Raw Lemon Lavender & Wild Blueberry Cheesecake Slices + Bliss Balls
A no-bake cheesecake with a buttery macadamia-coconut crust, a bright, sunny lemon layer, and a delicate lavender layer tinted naturally purple with wild blueberries. It's floral, zesty, and creamy, with two companion recipes: a 6-inch layer cake version and Lemon Lavender Bliss Balls. Vegan, grain-free, and refined-sugar-free.
Yield: One 8x8 pan, 16 slices · Active: 45 min · Total: 6 hours, mostly setting (or overnight) · Year-round (especially lovely in spring and summer, when lavender blooms) · Best eaten: midday or early afternoon
Ingredients
Crust
½ cup macadamia nuts (or cashews)
½ cup almonds
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1 cup Medjool dates, pitted
Zest of 1 lemon
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
Pinch of Ceylon cinnamon
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt
Lemon layer
1¼ cups cashews, soaked
¾ cup full-fat coconut cream
⅓ cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons), plus the zest of 1 lemon
⅓ cup maple syrup or coconut nectar
½ cup coconut oil, melted
¼ tsp pure vanilla extract (or a pinch of vanilla powder)
A pinch of ground turmeric, for a sunny yellow color
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt
Lavender-blueberry layer
½ cup full-fat coconut cream
1 tbsp dried culinary lavender (or 1–3 drops food-grade lavender oil)
¾ cup cashews, soaked
⅓ cup wild blueberries (frozen is fine), thawed and drained
3 tbsp maple syrup
⅓ cup coconut oil, melted
¼ tsp pure vanilla extract
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt
To garnish: lemon zest, fresh blueberries, and a few dried lavender buds (a light hand)
Soaking the cashews: Soak all 2 cups of cashews together for at least 4 hours (or 1 hour in hot water), then drain and divide them between the two layers.
Other natural purples: Instead of the blueberries, blend in 1–2 tsp purple sweet potato powder, or 2 tsp pink pitaya (dragon fruit) powder with a tiny pinch of blue spirulina, for a lilac color.
Method
Infuse the lavender. Warm the ½ cup coconut cream for the lavender layer until steaming (don't boil it), stir in the dried lavender, cover, and steep 15–20 minutes. Strain, pressing on the buds, and let it cool. (Skip this step if you're using lavender oil.)
Make the crust. Line an 8x8 pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on two sides. Process the macadamias, almonds, and coconut flakes to a coarse crumb, then add the dates, lemon zest, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt, and process until it sticks together when pressed. Press it firmly into the pan, and freeze 15 minutes.
Make the lemon layer. Blend the cashews, coconut cream, lemon juice and zest, maple syrup, vanilla, turmeric, and salt until completely silky. With the blender running on low, stream in the melted coconut oil. Pour it over the crust, smooth the top, and freeze 1½–2 hours, until firm.
Make the lavender-blueberry layer. Blend the infused coconut cream, cashews, blueberries, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt until completely smooth and evenly purple, then stream in the coconut oil. If you're using lavender oil instead, add it now, one drop at a time, tasting as you go. Lavender should whisper; too much tastes soapy.
Set. Pour the lavender layer over the frozen lemon layer, smooth the top, and freeze at least 3 hours, or overnight.
Slice and serve. Lift the slab out by the parchment, and let it sit 10 minutes. Cut it into 16 slices with a sharp knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry between cuts. Garnish with lemon zest, a few blueberries, and a sprinkle of lavender buds.
Storage: Frozen up to 2 months, or refrigerated up to 5 days. Thaw slices 10–15 minutes before serving.
A note on lavender: Use only culinary lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) or essential oil labeled food-grade. Lavender is very potent, so start small.
A note on "raw": Every cashew sold has been heat-treated to remove the caustic oil in its shell, and U.S. almonds are pasteurized by law, so "raw" here means no-bake.
Make It a 6-Inch Layer Cake
A taller, three-layer celebration cake: a seed-and-walnut crust, a lemon lavender layer, and a vanilla bean layer. Serves 8–10.
Crust
¾ cup walnuts
⅓ cup sunflower seeds
⅓ cup shredded coconut
4 Medjool dates, pitted
2 tbsp cacao butter, melted
¾ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
Lemon lavender layer
2 cups cashews, soaked
½ cup full-fat coconut cream
½ cup fresh lemon juice
3 tsp lemon zest
5–6 tbsp maple syrup
8 tbsp cacao butter, melted
¼–½ tsp ground turmeric
1–3 drops food-grade lavender oil (or infuse the coconut cream with 1 tbsp culinary lavender, as above)
2 pinches of Baja Gold sea salt
Vanilla bean layer
1 cup cashews, soaked
3 tbsp full-fat coconut cream
3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
2–3 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Seeds of 1 vanilla bean (or 1 tsp vanilla powder)
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt
Make the crust. Line a 6-inch springform pan with parchment. Process the crust ingredients until they stick together, press them into the pan, and freeze 15 minutes.
Make the lemon lavender layer. Blend everything except the cacao butter and lavender oil until silky, then stream in the cacao butter. Add the lavender oil a drop at a time, tasting as you go. Pour it over the crust, and freeze 2 hours.
Make the vanilla layer. Blend everything until silky, pour it over the lemon layer, and freeze at least 3 hours, or overnight.
Serve. Release the pan, let it sit 15 minutes, and slice with a hot, dry knife. Decorate with blueberries, lemon zest, and lavender buds.
For a purple top: Blend ⅓ cup wild blueberries into the vanilla layer (and leave out its lemon juice), for a lilac top layer.
Lemon Lavender Bliss Balls
Makes about 12 · Active: 15 min
1 cup cashews
¼ cup unsweetened coconut flakes
2 tbsp coconut flour
2 soft Medjool dates, pitted (soak them 5 minutes in warm water if they're firm)
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp lemon zest, divided
½ tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tsp dried culinary lavender, finely ground (or 1 drop food-grade lavender oil)
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt
For rolling: beet powder (for pink), or shredded coconut mixed with a pinch of turmeric (for sunny yellow)
Blend. Process the cashews, coconut flakes, and coconut flour to a fine crumb. Add the dates, lemon juice, 1 tsp lemon zest, coconut oil, lavender, vanilla, and salt, and process until it holds together when pressed.
Roll. Roll into 1-inch balls, then roll them in beet powder or turmeric coconut, and finish with the remaining lemon zest.
Chill 20 minutes to firm up. Store refrigerated up to 1 week, or frozen up to 2 months.
Nourishment Notes
Lemon — vitamin C, d-limonene, and hesperidin, plus the bright tartness that balances the rich, creamy filling.
Lavender — linalool and linalyl acetate, aromatic compounds traditionally used to calm the nervous system.
Wild blueberries — anthocyanins (they're richer in them than cultivated blueberries), fiber, and vitamin C.
Cashews, macadamias, almonds, and walnuts — magnesium, copper, vitamin E, and healthy fats, plus ALA omega-3s from the walnuts.
Medjool dates — potassium, magnesium, and fiber, with natural caramel sweetness.
Coconut cream, coconut oil, and coconut flakes — lauric acid, a medium-chain fat, plus fiber from the flakes.
Cacao butter — stearic acid, a saturated fat that research shows has a neutral effect on cholesterol.
Turmeric — curcumin, for its sunny color.
Beet powder — betalains, for its natural pink color.
As a circadian treat, these slices are lovely at midday or in the early afternoon, when your body handles sweets most gracefully in daylight.
For your cycle: Lavender's calming qualities make these especially lovely in the luteal phase, when many women find it harder to unwind, and the nuts bring magnesium.
Sourcing
Cashews — organic (every cashew sold has been heat-treated, even "raw" ones)
Macadamias, almonds, walnuts, and sunflower seeds — organic: unpasteurized Spanish almonds, like Terrasoul's; raw macadamias and walnuts, kept in the fridge
Coconut flakes, shredded coconut, and coconut flour — organic, unsweetened, and sulfite-free
Coconut cream — organic and full-fat, made with just coconut and water, with no guar gum (Native Forest Simple comes in BPA-free cans)
Coconut oil and cacao butter — organic, virgin, and unrefined coconut oil; organic raw cacao butter
Medjool dates — organic, soft, and plump
Lemons — organic (you're using the zest)
Wild blueberries — organic and frozen, like Wyman's organic wild blueberries
Culinary lavender — organic dried culinary lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), from Mountain Rose Herbs or Frontier Co-op
Lavender oil (optional) — organic and labeled food-grade
Maple syrup and coconut nectar — organic Grade A dark maple syrup; organic coconut nectar
Vanilla — organic pure vanilla extract, vanilla beans, or vanilla powder
Turmeric, beet powder, purple sweet potato powder, and pink pitaya powder — organic, and ideally tested for heavy metals
Baja Gold sea salt
— Anna aka Food Marshall