Decadent!

This recipe is inspired by this post.  I’ve tweaked around with it and put my own take on it, so here goes …

NB: you might even just like to make the base and eat as a raw chocolate brownie – that’s what my son thought it was sitting in the fridge and broke off a chunk for himself!!!  Boys!!!

First up, soak 3 cups – about 360g – raw cashew nuts for a couple of hours or overnight.
Make some date paste – I pre-soak dates overnight in a jar with just enough water to cover, then give the mixture a brisk stir the next day and use as required.  Otherwise, a quick tip I picked up from Clever Cook is to just throw into the TM bowl, a few handfuls of dates and a splash of water, then cook on 100 degrees for 5 mins, speed 2, MC off.

Make some coconut butter.  Here’s another coconut butter recipe too.

Line a springform tin with greaseproof paper.  Brush some oil around if you like (I didn’t and it was fine)

Add to TM bowl and blitz speed 9 / 10 seconds:

• 150g almonds
• 50g cacao nibs or powder or a good quality cocoa powder

Add to the bowl and process speed 8 / 30 seconds-1 minute, depending on how rough or smooth a texture you would like:

• 80g date paste
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• good pinch of salt

The crust should hold together when you pinch it between your fingers – add a little oil or water if necessary, to bind.
Press into your tin and roll out to the sides – I used a jar to achieve a nice smooth finish.
Place in the fridge (or freezer) to chill for a while.

Now for the filling:

Liquefy on speed 2 / 37°C / 2-3 minutes:

• 120g coconut butter (or oil)

Add and whizz up at speed 10 for up to a minute / 37°C

• 3 cups or 360g cashews, soaked in cold water for at least 2 hours or overnight (drain before adding to bowl)

Add and blend at speed 9/10 for 1-2 minutes, longer if necessary to achieve a smooth consistency:

• 50g pure maple syrup (adjust according to how sweet you like it – we’re not keen on too much)
• 300g pears, top and tailed, peeled and roughly chopped – sprinkled with some lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla paste / extract or 1 vanilla bean
• 2 tsp Lucuma powder, if you have it – otherwise leave out or add a little stevia powder
• good pinch of salt

Take the base out of the fridge/freezer and pour the cheesecake filling over it and smooth out.
Pop into the freezer for an hour or more to firm up.

Once the cheesecake has firmed up, make a caramel sauce.  I based mine on this recipe:

Add to the bowl and blitz on speed 9 / 1 minute / 37deg (or 60deg if you’re not a raw foodie). Scrape down and repeat until smooth, adding a little more water to achieve a good sauce texture:

• 40-50g date paste
• 1 tabs coconut butter
• splash of vanilla
• tiny pinch of salt
• 30g (or so) water

Take your cheesecake out of the freezer and make nice squiggly patterns across the top.

Pop into the fridge whilst you make the ganache.

For the ganache:

Add to bowl and whizz up on speed 9 / 1 minute:

Scrape down the sides, then melt at 50deg / speed 2 / 3 minutes or until smooth:

• 10g almonds
• 55g water
• 20g dark chocolate (85% cocoa, dairy free)
• dash of sweetener of choice

Make more squiggly patterns over the top of the caramel sauce and decorate with raspberries or strawberries.
Refrigerate a little longer before serving up.

One small slither is enough …