These incredibly decadent Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake Bars are made with a hazelnut crust and topped with a chocolate ganache for a dessert that is not only delicious but healthy too! Vegan, gluten-free, and no refined sugar.
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I'm not sure there are two things that go together better than chocolate and hazelnut.
It is true love and these creamy, dreamy, and oh so vegan Chocolate Cheesecake Bars are exactly that. Imagine a sweet chocolate hazelnut crust topped with creamed cashews and hazelnut cheesecake filling and covered in rich dark chocolate ganache.
Yep, these bars are a slice of heaven.
WHAT ARE RAW DESSERTS?
For those of you who don’t know, raw desserts, like raw food, are made with whole, unprocessed ingredients. There is no cooking or baking in raw food, allowing it to keep all the natural health-packed benefits of these plant-based ingredients.
This also means that raw food is always vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, and refined sugar-free. Raw desserts are a great alternative to traditional desserts for people on a gluten-free, paleo, or raw food diet.
Want to know more? Make sure to check out my raw desserts ebook here.
FIVE BASIC INGREDIENTS IN RAW DESSERTS
Raw desserts rely on just a handful of basic ingredients from which you can create endless possibilities. It’s quite amazing really. Typically what you’ll find in a raw dessert is:
- A sweetener – often dates, syrups, or other fruit purées
- Nuts – the base of most raw desserts.
- Fruit and/or veggies
- Seeds, cacao, coconut, and other mix-ins.
- Salt, spices, and extracts
That’s pretty much it! Let’s take a closer look.
How to Make Raw Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
Step one: Make the Crust
To make the crust: blend all the ingredients together in a food processor until it is well combined and sticks together when pressed between fingers. Press the crust into the bottom of pan. Set aside.
Step Two - Make the Filling
To make the cheesecake filling: In a food processor or powerful blender mix together cashews, maple syrup, water, coconut oil, and salt. Mix until totally smooth, scraping down the sides of the processor as necessary. Add cocoa powder and hazelnut butter and blend all together until the mixture is uniformly combined.
Pour filling on top of the crust and spread evenly. Place cheesecake in the freezer and freeze until solid all the way through (at least 2 hours).
Step Three - Make Ganache Topping
To make the Ganache Topping: mix ingredients together with a fork. Pour over frozen cheesecake and spread evenly. Place back in the freezer for 2-3 minutes. Once partially set, add chopped hazelnuts and cacao nibs and return to the freezer for another 10 minutes.
Step Four - Serve
Remove cheesecake from the pan by pulling on the sides of the parchment paper. Cut into 9 even pieces and serve immediately.
Serving and Storing Raw Chocolate Cheesecake
Store in the freezer for up to 2 months. When ready to serve, pull them out 10 minutes earlier to thaw.
MORE CLEANSE-APPROVED DESSERTS
Are you craving more sweets while you cleanse? Don’t worry. I’ve got you covered. Here are a few of my favorite cleanse-approved desserts:
- 5-Minute Chocolate Chia Pudding
- Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake Bars
- Banana Coconut Cream Pie
- Raw Chunky Monkey Ice Cream
But before you go, let’s take a look at the recipe for these vegan cheesecake bars below.
Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
Chocolate Hazelnut Crust
- 1 ½ cup hazelnut meal
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup raw cacao powder
- pinch of salt
Cheesecake Filling
- 2 cups raw cashews, soaked 4-6 hours and rinsed
- ½ cup coconut oil, melted
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup raw cacao powder
- ¼ cup hazelnut butter
- ½ teaspoon salt
Ganache Topping
- ¼ cup maple syrup or 3 tablespoon agave nectar
- ¼ cup raw cacao powder
- ⅓ cup coconut oil, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Toppings (optional)
- chopped hazelnuts
- cacao nibs
Instructions
- Line a square 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.
- To make the crust: blend all the ingredients together in a food processor until it is well combined and sticks together when pressed between fingers. Press the crust into the bottom of pan. Set aside.
- To make the cheesecake filling: In a food processor or powerful blender mix together cashews, maple syrup, water, coconut oil and salt. Mix until totally smooth, scraping down the sides of the processor as necessary. Add cocoa powder and hazelnut butter and blend all together until mixture is uniformly combine.
- Pour filling on top of the crust and spread even.
- Place cheesecake in the freezer and freeze until solid all the way through (at least 2 hours).
- To make the Ganache Topping: mix ingredients together with fork. Pour over frozen cheesecake and spread even. Place back in freezer for 2-3 minutes. Once partially set, add chopped hazelnuts and cacao nibs and return to freezer for another 10 minutes.
- Remove cheesecake from the pan by pulling on the sides of the parchment paper. Cut into 9 even pieces and serve immediately.
Nutrition
*this dessert is not technically raw as I used maple syrup in the recipe. For a 100% raw dessert, substitute it out for your favorite raw liquid sweetener.
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Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m a 14-year (and counting) vegan, professionally trained photographer, former pastry chef, founder of My Darling Vegan, and author of the