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Vegan Chocolate Orange Cheesecake

5 from 7 reader reviews
Prep Time 30 minutes
Resting/Soaking Time 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 30 minutes
Servings 10 (ONE 8-INCH CAKE)
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Ingredients

Toasted Oat Crust

  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 1 cup soft Medjool Dates
  • ¼ cup Cacao Powder
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼-⅓ cup non-dairy milk or water

Cheesecake Filling

  • 2 cups raw cashews, soaked for at least 4 hours and drained
  • ¾ cup full fat coconut milk
  • ½ cup maple syrup
  • ¼ cup melted coconut oil
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest
  • 2 tablespoons orange juice
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons Cacao Powder
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • 5 oz (140 grams) Oat Milk Baking Chocolate, melted

Instructions

  • Lightly grease an 8-inch springform pan with coconut oil and set aside.
  • In a large skillet over medium heat, toast the rolled oats until very fragrant, about 5 minutes. Set the oats aside to cool.
  • In the bowl of a food processor, combine the cooled toasted oats, Medjool dates, cacao powder, and sea salt. Pulse the mixture until finely chopped. Then, with the motor running, drizzle in ¼ cup of the non-dairy milk into the food processor through the feed tube. The mixture should start sticking together and balling up. If it isn’t doing this, keep adding more non-dairy milk by the tablespoon until it forms a slightly sticky “dough.”
  • Press the toasted oat crust into the prepared springform pan evenly. I like to use the bottom and sides of a dry measuring cup to press the crust up the sides of the pan. Once adequately pressed in, set the crust aside.
  • Make the cheesecake filling. In an upright, high speed blender, combine the drained cashews, coconut milk, maple syrup, coconut oil, orange zest, orange juice, lemon juice, vanilla extract, cacao powder, sea salt, and the melted oat milk chocolate. Blend this mixture on high until completely smooth and fully incorporated, at least 1 full minute. If the ingredients aren’t blending easily, stop the motor of the blender periodically and push the ingredients down with a spatula. Then, resume blending on high.
  • Once you have the filling completely smooth, Pour it into the prepared toasted oat crust. Spread the filling out evenly with a spatula. Place the cheesecake in the fridge until the filling is completely set, at least 4 hours.
  • Garnish the chocolate orange cheesecake with the the suggested cashew cream in the recipe notes or simply with a drizzle of melted oat milk chocolate. I like to take the cheesecake out of the fridge about 10 minutes before I intend to slice and serve it.
  • This cheesecake keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Equipment

Recipe Notes

  • I topped this cheesecake with a vanilla cashew cream and some additional melted oat milk baking chocolate, and just swirled the two together with a paring knife. This step is optional because the cheesecake alone is so rich. If you’d like to make the cashew cream topping yourself, you’ll need to blend the following in a high speed blender: ½ cup raw cashews (soaked for 4 hours and drained), 1/3 cup filtered water (plus extra of necessary), 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Blend those ingredients on high until silky smooth. Let the cream set up in the fridge to firm up for about 30 minutes before spreading on top of the fully set cheesecake, and then drizzling with melted chocolate.
  • I finished this cheesecake with peeled slices of a regular orange, a cara cara orange, and a blood orange. Makes the final dessert look so beautiful, but isn’t 100% absolutely necessary. I also sprinkled a little pinch of cacao nibs as well. 
This chocolate orange cheesecake with gluten-free toasted oat crust is a super decadent dessert made with all whole food ingredients.