Rockin’ Raspberry “Cheesecake”
Yes, you read my headline correctly. I managed to truthfully string together the words “raw” “vegan” “gluten free” “cheesecake” and “yum” into the same sentence, courtesy of Earth Cafe.
I’ve been intrigued by their “cheesecakes” ever since I’ve read some rave reviews but admittedly was a little skeptical that the flavor and texture could be achieved in a raw, gluten free product stripped of hydrogenated oils and refined sugars. I always viewed cheesecake as layers upon layers of unhealthiness.
If I weren’t a vegetarian, I’d say I need to eat some crow because I LOVED this product!
I received samples of the following flavors: Peach Passion Pie, Whose Your Daddy? (Carob mousse), Blueberry Thrill, Rockin’ Raspberry, Cherry Dream and Cali Style Lemon.
For me, the key components to look out for were texture, flavor and ingredients/nutrition stats so here’s my two cents on each.
Also, Earth Cafe was so kind as to offer a reader giveaway and they have shipping down pat so anybody in the US can enter!
To enter, you can either comment here with your favorite vegetable to eat raw or for triple entries you can Tweet the following with a link to this post:
I want to win @dreamofgreenie vegan cheesecake giveaway with @earthcafe
TEXTURE
Make no mistake about it-I am very weird when it comes to texture of foods and was concerned these desserts would have more of a gelatinous texture (which is absolutely feasible even without the use of gelatin).
However, I was pleasantly surprised when the texture was SPOT ON for each flavor…the perfect balance of light to firm creaminess with a nutty crust and topping that mimicked the texture (and taste!) of streusel.
Also, since I am not a big crust person, I liked that the slices were 90% filling and 10% crust. If you are a crust fiend, be forewarned but not scared away because this is worth trying!!
FLAVOR
I have to offer up a disclaimer: I am a fiend for cinnamon. I like it on cereal, in coffee, sprinkled on sweet potato fries, etc. So I was really stoked to taste that rich earthy flavor in every bite.
That said, the cinnamon sometimes played a Karen & Jack on Will & Grace, overshadowing the “star” ingredients of the cheesecake. This effect was particularly apparent in the peach flavor, which tasted just a rich cinnamony pillow. However, I really liked that the cinnamon flavor imparted in the Who’s Your Daddy? flavor allowed for only a subtle taste of carob (which I generally find to be overpowering).
The Rockin’ Raspberry flavor also struck the perfect balance between the down home cinnamon taste and the luscious bursts of fresh fruit.
For flavor alone, I’d say my favorites were Who’s Your Daddy? and Blueberry Thrill.
INGREDIENTS/STATS:
While there were of course some variations among ingredients by flavor, in general, each slice tended to be comprised of soaked cashews, pecans and walnuts, coconut, coconut butter, agave nectar, lemon and sea salt.
This just proves that rich flavor is best achieved with natural ingredients.
As for the nutrition, a half slice ranges from 177 to 193 calories and 15 grams of fat-mostly the good kind. Not too shabby at all, given that most restaurant versions START at 700 calories and upwards of 40 grams of fat (emphasis on the saturated).
Do you have any good gluten free or vegan dessert recipes?
Posted by ella on June 15, 2010 at 9:10 am
My favorite veggie to eat raw…cucumbers. With Greek dressing on the side for dippin’! YUM!
Posted by msd on June 15, 2010 at 9:29 am
Wow !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This sounds too good to be true. Wonder what customers of The Cheesecake Factory are thinking?
Posted by spabettie on June 15, 2010 at 9:35 am
my favorite raw veggie = bell peppers.
gluten free desserts: http://spabettie.com/2010/06/14/flourless-almond-butter-cookies/
and : http://spabettie.com/2010/06/05/vanilla-pear-and-fun-packages/
one more : http://spabettie.com/2010/05/28/you-got-your-pretzel-in-my-chocolate-peanut-butter/
there are others on my blog, but these are a few of my favorites
Posted by spabettie on June 15, 2010 at 9:36 am
…and I also tweeted about this giveaway, even though it’ll narrow my chances That Much More… !!
these all sound fabulous, I want to try all of them! thank you for the opportunity…
Posted by Missy Maintains on June 15, 2010 at 1:01 pm
Yummm. Favorite veggie to eat raw is red peppers…dipped in hummus!
Posted by zenlizzie on June 15, 2010 at 1:38 pm
That looks so good, and I’m not even a cheesecake fan. I don’t know many vegan or raw dessert recipes, but warm banana + crushed almonds + vanilla extract + agave (i used honey, but you could use agave if you want it to be vegan) tastes JUST LIKE banana pudding. I found this out accidentally when I was mushing things together that I thought would taste good.
Posted by Abby on June 15, 2010 at 4:58 pm
My favorite veggie to eat raw is bell peppers!
(blueberry thrill sounds divine!)
Posted by Chef Dennis on June 15, 2010 at 5:02 pm
who knew vegan cheesecake could be so tasty! I’m sure the folks from Philly Cream Cheese would be having panic attacks if they knew….lol…..but I think its great that people can be so creative and skilled to make something as good as you make it sound!
Thanks for sharing your wonderful find!
my favorite raw veggie are sugar snap peas!
Posted by idreamofgreenie on June 15, 2010 at 5:10 pm
It’s interesting b/c I was never really a cheesecake fan. Always found it really heavy and not flavorful enough but I love Earth Cafe’s product.
Plus, they already told me they are happy to tweak the peach flavor based on my feedback…that’s what I call customer service
These GF desserts look great as does the banana dessert (I am a sucker for good banana pudding).
Would you believe I have 4 favorite veggies to eat raw? Red and orange bell peppers, snap peas, green beans and carrots!
Posted by FoodCents on June 16, 2010 at 3:30 pm
Holy heavens of John Stamos, this looks sooooooo tasty. I am not vegan, but I would absolutely love to try this cheesecake – open mind:)
I can not pick just one raw veggie, to deem my favorite. I love the crunch & subtle sweetness of carrots. A high quality cucumber is so refreshing when it is hot. Green beans, mmmmmm. C-flower, odd but sometimes it just hits the spot. Corn, when at the peak of its growing season, is so good cut off of cob.
Posted by FoodCents on June 16, 2010 at 3:33 pm
I just tweeted this vegan goodness, you know who I am on Twitter:)
Posted by LAST CHANCE TO ENTER VEGAN CHEESECAKE GIVEAWAY! « I Dream of Greenie on June 21, 2010 at 11:46 am
[...] cafe cheesecake, gluten free cheesecake, raw dessert, vegan cheesecake. Leave a Comment Last week, I reviewed Earth Cafe’s ridiculously delicious vegan, raw and gluten free cheesecake and they were so kind as to offer a giveaway of an ENTIRE [...]
Posted by Elizabeth on June 21, 2010 at 11:57 am
The best raw veggie, in my opinion, would have to be cucumber.
Posted by Julielynn on June 21, 2010 at 12:00 pm
I tweeted @fayinagirl. =)
Posted by Noelle @vegan Opera singer in kitchen on June 21, 2010 at 12:05 pm
This SOUNDS fantastic! I would totally love to try this!I tweeted! http://twitter.com/singerinkitchen/status/16718183940
Posted by Noelle @vegan Opera singer in kitchen on June 21, 2010 at 12:07 pm
I love eating carrots and beets raw. SO delicious and pure in its flavor! By the way, if we tweeted, do you want 3 comment entries on here or will you take care of that?
Posted by idreamofgreenie on June 21, 2010 at 12:09 pm
Noelle,
Commenting once is fine
Posted by Tamara @ The Stretch Jean Incident. on June 21, 2010 at 12:26 pm
My favorite raw veggie is a carrot. Could munch on those babies all day!
Posted by Leinana on June 21, 2010 at 12:27 pm
I love raw carrots! Always surprised by their sweetness. You know what else is sweet? Vegan raw cheesecake! I neeeed to win one of these!
Also tweeted from @vegangoodthings
Posted by JEC on June 21, 2010 at 12:53 pm
I tweeeted at @moisourde. I’d have a hard time limiting myself to one favorite raw veggie. But I love cucumbers. They’re so light and refreshing.
Posted by Megan on June 21, 2010 at 12:58 pm
I love cauliflower and brussels sprouts raw–cruciferous veggies are definitely underrated!
Posted by poiseinparma on June 21, 2010 at 1:15 pm
Tweeted!
My favorite raw veggie are definitely peppers. Green, red, yellow, orange – any color is fine with me!
Posted by Bill F on June 21, 2010 at 3:49 pm
My favorite veggie to eat raw is cucumbers. But it’s so hard to limit myself to just one!
Posted by ella on June 22, 2010 at 10:35 am
https://twitter.com/ellaanachronism/status/16789997314
Posted by gabby on June 22, 2010 at 10:36 am
carrots are my favorite veggie to eat raw! but there are so many great veggies!!