This week is going to feature Valentine’s Day treat ideas for you to share (with yourself) or your love. We are kickstarting this sweet week with a dairy-free cherry crumble no bake cheesecake that is perfect to prepare the weekend before Valentine’s Day!
I’m really excited to be sharing with you this cheesecake recipe. They are a combination of both Leung and my favourite things, and also easier to make than you might think!
Valentine’s Day is coming up, and this year I’ll be celebrating in a lecture hall writing a midterm exam. At least this means by 8pm I can go home and make myself chocolate-dipped strawberries & pretzels and not have to think about studying for the rest of the evening. But I feel bad for the people in my class who are actually active members of the dating world because they will be stuck writing the exam at the exact hours where everyone else will be enjoying a special dinner by candlelight. Poor planning on the prof’s part. Or maybe she just doesn’t care about our feelings we will never know.
Despite having an exam on Valentine’s Day, Leung and a few of our friends plan to attend the Valentine’s Chocolate Cave buffet, as we did last year. It’s pretty much Augustus Gloop’s (and my) dream come true because they have all things chocolate and everything is wonderful when you’re surrounded by sweets and chocolate walls. Last year, we made a pact amongst our friends that if any one of us was dating while the rest of us were still pringles, that person would have to treat us to the buffet this year… but one year goes by, nothing has changed, and we are still as pringle as ever so no one is treatin’ nobody except for ourselves and our tastebuds hahahaha! Let’s see if this pact will ever take action in the following years to come…
I was inspired to make this recipe for Valentine’s Day because:
1.) I love cheesecakes
2.) I love fruit crumbles
3.) I have a frozen cherry stash I pitted myself in the summer that I needed to use
4.) I thought you all would love this combo as well
so anything that combines the two together is a win in my books. The result? Literally a dream come true of a dessert and I really want to enjoy one at this moment. But I’m in my apartment in the city and I’d left all these cheesecakes in the freezer of my parents’ home. I just hope nobody has discovered and eaten them before I head back home for the weekend in two weeks time. I like to store nut cheesecakes in the freezer because they melt pretty quickly and are runnier than dairy cheesecakes at fridge temperature. This means you can make them ahead of time on the weekend before Valentine’s Day since it lands on a weekday this year and weekdays are always a whirlwind of a day.
We have a couple more Valentine’s Day recipes up our sleeves because us girls (especially me) are chocolate addicts and Valentine’s Day is just another excuse for us to enjoy an excessive amount of sweets. If you have someone in mind, try making them these for Valentine’s Day this year (;
Keep your eyes peeled this week for more cute Valentine’s Day treat ideas! Much love,
- BASE
- ½ c. oats
- ¼ c. cocoa powder
- ¾ c. coconut flakes
- ½ tbsp melted coconut oil
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- ½ tsp salt
- CHEESECAKE
- 1.5 c. macadamia nuts or cashews, soaked
- 1 (14 oz.) can coconut cream
- ½ c. coconut oil, melted
- ¼ c. maple syrup
- ⅓ c. lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt
- CHERRY SAUCE
- 3 c. Frozen cherries
- 3 tsp. cornstarch
- CRUMBLE TOPPING
- 1 c. oats
- 1 c. flour (I used millet; you can use any type)
- ⅓ c. melted coconut oil
- ⅓ c. maple syrup
- ⅓ c. muscovado sugar (or brown sugar)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1.5 tsp cinnamon
- ½ c. pecans
- Water, if too crumbly and dry
- pinch freshly ground nutmeg (optional)
- For the base, add in all ingredients in a high-speed blender or food processor and blend until the mixture comes together. Press the mixture into silicon muffin tins. There should be enough to make 5-6. If you don't have silicon muffin tins, use a loaf pan or any dish you can line with parchment paper. You can also use a removeable-bottom cake pan!
- For the cheesecake, add all the ingredients into the food processor or high-speed blender and blend until smooth. Portion out the mixture into the crusts. Freeze until solid.
- For the cherry sauce, add the cherries in a saucepan over medium high heat. The frozen cherries will "melt" therefore you don't need to add water. If you're using fresh cherries, however, you'd want to add a little bit of water to help it cook down. Add 3 tsp of cornstarch as the cherries defrost on the pan and mix thoroughly to get rid of clumps. Bring to a boil for 30 seconds before lowering the heat to a simmer. The cherries should thicken into a sauce as it cools and coat the back of a spoon.
- For the crumble topping, combine all the ingredients together. Crumble dough on a lined baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for around 10-15 minutes.
- To assemble, add the cherry sauce on top of the cheesecake layer, then add the crumble on top of the cherry sauce. Freeze until ready to serve!
- To serve, pop the cheesecakes out of silicon tray/ parchment paper and allow to thaw for 30 minutes before serving. Yum!
Wow, this cheesecake looks AMAZING – I’ve got some cherries in the freezer from last summer as well, and I think it’s about time to break them out! Also, I’d never heard of the chocolate cave buffet, but that sounds like something that’s going on my bucket list! I hope you had a fun Valentine’s Day, despite the midterm exam (that prof is basically the Valentine’s Day version of the Grinch).
What a coincidence; our cherries were frozen from last summer too! We definitely made the best of Valentine’s Day by indulging in vegan donuts after the exam. Hope you enjoy the cheesecake!
Thanks for this recipe, it looks so yummy… I want to make it but not sure about the proportions…
How much coconut cream is there in your can? I get different sizes…
And the 1,5 cup soaked cashews is measured before or after soaking?
We used a 14oz can of coconut cream, so the whole can was cream. The nuts were measured before soaking. Hope that helps!