I recently entered this beauty in an Instagram contest hosted by Purely Elizabeth. The Purely Elizabeth brand is celebrating National Oatmeal Month by awarding one winner a year's supply of free Purely Elizabeth in addition to a $200 WholeFoods giftcard. The winner had to use the Purely Elizabeth Oatmeal in a unique, pretty and delicious way!  Though the winner has yet to be announced, I had such fun creating this cheesecake and will absolutely be making this again come summertime. 

I was clearly dreaming of warm, sunny days when planning out this endeavor. I cherish the candy-like quality of tart lemon paired with sweet raspberries and a buttery, rich and decadent crust. Making a crust from granola, oats and dates made this chewy crust a no brainer. And of course this baby is gluten and dairy free! Cashews and I have become quite close friends, I add them to all sorts of things when I'm after a creamy texture. This cheesecake was so simple to make and no oven time required. 

You need:

• 1/2 cup Purely Elizabeth Ancient Grain Oatmeal
• 1.5 cup Purely Elizabeth Original Ancient Grain Granola
• 1 lb pitted dates
• 3 frozen bananas
• 3 cups raw cashews
• 2/3 cup quality maple syrup
• 3/4 cup lemon juice
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 & 1/3 cup frozen raspberries,
• 1 cup hulled strawberries
• 4 dates
• 1 tbl honey
• 1 tsp vanilla powder
• 9-inch springform pan

Get cooking:

1. Cover 3 cups cashews in water and let sit overnight.
2. Make the crust by combining Ancient Grain Oatmeal and Granola in a food processor. Process until the mixture becomes very crumbly. Add 1lb dates. Process until your crust becomes very sticky, about 30 seconds. 
3. Press crust into bottom of pan.
4. Freeze crust for twenty minutes. 
5. Meanwhile make the cashew cream cheese by draining and rinsing cashews. Add rinsed cashews, 2 frozen bananas, maple syrup, lemon juice and zest to high powered blender (such as Vitamix!) and blitz until velvety smooth. 
6. Remove crust from freezer and pour all but about 1 cup of cashew cream cheese to the pan. 
7. Put pan back into freezer and freeze for 20 minutes. 
8. Add frozen raspberries, strawberries, dates, honey and vanilla powder to remaining mixture in blender and blend until completely smooth.
9. Remove pan from freezer and pour final layer on top.
10. Put pan back in freezer for five hours. Remove and let defrost slightly before cutting! 
11. Top with raspberries and lemon zest for aesthetic.