After posting a mouthwatering photo on Facebook of these “cheezecakes” and promising the recipe, here it is! 😉 I am calling them Scrumptious Mini Cheezecakes! If you make them, you will understand why.
I first learned to make these little delights a few years ago when I took a cooking class from Kelowna chef Scott Nystrom. He is eclectic and fun and is passionate about local, sustainable food, healthy organically grown vegetables and the whole slow food movement. He gets excited about the joy of sharing food with family and friends and nourishing our bodies with beautifully prepared and presented dishes. I highly recommend him as an in-home chef for your special occasion!
Any hoo…! These “freeze cakes” as he calls them are pretty much to die for. The base recipe is the same for all three flavors, you just need to do some slight modifications to the recipe. I made three varieties this time; lemon blueberry, peanut butter and chocolate. When I made the chocolate ones, I put a little blueberry swirl on the top which tasted a little of black forest cake. There is also the option of making chocolate peanut butter which I have to say is amazing.
I used to make cheesecakes all the time before going plant based. It was kind of my thing. I seemed to always be the one bringing the dessert to any gathering. I love that now all of my desserts have no cholesterol in them as well as no dairy or eggs. They are cruelty free as well. No chickens living in foot wide pens and no dairy cows standing their whole lives being milked by machines to satisfy our craving for cream. Just glorious coconut and cashews make these creamy smooth and fabulous!
These definitely aren’t something you want to eat everyday but they sure make a fine treat to serve at the end of a meal! I shared them last night with some good friends as we watched the screening of a new documentary about the perils of the Albatross birds of Midway Island who are dying from injesting plastic from the ocean. We needed something sweet to balance out the sadness of the film.
Unlike making a full 8″ cheesecake, these can be made ahead, frozen, then popped out right before serving, taken out of the muffin cups et voila! Impressive. They are a good conversation starter. I got a text this morning from one of the gals who enjoyed them last night saying she had at lot to process from last night- the plight of the Albatross and “figuring out how nuts can taste like cheesecake”.
A little secret when serving, so everyone can try out the different flavours, send a knife around on the tray so that they can be cut in half. They are very rich and kinda fattening, but oh so good for a treat!
Ingredients
- Crust:1 cup soft Medjool dates, pitted, approximately 121 cup pecans, walnuts, almonds or macadamia nuts1/4 teaspoon sea saltFilling:1 1/2 cup raw cashews (soaked in hot water for 1 hour)1/2 cup full-fat canned coconut milk- (just use white part, not liquid)1/2 cup blue agave nectar1/3 cup coconut oil, melted1/4 cup lemon juice (2 lemons)1 tsp real vanilla extract
Instructions
- Soak raw cashews by pouring hot water over them and letting them sit uncovered for an hour. This is the key to the silky smoothness of the cakes.
- In a food processor, whiz pitted dates into tiny bits. Scoop out and set aside in a bowl.
- Add nuts to the food processor and blitz into a coarse meal. Add dates back in with the salt and blend.
- Press crust evenly into lined muffin tins. Let the pressed crust chill in the freezer while you make the filling.
- Drain cashews and add to a high-powered blender with all of the remaining filling ingredients. Puree on high speed until silky smooth.
- This will make the lemon "cheezecake" base. If you would like to add ingredients now to change the flavour, see instructions below. Honestly though, this base is outstanding on its own with some berry topping.
- Divide filling evenly into muffin tins. This will make exactly 12 mini cheesecakes.
- Freeze cheesecakes for at least 4 hours. Pull out when needed, remove muffin liners and serve immediately. Wowsers, you will be converted.
Flavour options:
Berry topping: Blend 1/4 cup of blueberries, cherries, raspberries (or any berry you like) with 1 tsp lemon juice and 1 tsp agave syrup. Put a spoonful in the centre of the cake and drag a toothpick in a clockwise motion from the centre out to make a nice swirl effect.
Dark Chocolate Crunch: Add 3 Tablespoons of raw cocoa powder when blending the filling. Garnish the cakes with a sprinkle of raw cacao nibs before freezing. (This really adds a wow factor with the crunch!)
Peanut Butter Crunch: Substitute 1/2 of the cashews out for 1/2 peanut butter. Top with cacao nibs. These are much different than chocolate pieces. Try them out!
Chocolate Peanut Butter: Substitute 1/2 of the cashews for 1/2 peanut butter and add 2 T of cocoa powder during the blending process. Top with cacao nibs.
www.thevibrantveggie.com
Notes
These gems are gluten free and dairy free. Not nut free however, so be careful. I keep almost killing my daughter's friend when she comes over. :0