Raw Mint Chocolate Vegan Cheesecake Parfaits : raw, no-bake, no sugar added, gluten-free

Ahh… when you take a whiff of fresh mint growing in your own herb garden… your mind can’t help but wander… hypnotized by the scent…. Your own senses just guide you and inspirations come over and you know you  want to eat it up but how? Fresh mint is one of the most wonderful herbs on the planet, I think! That’s because I’ve always been a big fan of mint tea and chocolate-chip ice cream was always (and often still is) in our freezer all the time. I often liked a little sprig of fresh mint for decorating other desserts… but I have not yet done a dessert solely based on the mint as the main ingredient! The thought – brilliant! The process – surprisingly easy and quick! The result – pure happiness!

Of course, fresh mint leaves can be picked up year round – thank goodness! So there’s really no reason to wait to make this dessert. It’s amazingly healthy too with no sugar added, gluten/ grain free and completely dairy/ egg/ vegan. And naturally coloured with the light green colour hint from the fresh mint – please watch out for food colouring – it’s mostly very toxic and terrible for you.

Always choose natural food colouring and avoid store bought desserts at all times that are loaded with sprinkles or coated in coloured icing – I don’t know how people give this *crap* to their kids! (that’s changing the topic there… sorry about that, but clearly I have a lot of issues with what’s on the store shelves!) ;)

 

My friends, this is easier than you think! You can eat healthy desserts and enjoy simple no-bake cheesecake that tastes unbelievable! Knowing that clean beautiful ingredients went into your dessert make it that much good for your senses and your body….. The inspiration comes from my friend Heather’s Mint Chocolate Tart. Here is my slightly-simplified version of it you’ve all been waiting for :

MINT CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE PARFAITS

{raw, vegan, grain free/ gluten-free, dairy and egg free, no-bake, no sugar added}

Raw Chocolate Crust Ingredients :

• 1 cup almonds, ground
• 3/4 cup pitted, packed dates
• 1/4 cup cacao powder
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Ground the almonds in the food processor, add the other ingredients and 1-2 teaspoons of water if needed and mix to combine well. Press ‘dough’ to see if it sticks together a little.

Spread out evenly into little dishes, that are freezer safe and press evenly into the bottom of each dish. I made six in mine – but they were quite big for a single serving – they ended up being ‘shared’ between a couple ;) So because you’re doing individual portions, keep the size of your dishes in mind – smaller is best. (portion control is easier! ;)

Raw Vegan Cheesecake Mint Filling Ingredients :

• 2 1/2 cups cashews
• 1 cup lightly packed mint leaves
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons coconut nectar or honey
• 5-8 drops mint essential oil, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Pinch of Himalayan salt
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil, warmed slightly so it’s liquid

Directions :

In a blender or food processor, combine all the ingredients and mix to combine well. Taste the filling and add more mint essential oil if you want a bigger burst of mint – 1 drop at a time. Pour into the dishes with the crust and spread evenly.

Because you’re working with glass, refrigerate for about 1-2 hours, then place in the freezer for another 1-2 hours. Before serving, place them back in the fridge for 15 minutes or so, so they thaw out. We loved them a bit ice-creamy still!

The reason you wouldn’t want to place them directly into the freezer is so that the glass has a chance to slowly cool and then thaw back down – drastic changes of temperature for glass could result the glass to break.

These are super cute in glass dishes – and very presentable when dressed up with extra sprigs of mint and even fresh raspberries – these were also picked fresh from our garden by the kids just before we served them ;) You could also serve them in plastic dishes (clear-plastic would be great for outdoor entertaining) or use a spring form and make it a tart!

Oh dear… these were good! I am super excited that it was made with fresh mint from my herb garden ;) ps. it’s good to note that these were also enjoyed by all the grownups at our garden party ~ not so popular with the little kids! I think they are used to the sweet chocolate-mint ice cream flavour and associated the flavour with that – so they expected something different. But the grown-ups fought over them – seriously! ;)