Food is a kind of magic. Sun hits the plants and infuses them with goodness – all the macronutrients, vitamins, and minerals we need to live and thrive. We harvest the plants, and with our hands, we turn them into something delicious that provides us with everything we need go about our day. It’s truly an amazing thing every time we put sustenance into our bodies.

But there are some meals that make us feel even more like magicians than others (raw brownies and healthy chocolate come pretty high up on that list!) If you’ve never made a raw cheesecake from cashews before, prepare to have your mind blown. We’re not sure who first discovered that blended cashews have the exact same consistency as cheesecake, but we do know that they are genius. This cake is raw, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and can be made vegan if you substitute the honey for another sweetener of your choosing (try maple syrup or coconut nectar!)

Lavender is a beautiful healing flower that adds subtle floral notes to many dishes – though it should be used sparingly, as it can be overpowering otherwise. Lavender contains Vitamin A, calcium, and iron, and has been shown to help people who are having trouble sleeping. Blueberries, meanwhile, are one of nature’s powerhouses – they have a stratospheric antioxidant content that is celebrated for helping us in our fights against colon and ovarian cancers, coronary heart disease, stroke, and the onset of brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s, senile dementia, and age-related memory loss.

But the best thing about raw cashew cheesecakes is that you can really make them into any flavour you like – we chose lavender to celebrate spring, and blueberries to add to the purple-blue party – but you can try almost any other fruit – another of our favourite combinations is raspberry and raw cacao!

Raw Lavender & Blueberry “Cheese” Cake

For the base:

1 cup walnuts

1 cup Medjool dates

For the filling:

3 cups raw cashews, soaked in water overnight

1 banana

Juice of two lemons

2/3 cup coconut oil

2/3 cup honey

2 cups blueberries

1 cup lavender

Seeds of one vanilla bean

Method:

Pulse the walnuts and dates together in a food processor until you have a biscuit-like consistency, which should stick together when you press it with your fingers. Scoop out and press the base mixture into a springform pan with your hands. Rinse the processor well.

On a low heat, melt coconut oil and honey in a saucepan and whisk to combine

Place (drained) cashews into food processor and blend until very smooth – this can take up to ten minutes depending on the power of your processor, so be patient!

Add banana, coconut oil/honey mixture, blueberries, lavender, vanilla bean seeds, and lemon juice, and mix on high until evenly combined

Pour filling mixture over base and smooth with a spatula. Freeze until solid.

Before serving, remove from the freezer half an hour earlier. Decorate with fresh lavender and blueberries and impress everyone you know with your healthy “cheese”cake that’s just like the real thing!