Blueberry and Beetroot Cheesecake
Makes one 20 cm (7.5 inch) cake, serves 12.
Takes 30 minutes (+ 4 hours set).
Takes 30 minutes (+ 4 hours set).
Servings 12
Calories 468kcal
Ingredients
Base
- 1/2 c sunflower seeds soaked for 8 hours or overnight
- 1/2 c oats
- 1/2 c desiccated coconut
- 3/4 c dates
- 1 tbsp coconut oil melted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
Filling
- 2 1/2 c cashews soaked
- 1/2 c water
- 1 lemon juice and flesh
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/3 c brown rice syrup coconut nectar or other sweetener
- 1/2 c coconut oil melted
- 1/2 c cacao butter melted
- 2 c blueberries
- 4 tsp beetroot powder
To Top
- 1 c fresh berries + edible flowers if desired
- Sesame seeds
- Cashew Macadamia Chia Cream is also a delicious choice
Instructions
- To make the base, blend sunflower seeds, oats and desiccated coconut in a food processor until well chopped but still with some chunky texture.
- Add dates one by one while the motor is still running. Then add remaining base ingredients and blend until well combined.
- Pour the mixture into a 20cm spring form cake tin with the base of the tin lined with baking paper. Press the mixture down with a spatula until firm and flat. Place in the freezer to firm.
- Blend all the filling ingredients, except coconut oil, cacao butter, blueberries and beetroot, in your preferred blender (I personally love my Vitamix), until completely smooth, scraping down the inside of the food processor a few times to remove lumps. The mixture should be completely smooth like a thick cream.
- On a low setting, slowly pour in three quarters of the coconut oil and cacao butter, and put aside the remaining liquid for the blueberry layer.
- Pour half of the cream mixture into a bowl, and set aside. Then, add the blueberries and the rest of the coconut oil and cacao butter to the remaining cream mixture in the blender, and process until well combined.
- Remove base from freezer and, using half of the plain cream mixture set aside, spread evenly on top of the base. Return to the freezer until the cream layer is firm. Repeat this step with half of the blueberry mixture and then again with the remaining cream layer once the blueberry has set.
- Add the beetroot powder to the remaining blueberry mixture and process until well combined. Add this final layer to the cake once the second cream layer has set.
- Place in the freezer overnight and then in the morning remove from the tin and place in the fridge. I like to slice and serve this around half an hour after removing from the freezer to maintain a lovely firm texture, similar to an Italian semifreddo. You can also slice the cake and return to the freezer in individual slices to remove from the freezer as you need.
- Serve with fresh berries (or whatever fruit you would like) and some coconut yogurt or my Cashew Macadamia Chia Cream!
Notes
- If you have a springform cake tin like me you only need to line the base for this cake. If you have a silicon tin you don’t need to line it at all. If however you have a regular tin that’s not springform, you’ll need to line the base and sides so you can remove the cake - lining with cling form wrap in this instance works best. Please though if you do choose to use cling wrap, source a biodegradable version - it’s not my favourite kitchen product and I try to minimise wherever possible!
- By adding in the coconut oil and the cacao butter while the blender is on a low setting ensures that they wont get a chance to solidify. This creates the smooth and creamy texture of the filling.
- I've used blueberries here however the recipe works brilliantly with other berries such as raspberries or boysenberries. It would also be delicious made with Black Dorris plums!
- I used fresh, organic berries, however, frozen berries can be great for the filling too.
- To make this recipe gluten free, simply replace the oats with another 1/4 c of sunflower seeds and desiccated coconut. Alternatively, you could replace the oats with dehydrated buckwheat. Both these options will also make it paleo.
- If you have nut allergies, you can make this cake entirely nut free by replacing the cashews with these amazing watermelon seeds here. If you're a nut-free gal/guy, you need these watermelon seeds in your life! Amazing almost-cashewy goodness all in the form of a seed
Nutrition
Calories: 468kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Sodium: 111mg | Potassium: 348mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 20IU | Vitamin C: 7.8mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 2.6mg