We made it! The final weekend in January of healthier lightened up dishes! I thought for this weekend since we have all been so darn good, I would share a sweet treat, come on, we deserve it! My Paleo no bake Turtle “Cheesecake”! This delicious plant based semi raw “cheesecake” will satisfy all your sweet cravings in a healthier way. Mmm, sounds so decadent and it is, but still fits in with our lightened-up theme for the month. Zero refined sugars, all natural whole foods with nutrient rich ingredients and dairy free! So go ahead, feel good about your indulgence and your reward for your healthy habits all month long!
After this weekend we can reverse everything we accomplished this month…just kidding, sort of. It is Super Bowl next weekend for those of you that care or just care about the food! You could always just make my buffalo chicken dip!! Delicious and won’t erase your month.
Any who, back to this delicious healthyish cheesecake! This is such a wonderful treat, elicits all your senses with a crust made of walnuts, almonds, dates and cocoa powder! Nestled beneath a caramelly layer of more dates, maple syrup and almond butter, which acts as the base for the creamy, smooth “cheesecake” made of cashews, coconut yogurt, coconut cream and coconut nectar. All topped off with a gooey coconut caramel, candied pecans, dark chocolate drizzle and sea salt!
It does take prep so plan accordingly. Just because there are multiple layers, none of the steps are difficult, you just have to freeze in-between. Oh, and if you have a Vitamix, it makes a really creamy and smooth “cheesecake” layer. This is my new kitchen toy and I am head over heels! Is that bad that I have such strong feelings for a kitchen appliance?? 😉 If you don’t have one, no worries, you can use your food processor. I have used that in the past. You will just have to strain the mixture and it doesn’t get quite as creamy, but still smooth and delicious!
Just look at those candied (date sugar) pecans, dark chocolate drizzle and of course flakey sea salt. Duh.
That’s a big slice of deliciousness! Caramelly, creamy, chocolaty…check, check and check!
Who can resist a caramel drip? I can’t!
So go ahead, treat yourself with this Turtle “Cheesecake”, you’ve earned it!
Enjoy!
Diane
- For the Crust:
- ½ cup pecans
- ½ cup raw almonds
- 8 to 10 pitted dates
- 1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- For Caramelly Layer:
- 4 to 6 pitted dates
- 2 tbsp. almond butter
- 3 tbsp. maple syrup
- For the "Cheesecake" Layer:
- Two cups raw cashews (soaked overnight)
- 1 can unsweetened coconut cream
- ⅓ cup coconut nectar (can sub date nectar or half of each)
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- ¼ cup plain coconut yogurt (I use Coyo)
- For the Coconut Caramel:
- ½ cup coconut brown sugar (or regular coconut sugar)
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk from the can
- 1 tbsp. ghee or coconut oil
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- For the Candied Pecans:
- 1 cup organic pecans
- 1 tbsp. date sugar (or coconut sugar)
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 egg white
- 3 tbsp. maple syrup
- For the Chocolate Drizzle:
- 1 bar dark chocolate (70 to 72%)
- 2 tbsp. coconut oil
- sea salt for sprinkling
- Candy the Pecans:
- This can be done ahead of time. Up to two weeks ahead. Careful though, you might eat them all before you use them for the cake! Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix the date sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl and set aside.
- In a medium bowl mix the egg white and maple syrup together. Add the pecans and toss so they are all coated. Next sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon mixture over the pecans until they are all coated. Dump onto prepared baking sheet and evenly spread out.
- Bake for 15 minutes, toss and bake an additional 8 to 10 minutes until golden. Allow to cool completely on the rack then store in airtight container at room temp until ready to use.
- For the Crust:
- Line the bottom of a 6" spring form pan with a 6" cake round, set aside.
- Remove pits from the dates and place in small bowl. Cover with water and microwave for 30 seconds to soften. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the s-blade, add the nuts, dates (without the water), salt and cocoa powder and pulse a few times to combine. You may need to stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Then let it run continuously until a dough ball forms.
- Press the crust mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan, ok to come up a bit on the sides. Place in the freezer while you work on the caramelly layer.
- Caramelly Layer:
- Pit the dates and place in a bowl of water, microwave for 30 seconds. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a clean food processor with an s-blade, add the dates, maple syrup and almond butter and mix until a smooth creamy texture has formed.
- Take the crust out of the freezer and pour the caramelly layer over the top. Smooth and even out with an off-set spatula or knife. Cover and place back in the freezer for 30 to 45 minutes.
- For the "Cheesecake" Layer:
- Drain the cashews and dump in the container of a Vitamix/high-powered blender or food processor.
- Add the coconut yogurt, coconut nectar, vanilla extract and 1 cup of the coconut cream.
- Turn the blender on low to start to blend, then turn up to medium until the mixture starts thicken and slow. Turn off and scrape down sides of the container and loosen the bottom.
- With the machine running on medium low, slowly add the rest of the coconut cream and blend until running smooth and mixture is creamy. Turn blender to high and blend for another 90 seconds or so. If you have a Vitamix, no need to strain, if you have a food processor, strain mixture through a fine mesh strainer and into a bowl. You can cover and place in the fridge until your caramelly layer has set.
- Remove pan from the freezer and pour "cheesecake" layer over the top and gently even out with off-set spatula. Cover and return to freezer for 3 hours up to overnight.
- Make the Coconut Caramel:
- In a small saucepan over medium heat add the coconut milk and the coconut sugar. Stir to combine. Bring mixture up to a boil then reduce to low and simmer for around 35 to 40 minutes stirring occasionally. Watch more carefully closer to the end. Mixture with darken and thicken and will coat the back of the spoon. When it is at this point add the ghee and vanilla extract and stir to combine. Remove from heat and place in a jar, let cool to room temp and then can be stored in the fridge until ready to use. Can also be made a week ahead of time. If stored in the fridge gently re-heat to a pourable consistency for use.
- Finish the "Cheesecake":
- Remove set cheesecake from the freezer and gently run a small knife around the edges to loosen. Remove the out-side of the spring form pan and lift cake out on it's cake round.
- Pour the caramel over the top of the cheesecake and spread gently with of-set spatula to get desired drips.
- Garnish on top of the cake with the candied pecans and pop back in the freezer while you prepare the chocolate.
- Melt the Chocolate:
- Finely chop the chocolate and place in a heat proof bowl. Add the coconut oil and microwave in 30 second intervals until completely melted and smooth, allow to cool some before use, but stir frequently. Add the melted chocolate to a pastry bag and snip a small hole at the end, careful, not to let it spill out.
- Pull the cheesecake out of the freezer and drizzle over the top back and forth in thin lines of chocolate. Add as much or as little as you wish. Sprinkle top with sea salt. Store covered in the freezer until ready to serve. Allow cheesecake to sit at room temp for 30 minutes so you can easily slice through to serve.
- Store any leftovers in the freezer in airtight container.
- Enjoy!
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