Two years ago, my boyfriend and I went to New Mexico and spent a few nights at a wellness resort. As part of the resort, they offered complimentary activities, like healthy cooking classes. It was there that I made and tried my first no bake cashew based cheesecake and ever since then, I was hooked. I love a good treat that doesn’t require any oven use and this recipe is vegan, gluten free, and refined sugar free! It will honestly be hard to not eat all of them in one sitting!
To save a lot of time and ingredient buying, I used Emmy’s Organics coconut cookies as the base for these cheesecakes. They just launched their double chocolate mint flavor so I used them for these cups, but you can easily use any of their flavors. In each Emmy’s large bags, you get 9 cookies, which is how many cheesecake cups this recipe makes.Â
To make this recipe, soak your cashews for at least 4 hours or overnight in water and place two cans of coconut milk in the fridge overnight (you need a second can for the vegan whipped cream, but if you don’t want to make that, then you just need one can for the recipe). To make the middle and top layers, you use the same base and while the middle layer is in the fridge hardening, you will add some cocoa powder to any leftover filling and that will become the top layer. There are a few steps required to make this dessert, since the layers do need to harden in the fridge, but it is worth it. These cheesecake bites are the perfect treat to whip up for the holidays and to share with friends and family! The entire recipe (assuming your cashews are soaked and your coconut milk is refrigerated) takes less than an hour!
Pumpkin Version:
- use Vanilla Bean Emmy’s Organics as the base
- Swap out the 3 tbsp pumpkin puree for the 1 tbsp of cocoa powder and use 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice instead of cinnamon!
No Bake Chocolate Mint Raw Cheesecake Cups
Cooking & Baking Supplies
- Muffin Pan
Ingredients
Bottom Layer
- 1 package Emmy's Double Chocolate Mint Cookies
Middle Layer
- 1 1/2 cups raw cashews (soaked for at least 4 hours)
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 cup coconut milk, chilled overnight
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
Top Layer
- 1 tbsp raw cacao powder (or unsweetened cocoa powder)
Whipped Cream
- 1 can coconut milk, chilled overnight
Instructions
- Soak cashews for at least 4 hours.
- Place 9 muffin cup inserts in a muffin tin.
- Place 1 Double Chocolate Mint Emmy's Organics cookie in each muffin cup and using your hand or a fork, flatten the cookie into an even 1 inch layer.
- Place all of the ingredients for the middle layer into a blender or food processor and blend for about 3-4 minutes until the batter is really smooth. Scoop 1.5 tbsp of this filling into each muffin tin and use a spoon to make sure it is even.
- Put the muffin tin into the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes until hardened.
- While the middle layer is hardening in the fridge, add 1 tbsp of raw cocoa powder to the remaining filling and mix well to create the top layer. This should turn your filling from vanilla to chocolate.
- Remove the cheesecakes from the fridge and check that the middle layer feels hardened to the touch.
- Add 1 tbsp of the top layer with cocoa onto each cheesecake and use a spoon to even out the mixture across the cheesecake.
- Place the cheesecakes back in the fridge for 15-20 minutes to harden.
- While the cheesecake is in the fridge, take out the second can of refrigerated coconut milk. Scoop out the hardened white part from the top into a mixing bowl (you can use the extra liquid underneath in another recipe like a curry). Using a hand held mixer, whip the coconut milk until a whipped cream texture forms.
- Scoop the whipped cream onto the top of the cheesecakes, top with cacao nibs or cocoa powder, and ENJOY!
