Mini Vegan Vanilla Blackberry Cheesecakes

It was beautiful here in Minnesota last weekend!  The sun was shining, it was warm enough for summer clothes and sandals and I even noticed some flowers starting to bloom when I was out for my walk with Eric.  I feel like Spring is here and in full swing! I love this time of the year when everything is coming back to life again after Winter.  So I am in a Spring and Summer sort of mood.  I bought a bunch of blackberries on sale at the store and decided that they needed to be made into a delicious dessert.  Not something super complicated though, because I was dedicating my time to being outside last weekend and not being stuck in the kitchen.

I wanted cheesecake, so I decided to make some mini blackberry vanilla cheesecakes because they are super easy to make and just as good as a big one. Not only that, you get your own cute little cake to enjoy.  But I will admit I did not end up eating just one. For the crust I used a simple mixture of oats, dates, walnuts and a pinch of salt. Ingredients that are easy to find that most people have on hand.  Since I did not have any sprouted buckwheat on hand, my usual go to crust ingredient.  For the base I used coconut milk and cashew butter because I feel like that gives a vegan cheesecake the best texture.  I used to always use fresh young coconuts for my raw cheesecakes, but they are expensive and time consuming and I have found out that the proper full fat coconut milk can be just as good.  I used plenty of fresh blackberries in these because I wanted them to be nice and flavorful.

They turned out super delicious without a lot of work, and if you are craving Summer and berries these might be just the cure!  I love blackberries and it makes me excited when I can get them on sale, and I feel like they are special so they deserve to be used in something delicious like these little cakes!  I hope you are all having a wonderful start to your week!

Mini Vegan Vanilla Blackberry Cheesecakes
Makes 10

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1/2 cup gluten free organic rolled oats
• 1/2 cup soft, pitted medjool dates
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/8 tsp sea salt

Cheesecake Filling:

• 3/4 cup full fat organic coconut milk at room temperature
• 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp cashew butter
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/8 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp coconut butter, warmed to liquid
• 8 oz organic blackberries plus more for garnish

Instructions:

1. To make the crust, combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until fine crumbs and starting to hold together when squeezed. Press into the bottoms of 10 silicone muffin tins.  Place in the freezer while you make the filling.
2. To make the filling, combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
3. Pour the filling over the crust, and place in the freezer to firm up for about 45 minutes or up to an hour.  Once they have firmed up, un-mold them and place them on a tray.
4. Garnish with blackberries.  Serve!
5. Store any left over cheesecakes in the refrigerator.