Since that nut free Vanilla Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake I made last weekend turned out so good, I decided that this weekend I needed to make a chocolate one for all of you chocolate lovers out there. You know who you are, the people who can never resist anything chocolate, and always choose it over vanilla. Eric (my boyfriend) is like that. In fact, the first dessert I ever made for his Birthday was a raw Mexican chocolate cheesecake. I don’t hate on chocolate just because I usually have a thing for vanilla. In fact this week I have been craving something decadent and chocolaty so it is a win for everyone me making the chocolate cheesecake this weekend.
I didn’t want to make anything that was too difficult either, and vegan cheesecakes are usually pretty straight forward. What mattered to me here was that the cheesecake be rich, decadent and still be healthier than traditional cheesecake. I think I achieved all of that.
For the crust, I my usual go to crust of oats, coconut and dates but with cacao powder this time to make it rich and sort of raw brownie like. It was the perfect base for the richness to come. The filling is a little unusual. Like the other nut free cheesecake I made last weekend, I included chickpeas in this one for the creamy filling instead of my usual go-to cashews. And you know what? You can not even tell the difference once it is all blended up. Once you add in the cacao powder you would never even know that they are in there! Also, this cheesecake is completely fruit sweetened as well as an added bonus, because I used dates this time instead of maple syrup.
Dates are nature’s candy, and I love using them in desserts. Anyways, back to that cheesecake filling…it was delicious even before I poured it into the crust. Like a dreamy chocolate mousse that I could eat out of a bowl. I decided to stir vegan chocolate chips into it to make it even more delicious!