and no grainy texture remains. Pour in the melted coconut oil and cacao butter and continue blending until everything is smooth and slightly glossy.
- Pour half the creamy cheese filling onto the crust, dot frozen raspberries around, then pour the other half of the cream cheese filling. Decorate with freeze-dried raspberries if using - fresh raspberries are best added after the freezing process.
- Cover with film, and place in the freezer for at least 4 hours to set. The cheesecake can then be cut and kept in the freezer until ready to serve.
Marie-Anne published The Beetroot Kitchen on 25 October 2023 independently through lulu.com. In November 2023 she is donating £5 per book sale to local farm animal sanctuary Ananda, where she volunteered for a year in 2021. Marie-Anne is currently the owner and cheese manufacturer at her Edinburgh micro-business Earthy Vegan Cheese, producing and selling dairy-free organic alternatives to cheese in independent shops. We wish you all the best Marie-Anne! Buy her new recipe book here.
