Delicious Vanilla Cheesecake with a pecan base

A few years ago, I realised that what I put into my body had a huge impact on how I feel. Its a no brainer really! Therefore, I try to make most of my meals from scratch, using good quality natural ingredients. Gluten and dairy are certainly not my friends, which unfortunately means that yummy desserts are quite often off the menu for me...

...until I found this incredible recipe!!

I have adapted it for my own taste but the original can be found at: https://thegreedyvegan.com/cashew-cream-cheesecake/

Vanilla Cheese Cake

FOR THE BASE:

150 g pecans

125 g dates

1 tbsp coconut oil

FOR THE CREAM CHEESE:

200 g cups cashews (soaked overnight)

80 ml coconut oil

125 ml coconut milk (full fat)

3 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla bean paste/essence

65 ml maple syrup

INSTRUCTIONS:

Making the base: Put the ingredients for the base into the food processor and pulse until it resembles a crumbly texture. Use a 20cm sprung cake tin and press the crust mixture into quite firmly (I asked my 9 year old daughter to do this!). Put the tin to one side ready for the cream cheese topping later.

Making the cream cheese: I soaked the cashews overnight to ensure that they were soft enough to blend into a smooth paste. Once the cashews are softened, pour away the excess water and let drain.

Now pour all the "cream cheese" ingredients into the food processor and blend it carefully until it resembles a smooth cream (My blender struggled with this a little, so it may need some pulsing as it can become quite thick). And this is as hard as it gets!! Grab your base from early, and then pour the 'cream cheese' topping over it. Then pop it into your freezer.

I tried to 'set' the cheesecake in the fridge but it wasn't cold enough and was still quite runny, so I moved it to the freezer and one hour was perfect for it to set. I would recommend taking it out about 30mins before you wish to eat it.

Enjoy!!