A beautiful, berry-packed layered "CHEESECAKE" that's fit for a celebration! This No-Bake Blackberry Cheesecake is free from dairy, gluten, eggs, and refined sugar. {Paleo and vegan} Jump to Recipe
So PRETTY
Oh my goodness.. isn't it pretty?! Such a "Pretty Pie" it HAS to be shown off, haha! If you're hosting a party, or having a Mother's Day celebration, a baby shower, or birthday shindig, this is the perfect dessert to wow your guests. And if you're *not* hosting a party, it's time to invite some friends over for a dessert party! Girls' Night Out anyone?! Yassss. And, of course, it's not just about external beauty. This Pretty Pie is pretty on the inside too. It's made with simple, wholesome "real food" ingredients that nourish your body. Ingredients you can feel good about 🙂
Alternative Ingredients, Amazing Results
I feel like a Mad (Pie) Scientist with all the experimentation I've been doing in the kitchen lately, haha. Ice cream made with avocado, cookies made with cashews, and cheesecake made with ALMONDS. Remember my Almond Dreamcake I shared last week? (It's made with almond cream instead of cashew cream!) Well this new Blackberry Cheesecake is a MIX of almond cream and cashew cream.
Why a mix? It still achieves the amazing creaminess and texture of a cashew cheesecake, but cuts the amount of cashews in HALF. You only need ONE cup of cashews for this cake. That makes it less expensive! YAY! And it lowers the carbs, too-- bonus!
ps I am still planning to make a "cheesecake" with ALL almonds, but I'm still working on that one. It will be low carb, too 😀 Stay tuned! UPDATE: I made it! A low-carb Almond Dreamcake - made entirely with almonds!
Fear Not the (Blackberry) Seeds: NO Straining
I've been wanting to make a blackberry cheesecake for some time now, but I've always hesitated because of the seeds. Nobody wants to be taking a bite of smooth creamy cheesecake and then have a tiny ROCK inside. NO thanks! I don't want gravel in my dessert 😉
So for my first attempt at using blackberries for a cheesecake last week, I tried blending the berries and straining them. BIG MISTAKE lol. My poor little strainer got completely clogged with seeds and berry fiber. I barely got ANY blackberry puree out of it. Not what I planned.
So this time I decided to just THROW THEM IN. Yep, take a handful and toss them in the food processor and blend (and say a little prayer *no gravel no gravel no gravel*) And guess WHAT. It worked! No gravel/seed/grittiness/weird texture. Just creamy deliciousness!! YAY.
Pretty Inside
Don't you just love a good surprise? When you cut open the cake, you'll see a blackberry in each slice! Isn't that so fun?? I love it! It's so pretty, AND adds delicious texture and a burst of berry flavor. I added a layer of blackberries around the edge of the pan so they would show around the outside, and another circle of berries inside that appear when you cut it.
Tip: stagger the berries so that you have one berry on top of each slice and the berry inside is cut in half. Don't add berries in the very center of the cake because that makes it hard to cut.
Looks Impressive, Easy to Make!
Don't let the layers intimidate you. This cheesecake is actually simple to make. Looks super fancy, and impresses your friends, but it's made with the push of a button. Seriously. You just need a food processor or high speed blender. Here's how it's done:
- Blend crust ingredients; put in pan. Put blackberries on top.
- Blend filling ingredients; put in pan.
- Blend blackberries in filling; put in pan. Put blackberries on top.
- Freeze it. Slice it. Ooh and ahh over it. Devour it.
Now who's ready for a party? 🙂 I'm in!
Blackberry Cheesecake (Vegan & Paleo)
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 cup almonds
- ½ cups walnuts
- 2 Tbs coconut oil
- 1 Tbs maple syrup
- Pinch of salt
Cheesecake:
- 1 cup blanched almonds - soaked
- 1 cup raw cashews - soaked
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup coconut oil
- 3 Tbs lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup blackberries - + ¾ cup for layering
- Dash of pink salt
Instructions
To make the crust:
- Pulse together all ingredients until finely ground.
- Press firmly into a 7" springform pan lined with parchment.
- Add a layer of blackberries pressed around the perimeter of the pan and more in another circle inside.
- Chill while you prepare the filling.
To make the cheesecake:
- Soak nuts in a bowl of hot water for 2 hours (bring water to a boil first). Drain, rinse and shake dry.
- Add nuts to a food processor and blend until completely broken down.
- Scrape down the sides and add the remaining ingredients *except blackberries.*
- Pour out roughly ½ of the filling over the crust and blackberry (enough to cover the berries). Freeze for about 30-60 minutes to set the white layer.
- Add ½ cup of blackberries into the food processor with the leftover filling and blend smooth. Spread purple layer on top of the white layer. Decorate with more blackberries on top.
- Freeze until completely set (a minimum of 4-6 hours). Remove from springform and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Enjoy!
Susan
Can you use raw almonds?
Emily
For the crust, yes. For the filling? Yes, it should work fine, but the skin on the almonds will make the cream speckled brown instead of pure white.
Susana
I love the idea!
Tks
Emily
Thank you!
Anne-Marie Formery
Bonjour Emily
J'ai fais votre gâteau pour mon anniversaire, et il a plu à l'unanimité! quel plaisir de parcourir votre site, et merci pour toutes vos belles recettes!
Emily
Aww Thank you so much! I'm so glad you liked it. Happy Birthday! 🙂
Nicola
Ciao.
Quando scrivi "noci" intendi mandorle e anacardi o le noci della base?
È necessario metterle in acqua calda per due ore? Oppure posso frullarle solo con ammollo?
Grazie mille.
Nicola.
Emily
Hi!
The crust has both almonds and walnuts. I pulse all the crust ingredients in the food processor.
The filling is also made with almonds (blanched almonds and cashews), but these nuts should be soaked in hot water for 2 hours, rinsed and drained. Then they can be blended in the food processor.
I hope that clears things up! Let me know if you have any questions.
Emily
Inderjeet
Can i swap almond with something else? Thanks
Emily
For the crust, you can replace the almonds with any nut or seed you like.
For the cheesecake filling, you can replace almonds with soaked cashews 🙂
Lina
Can I use honey instead of maple syrup?
Emily
Absolutely 🙂 I just suggest a light tasting or wildflower honey so it doesn’t affect the flavor
Lina
How much should I use for the crust and for the cheesecake?
Emily
Same amount typically. You can taste and adjust to your preference 🙂
Lina
Many thanks Emily 🙂
Madeline
I have made this recipe about 5 times now, it tastes delicious! However, I just can’t get the consistency non-grainy. I have tried the kitchen aid food processor and a different one, but for varying amounts of time up to almost 10 minutes. I’ve even tried pouring boiling water over the nuts 4 times throughout 24hrs and it is the same as soaking for 2 :/ any advice?
Emily
Oh no! It may be the food processor. Switching to a high speed blender I found makes a world of difference— much easier and quicker to get a smooth texture.
Also, did you blend the nuts by themself first, prior to adding the other ingredients?
another thing you can do it use all cashews instead of almond slivers, since those are little harder to get smooth.
Hope that helps!
Karine Joliot
Bonjour si l’on garde le gâteau au réfrigérateur (après l’avoir sorti du congélateur) est-ce qu’il garde sa tenue ?
J’en avais fait un comme ça mais au frigo après on n’arrivait plus à le découper il coulait
Wonderful cook
Definitely want to try this blackberry blackberry, looks so delicious and healthy and I'm sure the kids will love this.
Robin
Looks amazing! I’m interested in making it with strawberries. Have you tried that?
Emily
Hi! Yes I do have a strawberry version. It’s a little different with strawberries since they are mostly water. Strawberry Cheesecake recipe here
Let me know if you have any questions!