Regular cheesecakes that we know are made of the mixture of cream cheese, whipping cream, and sometimes a little bit of flour and egg yolks (in baked cheesecake). However, is it possible to replace the cream cheese with, say, cashews? The answer is YES.
This cheesecake recipe completely removes dairy products and replace it with other ingredients which are safe for Paleo diet and vegetarians. How about the taste? Don’t judge until you try it yourself!
Ingredients:
For crust:
- ¾ cup walnuts
- ½ cup almond
- 1 cup medjool dates
- A pinch of salt
- ½ tsp ground vanilla beans or vanilla extracts
For blueberry and lime “cheesecake”:
- ¼ to 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
- 2 ¼ cup raw cashews, soak overnight in a bowl of water
- 1 cup blueberries (and more for garnish)
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lime zest (and more for garnish)
- Sweeteners
Directions:
- Make the crust: process ingredients in a food processor until it forms sticky crumbles texture. If the crumble is too dry or sticky, add a splash of water to soften. Press crust into a 7” spring form pan which has been lined with parchment or baking paper.
- Make the lime cheesecake layer: after being soaked overnight, drain and rinse the cashews. Place cashews in food processor and blend for several minutes until smooth. Scrape down sides and add lime juice, ¼ cup sweetener (or as preferred), lime zest, and vanilla. Blend again.
- Add in the melted coconut oil and blend until well combined. Taste it, and add more sweetener if needed.
- Scoop out enough of the cheesecake filling to cover the crust with about ½ to 1 inch of white layer. Set in freezer for around 1 hour to firm it up.
- Make the blueberry cheesecake: add 1 cup of blueberries to the remaining cheesecake in your food processor. Blend until smooth (or not, if you want more texture). Add more sweeteners if your blueberries are tart.
- Spread the blueberry layer on top of lime layer. Decorate with fresh blueberries and lime zest.
- Cover with foil and set in the freezer for about 3 hours to firm it up. Transfer to the fridge for a couple more hours.
- Cut into slices, and serve chilled.
