GF Chocolate-Banana "Cheesecake"

I decided to make a dessert to celebrate Mother's Day with my mom, and we had a couple of birthdays as well. It came out pretty yummy. This dessert was inspired by the amazing dessert creations by Emily at This Rawesome Vegan Life and by another of my favorites The Detoxinista. I didn't follow one particular recipe, this is more of a conglomeration recipes from both of them. Emily makes the most beautiful raw desserts, there are so many to try! And I got the idea to add the zucchini from the Detoxinista... and I have to say I am sold. You have no idea it's in there, but the texture is amazing! It's kind of like ice cream and feels a bit less "heavy" than just the cashews which I personally love. This is also my mom's favorite version so far as well!



I probably like my desserts a bit less sweet than the average person, so taste this as you make it to see if you'd like it a bit sweeter. I had no complaints though! As much as I love this, I still think my favorite part is the chocolate topping! It's amazing and made easily with a few simple ingredients. I also love because it hardens like Magic Shell, but without all the mystery ingredients!

Crust:
1 cup raw walnuts
1 cup raw rolled oats
1 cup dates
1 tsp vanilla
sprinkle of salt

Cheesecake Filling:
2 cups raw cashews
1/2 cup date water
1 zucchini peel & diced
4-5 tbsp pure grade B maple syrup
4 tbsp raw cacao (heaping)
2 bananas sliced

Chocolate "Magic Shell" Topping:
2 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp raw cacao powder
2 tbsp pure grade B maple syrup
sprinkle of salt

Soaking Directions:
If you want to keep this totally raw, then you will need to soak the walnuts overnight, two days ahead, then give them around 24 hours in the dehydrator at 105 degrees to make them crispy again for the crust. Alternately you can toast them at a low heat before hand if you don't mind that they are not raw. This part is up to you. Ideally, I like to buy raw nuts and soak them, dry them ahead of time and store them so they are ready to use, other than cashews, I leave those raw. It's easiest to work with raw soft, soaked cashews for these types of recipes. I prefer to buy raw nuts and go through the process of soaking and drying to get the most "bang for my buck" as it increases the nutrient density to "germinate" them, reduces the digestive inhibitors, and by not heating them over 115 degrees, preserves the natural digestive enzymes that were activated by germinating them. This was an ancient practice for all legumes, seeds, nuts and grains that was given up in modern times! Here is a great link to why soaking seeds and nuts is beneficial!

You will need to use raw cashews for the "cheesecake" filling and you have to soak them ahead of time for a minimum of 2 hours, preferably 4 hours. After soaking, always drain and rinse before using. You can also soak the dates for an hour or two in just enough water to cover them, to help soften them up. You can then save the date water to add to the cashews for processing.

Assembly Directions:
For the crust, add the 1 cup of whole oats into the food processor and pulse a bit to make a course flour. Remove oats and add in the dates and pulse until they are minced. Add the oats back in, along with the walnuts, vanilla & salt and pulse until mixed well and it forms a sticky kind of "dough". You will then need to press the crust into the pan firmly and evenly. I used a spring form pan, but you can easily use a pie dish if you like. Add a layer of sliced bananas directly on top of the crust.

For the "cheesecake" filling, drain and rinse your cashews then add them to the blender with about a half a cup of the soak water from the dates. Or regular water if you did not soak your dates. Process this for 3-5 minutes or until it is smooth and creamy. Add in your diced zucchini and process again for 2-3 minutes until the zucchini is completely blended in and you are left with a super creamy smooth cashew mix. Add in the maple syrup and cacao powder and blend again until mixed. You can taste the mixture to see if you'd like to add more sweetener or cacao here. Spoon this over the crust, add another layer of sliced banana, then place this in the freezer to set.

For the topping, In a small double boiler, add the coconut oil, cacao powder, maple syrup and salt and stir well as it heats to slowly to mix the ingredients. (you can do this w/o a double boiler if you don't have one, just keep the heat really low, coconut oil will melt at a very low temp) As soon as the mixture is smooth and blended well, you can drizzle it over the top of the "cheesecake". It will harden like Magic Shell does and it is delicious and so much better for you! This will have a very mild coconut flavor due to the oil. Keep this dessert stored in the freezer and remove 5-10 minutes before serving. This will serve 8!  Enjoy~