Creamy Lemon Cheesecake

This raw and dairy free lemon cheesecake makes a perfectly zingy afternoon treat or dessert, and is a much healthier option than traditional cheesecake as it's sweetened with low GI lucuma!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword be good organics, cake, cheese, creamy, cruelty free, easy, egg free, gluten free, lemon, low sugar, refined sugar free, vegan, vegetarian

Prep Time 20

Servings slices

Calories 341kcal

Author Buffy Ellen Gill

Equipment

Blender

Ingredients

Base:

1 1/4 c almonds soaked overnight and drained
1/4 c desiccated coconut
1/2 c medjoul dates pitted (soak them if using regular dates)
zest of 1/2 a lemon
1/2 tsp vanilla powder/extract
1/4 tsp pink rock salt

Filling:

3 c cashews soaked 2hrs and drained
1/2 c coconut milk
Juice of 2 lemons
1/4 c coconut nectar
1 tbsp lucuma powder
1/2 c extra virgin coconut oil melted
2 tbsp cacao butter melted
1 tbsp psyllium husk or lecithin
1/2 tsp vanilla powder
1/4 tsp pink rock salt

Instructions

Line a cake tin (preferably one with a removable bottom) with a circle of baking paper, cut to fit.
Add all the dry base ingredients excluding the dates to your food processor and blend until fine. Then add the dates one by one until you achieve a sticky mixture. Pour into your cake tin and flatten down completely with the palm of your hand (wet your palm slightly if it starts sticking), then place in the freezer.
Now add all your filling ingredients except the coconut oil, cacao butter and psyllium and blend until super silky smooth. If you have a high-speed blender you'll get an even smoother result, but a food processor will also do just fine. Once blended, add your melted coconut oil and cacao butter, and psyllium husk, and blend again until completely mixed.
Pour the filling over the base, smooth down with a spatula, then put back in the freezer and leave for at least 2 hours to set or overnight in the fridge.
In the morning, remove, top with the lemon zest and slice. Keep some slices in the fridge for the week, and put the remainder back in the freezer in a sealed container. Yummo!

Notes

You could also use brazil nuts, hazelnuts or walnuts in the base. Or do a half half with sunflower seeds which are often more affordable.
If you don't have lucuma, increase the coconut nectar to 1/3 cup.
I use Trade Aid's organic fair trade coconut milk in all my recipes. Unlike some coconut milks/creams which separate, this one has a beautiful thick even consistency making it perfect for cheesecakes, as well as using as a pouring cream or in my Coconut Cashew Chia Cream recipe. It's called "coconut milk" but is much more like a coconut cream. You can order it here.

Nutrition