Chocolate Fudge ‘Cheesecake’ (Vegan, Paleo, No-Bake)

Velvety smooth chocolate fudge on a chewy chocolate crust! DIVINE. And made with whole-food ingredients. (No gluten, grains, dairy, eggs, soy or refined sugar!) Fit for a celebration!

EEk! I’m so excited! Adding another especially scrumptious recipe to my collection of Vegan & Paleo Valentine’s desserts. I can’t wait to devour this chocolate cheesecake with my hubs when we celebrate this week!

You’ve gotta have chocolate on Valentine’s day, right? But the great thing about chocolate? You don’t need a holiday to grant you permission to enjoy it, haha! It’s wonderful YEAR ROUND.

Apparently the other day was “National Chocolate Day”.  I don’t know who invents these “holidays” but I guess they do give us an excuse to partake on that day. I mean, who would want to miss out on that?! 😉

PRETTY or UGLY

Actual text to a friend yesterday (sent with an unstyled photo of these cheesecakes): “Are these “ugly pies”? lol!”

Do you ever get hung up on what other people think? I do. I know I shouldn’t let things like that get to me, but they do.

I’m a grown woman, a mother of two, and I still get caught up in appearances– whether it’s a pie, or my SELF. I want to make a good impression. I’m the girl who never (and I mean NEVER) leaves the house without makeup. (Mainly because I love it, but also because I want to cover up my dark circles, acne scars and blotchy skin.)

But I’m learning it’s ok to let the imperfections show. They’re part of who I am. I’m a work in progress. Case in point: I almost didn’t post these cheesecakes because I didn’t think they live up to “Pretty Pie” standard, ha. But what really matters is the TASTE, right?? What’s on the inside, even if the outside isn’t perfect.

And then I discovered: chocolate drizzle is the “makeup” for desserts. It totally transformed the look. Enhanced it’s natural beauty just like eyeliner and concealer do for women. Now it’s pretty on the outside, too, even if it’s not perfect 😉

Chocolate on chocolate, with chocolate on top!

This is a recipe for TRUE chocolate lovers! It has a chewy chocolate crust, rich fudge ‘cheesecake’ filling and more chocolate drizzle (or shavings) on top!!

Each layer has its own delicious texture and intense flavor. I absolutely love the pairing of the fudgy filling with the dark chocolate drizzle.

Chocolate makes everything better (and prettier, ha!)  Can’t. get. enough. 🙂

Taking chocolate to the next level

I’m pretty much obsessed with this new ingredient I recently discovered: Cacao Butter! It’s the natural pressed oil from cocoa beans. The flavor is HEAVENLY. It’s SO velvety and rich. Seriously incredible.

In my last recipe, I made WHITE chocolate (which I LOVE!) but cacao butter is also the main ingredient in regular chocolate! So I HAD to try it with cacao powder, too! I’m so glad I did. It’s DIVINE. I’ve never made anything quite like this before.

Typically I use coconut oil as the solidifier in my recipes (and that will work in this recipe, too) but if you’re not a fan of coconut, or if you’re allergic, like I’ve heard from SO many of you, this is a DELICIOUS solution!

Chocolate PLANTS

Not only does this cake have 2 delicious parts of the cocoa bean, (cacao butter + cacao powder), it also has a secret ingredient that makes it even MORE velvety smooth, thick and fudgy.

You would NEVER guess there’s a whole AVOCADO in there! You can enjoy a boost of nutrients, fiber, protein and healthy fats while you savor this chocolatey treat. I‘m all about desserts with benefits!

Avocado chocolate is a MUST make. Have you tried it? Avocado makes some of my favorite pies!  

Are you a chocolate lover? Then this Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake is a “must make!”

Click below to save this recipe on Pinterest!

Chocolate Fudge 'Cheesecake' (Vegan & Paleo no-bake)

Triple-layer chocolate "cheesecake" that's so thick and fudgy! You'd never know it's made from whole-food ingredients with no dairy or sugar.

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes

Servings: 8 servings

Author: Emily

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

Chocolate Crust

• 1 1/2 cups almonds
• 2 Tbs coconut oil
• 2 Tbs cacao powder
• 2 1/2 Tbs maple syrup - or coconut milk + stevia to taste
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• pinch of pink salt

Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake

• 1 cup raw cashews - soaked
• 1/2 cup maple syrup - or coconut milk + pure stevia to taste
• 1/2 cup cacao butter - melted (or coconut oil)
• 1/3 cup cacao powder
• 1 medium avocado - or 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbs vanilla
• pinch of pink salt

Instructions

To make the crust:

• Pulse ingredients in food processor until sticky crumbles form. Add a splash of water at the end if it needs help coming together.
• Press crust into a parchment-lined a 7" springform pan (I used 4 mini springform pans.)

To make the cheesecake:

• (Use cashews that have been soaked overnight in a bowl of water left on the counter. OR soak in HOT water for 2 hours.) Drain, rinse and shake cashews dry.
• Place cashews in food processor and blend a couple of minutes until broken down.
• Scrape down sides and add remaining ingredients, streaming in the melted cacao butter last. Blend well.
• Taste and add more sweetener, salt or cacao powder if needed.
• Pour cheesecake filling over crust and smooth with a spatula. 
• Cover pan(s) with foil and freeze or refrigerate until firm. Drizzle with melted chocolate or chocolate shavings. Enjoy!

Notes

What I used:

Raw Cacao Butter

Food Processor

Raw Cacao Powder

Raw Cashews

Note: I used *mini* springform pans for this recipe. If you use a standard size pan, your filling will be much flatter. You can double the filling to make it "tall"

To store: keep refrigerated for 5 days, or frozen for 1 month.

Tried this recipe?Tag @emily.likes.food #prettypies!