Here it is: the healthy no bake mocha cheesecakes I promised you! Hazaa!
Last winter I was a guest judge on for the Australian Non Toxic awards, and was loaded up with a huge amount of products I had never tried before. One of the awards was all about coffee, and before I knew it my fridge was filled with premium, cold press espresso. Not such a bad position to be in, especially as I love the flavour of coffee. My poor adrenals on the other hand? They don’t appreciate large doses of caffeine all that much, so coffee is something I drink rarely (basically when I go to a cafe- aka never in 2020).
So, I got creative. If I couldn’t drink all the delicious coffee I was sure going to make something fabulous with it. Naturally, these healthy no bake mocha cheesecakes were at the top of my list- and so, they were birthed.
There are truely scrumptious. Super creamy. Balanced really delightfully- and are naturally free from grains, flours, artificial sweetness, cane sugar and gluten.
What you will need for these healthy no bake coffee cheesecakes
- Pecans- which can easily be subbed for almonds, walnuts or roast cashews.
- Cacao or cacao powder. I used dutch pressed cocoa here for that dramatic dark chocolate look, but raw cacao will be perfect, too.
- Soft dates. medjool are my go-to, and they help the base stick together but also double as a whole food sweetener.
- Raw cashews- this makes up the base of the cheesecake layers
- Almond milk, or your preferred nut milk. I like the taste of almond here, but soy, oat, coconut or rice milk could be used too.
- Pure maple syrup, or your preferred natural, sticky (liquid) sweetener. there is a fair amount you can choose from- I like maple syrup the most as it has (in my opinion) the best flavour.
- Coffee- espresso coffee, if fact. I used this one here, but if you don’t have that- or a machine- go grab a shot from your local cafe!
- Cacao butter- this helps the cakes to set, and is essential if you want to avoid that coconut oil taste a lot of raw/no bake cakes taste of. Cacao butter sets harder than coconut oil, and has a less over bearing taste. I often like to blend the two, but you can sub for coconut oil if that is all you have (however you will need to add about 50% more coconut oil)
- Vanilla and salt- always!
Well, that is it! Enjoy this recipe, and if you try it let me know in the comments. We always welcome reviews and comments, and it helps others find this recipe too. If you’re after some other healthy vegan snack ideas, then check out:
- Vegan chocolate peanut butter ice cream pops
- Paleo, vegan chocolate cupcakes
- Low carb vegan bliss balls
- 5 ingredient, grain-free peanut butter cookies

Healthy no bake mocha cheesecakes
- Prep Time: 30 mins plus soaking time
- Cook Time: 6 hours
- Total Time: 32 minute
- Yield: 6-10 1x
- Category: Desserts
- Method: No bake
- Cuisine: Vegan
Description
These healthy no bake mocha cheesecakes are both vegan and paleo friendly. They contain no cane sugar, grains or gluten, and are creamy, packed full of flavour and a total crowd pleaser.
Ingredients
Base
- 1/2 cup (55g) pecans
- 1/3 cup (45g) cocoa/cacao
- Pinch salt
- 6–8 (approx 100g) soft dates, pitted (see notes)
Coffee layer
- 1 cup (200g) raw cashews, soaked 4 hours
- 1/4 cup (60g) coconut almond milk
- 1 shot (1/4 cup or 60ml) espresso coffee
- 1/4 cup (75g) pure maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3 Tbsp (40g) melted cacao butter (see notes)
Vanilla cream layer
- 1 cup (200g) raw cashews, soaked 4 hours
- 1/2 cup (125ml) almond milk
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3 Tbsp (60g) pure maple syrup
- 3 Tbsp (40g) melted cacao butter (see notes)
1 Tbsp coconut oil, melted (with the cacao butter)
Chocolate whipped cream layer
- 1/2 can (2oo ml) coconut cream (set in the fridge over night)
- 2 Tbsp (30g) cocoa/cacao powder
- 1 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the base
- I always recommend using scales to make any recipe for accuracy, but as we are not baking, it is easy to follow the recipe using Australian standard cups.
- Set aside a tray of small sized silicone muffin moulds. Mine are around 1 cup in size, but you cold use smaller or larger- it ill just make less or more cakes. The recipe is very easy to adapt to whatever you have at home.
- Add the pecans, cacao/cocoa and salt to a food processor. Blitz until very small crumbs have formed. Next, with the food processor running, add one date at a time. Keep adding dates until the mix turns into a slightly sticky ball. Basically, as soon as the mix clumps into one large ball you are done. You can test the mixture further by squeezing a small amount in your hand. It should hold well, but not be so sticky that it sticks to your skin. Divide between your silicone moulds (for me, this made 7). Use your fingers to press down the base of each one fairly firmly, then set aside.
Make the coffee layer
- Drain and rinse cashews then add to a blender along with remaining ingredients besides the melted cacao butter (see notes for how to correctly melt cacao butter). If you don not have a blender you can do this step in a food processor- however please note that you wont get the silky smooth texture as pictured (you can still get great taste though!). Blend until very smooth, using you blender tamper if necessary. Once the mixture is silky smooth, leave the blender running and stream in the cacao butter. Blend a further 20s or until well incorporated.
- Pour coffee mixture evenly over you bases. Next, set in the freezer for 1 hour. You can skip this step if you are short on time- freezing just helps to create even, pretty layers, but you can simply make the next layer straight away if you prefer.
Make the vanilla layer.
- Drain and rinse cashews then add to a blender along with remaining ingredients besides the melted cacao butter and coconut oil (see notes for how to correctly melt cacao butter). Blend until very smooth, using you blender tamper if necessary. Once the mixture is silky smooth, leave the blender running and stream in the cacao butter and coconut oil. Blend a further 20s or until well incorporated.
- Pour mixture evenly between your moulds, then bang on the bench to remove any air bubbles.
- Set in the freezer for 4 plus hours. Remove from the freezer and moulds, then place onto a tray and preferably defrost in the fridge for 4 + hours (I always do mine overnight). Defrosting on the bench is ok if you are in a hurry, but you will get condensation if the weather is warm- again, not a problem, it just does not look as nice.
Finally, make the chocolate whipped cream
- Please note- this layer IS optional. The cakes taste amazing as they are, but their is icing one the cake. To make the whipped cream, remove the coconut cream from the fridge and scoop out 1/2 (200g) of the thick creamy part.
- Place in a bowl with remaining ingredients and beat for 3-4 minutes or until whipped.
- Remove cakes from the fridge, and pipe cream on top.
Serving and storage
- Serve immediately, or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- If you do no add the chocolate whipped cream the cakes will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
- Cake are best stored in the fridge until ready to eat. In warmer weather, they will melt quickly so beware! The texture is best when cool- it is thick and creamy and delicious, so there is no need to take cakes out to warm up to room temperature.
Notes
- I use fresh Medjool dates, however they can be replaced with dried dates. Simply soak the dates prior to use in hot water. You want to avoid adding too much water to the recipe, so once they have softened (usually 5-10 mins) drain and squeeze out any excess water that you can. As dried dates are smaller you will need to use around double the quantity.
- cacao butter should be weighed and then melted, however if you don’t have that option you will need around 1/3 cup cacao butter buttons. To melt cacao butter place in a heat proof bowl and set over a pot of simmering water. Do not allow the bowl to touch the water. Melt slowly over a low heat, then remove once the cacao butter has become liquid. Set aside to cool to around 40 C before use.
- Coconut cream choice is very important here. Different brands will work differently and it can be trial and error. I find this brand, this brand, and then this brand are best here in Australia.
Keywords: vegan, coffee, mocha, no bake, raw desserts, raw cheesecakes, paleo friendly
These were so, so delicious!
I will definitely be making these again.
Thankyou for sharing!
★★★★★
I’m so happy to hear that Emillie- these are a fav of ours, too.
Just made my second batch, these are soooo good!
They are, aren’t they?! So glad you like them xx
So good, absolutely loved these!
★★★★★
They are a fav here too xx