Raw Raspberry Dreamcake

When one of my coworkers was telling me how much she loved cheesecake, but lamenting how unhealthy it was, I immediately wanted to make a healthier cheesecake for her.  I remembered having seen recipes for raw cheesecakes around the food blogosphere and was drawn in particular to this gorgeous raspberry dreamcake.

Being a raw (and vegan if you don’t use honey) recipe, this “cheesecake” comes together in no time since there’s no need for baking.  If you’ve never heard of raw foodism before, it’s basically a diet that subscribes to the notion that cooking food denatures its enzymes, making the food harder to digest and the nutrients harder to absorb.  Thus, raw foodists eat a diet consisting of uncooked or minimally heated food.

I am constantly impressed with the way different dietary restrictions force people to think outside the box in order to replicate everyday desserts.  Can’t use cream cheese?  No biggie.  Blend soaked raw cashews instead to get that creamy texture.  Can’t use butter to hold the crust together?  Don’t sweat it.  Just process some almonds and dates until the natural stickiness of the dates binds it all together.  And while the result of all this doesn’t taste exactly like cheesecake, that’s alright cause this dessert is delicious in its own right.