Diet: Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Paleo, Pescatarian, Soy Free, Vegetarian
Serves: 11
Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes

Description

If you’re vegan or somebody who cannot tolerate cow’s milk, the simple pleasure of munching down on a cheesecake can be heavily missed.

Supermarket-bought cheesecakes tend to be very high in dairy products, sugars and also wheat flours. Typical ingredients used include biscuits, cream cheese, white flour and caster sugar, which are not the most beneficial choices for our health, and completely out of the question if you have intolerances to gluten and dairy proteins.

This cheesecake I’ve created is entirely raw.

Raw food can be described as eating mostly unprocessed and uncooked foods so that you gain all of the nutrients without destroying them by heat. It is also suggested that raw diets help to retain vital digestive enzymes that are needed to break down foods, which can be destroyed during the cooking process.

Whilst there are many arguments for and against adopting a raw food diet, I think raw desserts are absolutely delicious and they offer an abundance of nutritional value with a variety of fresh ingredients.

This recipe is a spin on a key lime cheesecake with a combination of nuts (pecans, walnuts, cashews), fruits (such as dates, limes, mango, coconut and avocado), and honey as a natural sweetener.

The pecans and walnuts can form a delicious base, whilst the cashew nuts make up a creamy ‘cheese-like’ filling that is flavoured with zesty lime juice, creamy avocado and sweet mango.

Whilst the ingredients in this cheesecake are indeed healthy components, I always like to inform people that cake is still a treat. Sugar is still sugar, no matter what form it takes. Any form of sweetness, be it natural or refined, still has an impact on insulin levels (which is our fat storage hormone). Spiking our insulin levels too much can increase our risk of weight gain, obesity and type 2 diabetes, so always be mindful of how many sweet treats you are consuming, no matter how ‘healthy’ they are deemed to be.

Let me know how you find this recipe, I hope you enjoy eating it as much as I did!

Ingredients

Base

• 200g pitted dates (soaked in filtered water over night)
• 100g pecans or walnuts (soaked in filtered water over night)
• 50g desiccated coconut (coconut flour)
• 30g cacao powder
• 3 tbsp coconut oil
• Pinch Himalayan salt

Filling

• 200g cashew nuts (soaked in filtered water over night)
• 9 limes (juice)
• 2 avocados
• 1/2 mango
• 1/8 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup raw honey

Topping

• Desiccated coconut
• Lime zest (from the limes used for the filling)
• Lime slices cut in half

Equipment

• Cake tin measuring 18cm in diameter
• Blender

Method

1. Drain the overnight soaked nuts and dates and give them a rinse, then pat dry with some paper towels.
2. Blend all of the base ingredients together in a blender.
3. Grease the cake tin with a little coconut oil, then compress the base mixture down evenly at the bottom.
4. Mix the filling ingredients together in a blender. Then scoop the filling on top of the compressed base mixture and spread evenly.
5. Place the lime slices on the top outer edge of the cheesecake, and sprinkle over the top some lime zest and desiccated coconut. Then place in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours to set a little.