Vegan strawberry cheesecake slice

• servings: 15 items
• active time: 20 minutes
• total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

Base

6 Medjool dates (115 g / 4 oz), pitted and soaked in boiling water for 15 minutes

¼-½ tsp fine salt (I like ½ tsp better)

1 cup / 125 g pecans

1 cup / 90 g jumbo rolled oats

1½ tsp softened coconut oil (optional)

White layer

230 g / 1 cup thick vegan coconut yogurt* (I used The Coconut Collaborative)

45 ml / 3 tbsp maple syrup

2 tsp vanilla extract or ½ vanilla bean

½ cup / 75 g cashews, soaked in boiling water for 30 minutes

1½ tsp agar powder**

Pink layer

300 g / 10.5 oz RIPE strawberries, more to decorate

½ cup / 75 g cashews, soaked in boiling water for 30 minutes

30 ml / 2 tbsp maple syrup

2¼ tsp agar powder**

Directions

Line the bottom and the sides of your tin with baking paper. I used a shallow baking tin of the following dimensions: 20 cm / 8" x 15 cm / 6" so when choosing a tin make sure the surface area of yours matches mine.

Place softened and squeezed dry dates in a food processor together with all of the base ingredients apart from the oil.

Process until oats and nuts are well chopped and you have a sticky 'dough' that holds together well. At this point you may want to add softened (no need to melt) coconut oil. I found that a tiny amount helps with texture, but it is not at all essential. If the dough is too dry, add a teaspoon or so of water.

Line the bottom of the baking tin with the 'dough'. Press the mixture down well with your fingers so that there are no gaps / air bubbles. Use the bottom of a glass, placed on a small piece of non-stick paper to prevent sticking, to compact the mixture even more. Put into the fridge while you make your cheesecake mixture.

Place coconut yogurt, maple syrup, vanilla and cashews in the blender, blend until super smooth.

Activate agar agar in 60 ml / ¼ cup of water (or thin plant milk). Follow the instructions on the packet and be ready to act quickly as once the agar agar is activated, you'll need to act fast so that it doesn't set in the blender.

Add activated agar agar to the white cheesecake mix, blend for a few seconds so that it's well distributed and then pour over the base and quickly level with a spatula. Allow it to set (fridge will speed things up but it's not necessary) while you make the pink layer.

Place half of the destemmed strawberries and drained cashews at the bottom of the blender (you don't need to wash it) and blend until the cashews are super smooth. If there isn't enough moisture in the blender, add a couple more strawberries.

Now add the rest of the strawberries and maple syrup. Blend until smooth.

Prepare the strawberries for decorating by destemming them and slicing whichever way appeals to you. Set aside. You can decorate the top with strawberries once you pour the pink layer out or after cutting - as it is a very lightly set dessert decorating it after cutting produces neater looking slices.

Activate agar agar in 60 ml / ¼ cup of water (or thin plant milk). Follow the instructions on the packet and be ready to act quickly as once the agar agar is activated, you'll need to act fast so that it doesn't set in the blender.

Add the activated agar agar to the pink cheesecake mix, blend for a few seconds so that it's well distributed and then pour over the white layer and quickly level with a spatula. The cheesecake will set within 30-60 minutes and putting it in the fridge helps a little. I found that it is even nicer the day after it has been made so I recommend making a day ahead if you can. Store it in an air-tight container in the fridge, it keeps for 3-4 days.

Nutrition

• Calories: 211.42
• Total Fat: 11.51 g
• Saturated Fat: 1.76 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 9.75 g
• Trans Fat: 0 g
• Cholesterol: 0 mg
• Sodium: 56.78 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 26.05 g
• Dietary Fiber: 3.36 g
• Total Sugars: 15.49 g
• Protein: 3.65 g