Before I went vegan, brownie-cheesecake was my absolute favourite among all cakes. It was also one of the first cakes I have ever made from scratch; I must have been about 12 or 13 years old. It was just this perfect cake, I never knew whether to go for a cheesecake or a brownie and it had both! I mean, who wouldn’t love it?

I never thought that recreating it in a vegan version would actually work but I guess I underestimated the power of cashews – apologies!

This cake is really freaking good. It’s so moist and rich, just like the actual thing. It also looks beautiful and I bet you none of your friends will believe it’s vegan.

Ingredients:

For the brownie layer:

• 200g dark chocolate
• 150g margarine
• 120g all purpose flour
• 3 tbsp. cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 100ml maple syrup
• 1 400g tin chickpeas *

For the ‘cheese’ layer:

• 200g cashews, soaked for at least 4 hours
• 100ml coconut milk
• 60ml maple syrup

For the fruit layer:

• 100g frozen raspberries (or your favourite fruit)
• 1 tbsp. maple syrup

 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Lay a square brownie tin with greaseproof paper and set aside.
2. Put the margarine in a saucepan, add chopped chocolate and melt on low heat, take off the heat and set aside.
3. Drain the chickpea water into a mixing bowl and whisk using an electric whisk until fluffy and foamy but not stiff. This should take at least 5 minutes.
4. In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Add the melted chocolate and margarine and mix thoroughly. Add maple syrup and whisked chickpea water and mix until smooth dough forms.
5. Place the dough in the prepared baking tin and bake for 10 min. Take out of the oven and set aside, do not turn the oven off.
6. In the meantime make the ‘cheese’ layer. Place the cashews in a food processor or high-speed blender, add coconut milk and maple syrup and blend until smooth and creamy. This will take a good 5 minutes.
7. Put the raspberries in a saucepan, add maple syrup and cook on low heat for 5 min until the fruits defrost and a compote-like mixture forms.
8. Spread the ‘cheese’ mix evenly on top of the brownie. Put one teaspoon of raspberry compote every 2 inches on top of the ‘cheese’ and using a toothpick draw flower-like shapes. Put the tin back in the oven and bake for 10 more minutes. Take out of the oven and set aside to cool before serving. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.

 

* Make sure that the chickpeas you use have no more ingredients than water and antioxidant.

Enjoy!