Intense red color, dreamy (dairy-free) Red Velvet ‘Cheesecake’! Rich chocolate flavor– made entirely with healthy, whole foods. No dye!
Two bottles of RED dye? Nope!! It’s 100% natural. It’s made from a VEGETABLE, haha! For real. Can you guess which one? 😉
Secret Ingredient
It’s BEETS! Remember my Hot Pink Pie made with beets? I was SO infatuated with that amazing color, and I just had to make MORE with those powerful little root veggies!
It turns out, if you add cocoa to beets (along with the cheesecake base), it turns RED. Deep, dark, glamorous burgundy red. Omg, don’t you love it?! It’s like art class all over again mixing paint colors. 🙂
And the beets add a subtle earthy quality to the chocolaty flavor of the cheesecake. It’s definitely a specialty cake. Unconventional– absolutely. Delicious? Yes!
Birthday Girl
This cake was made for my gorgeous mama, who was celebrating a special birthday last week. (Hi, Mom! Love you)
We got to spend the weekend at my parents’ house and had such a great time seeing a bunch of family. We made sure to do our favorites: visit 8th Street Coffee House for brunch, shop at the local antique/vintage shop, eat some Tex-Mex and go to TJ Maxx, ha! Love it.
Red Velvet has always been my mom’s FAVORITE, so I was determined to recreate that for her, using only whole foods. And it was a hit! I was surprised that my brother (who is not gluten/dairy/sugar-free) kept asking for more, haha.
Velvety Velvet
The texture of this “cheesecake” is unlike any I’ve made before. It’s ultra VELVETY. Smoother than anything I ever made before. And it has a RICH buttery quality, thanks to cashews and coconut oil.
I decided to use refined coconut oil in this recipe as to not mask the chocolate flavor, but virgin works, too! There is also a “Buttery Flavor” Coconut Oil that I really wanted to get for this recipe, but I waited too long. Someday I must try that!
With a chocolate almond crust, cocoa cashew cheesecake filling and creamy cashew “cream cheese” frosting, this cake is both flavorful and RICH. You only need a tiny slice. 😉
Special
This Red Velvet ‘Cheesecake’ would be wonderful for the holidays (or for any special occasion). Especially for those of us on special diets – without refined sugar, eggs, gluten, dairy and grains. But as my brother could attest, even non-special diet folks love this cake, too! 🙂
If you make it, I’d be so thrilled to hear from you! Leave a comment or share your photo on my Facebook page or tag me Instagram @emily.likes.food and hashtag #prettypies
Red Velvet 'Cheesecake'
Intense red color, dreamy cheesecake texture, yummy chocolate flavor. All with healthy, whole food ingredients!
Prep Time 25 minutes
Servings 14 slices
INGREDIENTS
Chocolate Crust
1 cup almond flour
2 Tbs cocoa
2 Tbs maple syrup
2 Tbs refined coconut oil melted
Dash of pink salt
Red Velvet 'Cheesecake'
2 1/4 cup raw cashews soaked
1 2/3 cup roasted beets
1/2 cup + 1 Tbs maple syrup
3/4 cup cocoa
1 oz dark chocolate melted
1 cup refined coconut oil melted
1 1/4 Tbs vanilla
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/8 tsp pink salt
'Cream Cheese' Frosting
1 cup raw cashews soaked
1 Tbs maple syrup
2 1/2 tsp lemon juice
Splash of vanilla
Dash of pink salt
Red Velvet Cheesecake - PrettyPies.com
INSTRUCTIONS
To make the crust:
Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl (sift cocoa first if clumpy). Add a splash of water if it's too dry.
Press into a parchment-lined 7" springform pan. Chill while you make the filling.
To make the cheesecake:
Soak cashews in a bowl of boiling water for 1-2 hours or overnight in room-temp water. Drain, rinse and shake dry.
Blend cashews in a food processor for 3-5 minutes. Scrape down the sides. Add roasted beets and blend smooth.
Add remaining ingredients and blend. Taste and adjust if needed.
Spread over crust. Cover pan with a paper towel and wrap in foil. Freeze for about 3 hours until solid, then refrigerate.
To make the cream cheese:
Soak cashews in a bowl of boiling water for 1-2 hours or overnight in room-temp water. Drain, rinse and shake dry.
Blend cashews in a food processor for 3-5 minutes. Scrape down the sides. Add remaining ingredients, to taste and blend smooth.
Transfer to a baggie and snip off the tip to pipe on. ENJOY! 🙂
RECIPE NOTES
Use a small 7" springform to make your cheesecake tall and pretty. A regular size will result in a flatter/shorter cake.
source: http://prettypies.com/recipe/red-velvet-cheesecake/
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