Raw Vegan Macadamia Caramel Cheesecake

I liked this cheesecake so much I decided to make a double batch and make it into a cake and a slice. Well, that’s not entirely true, the two different shapes were a result of a failed experiment and in the end, I basically came out with two desserts (did not intend on it). I hope the two different shapes are not too confusing, you can use either a round or square baking tin to get whatever shape you prefer, or double the recipe and make both!

I’ve decided I am going to use this recipe to briefly talk about something that has been on my mind for a while. The issue with saturated fat on a plant-based diet. I am sure it comes as no surprise that one of the most popular and most studied forms of plant-based eating is a whole food plant-based diet that promotes no consumption of oil. Most condemned is the use of oils high in saturated fat which includes coconut oil. The reason I wanted to talk about it here is that this recipe contains both coconut and macadamia nuts which are both a source of plant saturated fats. Plant saturated fats are different from animal-based ones and have not shown to have as much of a bad effect on cholesterol and heart disease in studies however they do still raise cholesterol. I can see that if you are someone who already struggles with high cholesterol and chronic health problems, then desserts like this are probably not a great idea. They are still a much better choice over the traditional desserts which contain not the only animal-based saturated fats but also trans fats and refined sugar but overall it’s not a dessert I would recommend in that situation. However, what if you have the opposite problem and have inadequate cholesterol because body weight is too low? low cholesterol means it is impossible to make adequate steroid hormones, like estrogen and progesterone as all steroid hormones are derived from cholesterol. That is why in my hormone healing journey, the moderate intake of plant-based saturated fats was very beneficial for me. It helped my deprived starving body get the calories it needed as well as help to build my cholesterol to a place where I could start making my own hormones in more adequate amounts. To be perfectly honest I don’t really even like coconut oil but would force myself to use it and have it at the beginning of my struggles because I knew my body could use it. Nowadays I definitely don’t use it as much but I still make sure I get an adequate intake of plant-based healthy fats for my hormones.

I have used macadamia nuts in this recipe which makes it extremely creamy and delicious but I am aware that macadamia nuts are very expensive and macadamia nut butter is not only the most expensive nut butter there is but also very hard to find. You can, of course, make your own macadamia butter but for the purpose of this recipe, you can also sub cashew butter. It will be just as delicious (and a tiny bit lower in saturated fat). The cake is a very soft cake which won’t hold its shape too well if it melts, so its one that I suggest storing in the freezer.

The recipe is vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free. enjoy!