Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Non-dairy "cheese cake" recipe

I found this recipe on the Internet. It's all over the place so I hope it's ok that I'm jumping on the band wagon. It's a great recipe. I've made it a number of times and it's always a hit. I've changed some things in the recipe so it's actually a little different than the original. The photo is a "cheese cake" I made with a blueberry topping (used frozen blueberries). The first year I made it my daughter also made a chocolate cheese cake and side by side they disappeared at the same rate. :-) (Also I have substituted walnuts or pecans for the crust.)

Just Like Cheesecake
- by Emily Lee Angell

Makes: 24 slivers
Special Equipment: Food Processor

For the Crust:
2 cups raw macadamia (or walnut, pecan, or almond) nuts
1/2 cup dates, pitted
1/4 cup dried coconut (optional)

For the cheese:
3 cups chopped cashews, soaked for at least 1 hour
3/4 cup lemon juice (or lime juice)
3/4 cup honey
3/4 cup coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon celtic sea salt (optional--I never use this)

up to 1/2 cup water as needed for the "cheese" filling

For blueberry sauce:
1 bag frozen blueberries
1/2 cup dates

DIRECTIONS
To make the crust, process the macadamia nuts and dates in the food processor. Sprinkle dried coconut onto the bottom of an 8 or 9 inch springform pan. Press crust onto the coconut. This will prevent it from sticking OR line the pan with parchment paper. This will make wavy wrinkles in the sides of the cake but I think they look nice. Put this in the freezer while you make the filling.

To make the cheese, blend the cashews, lemon, honey, gently warmed coconut oil (do not use microwave), vanilla, sea salt (if using), and 1/2 cup water. Blend until smooth and adjust to taste.

Pour the mixture onto the crust. Remove air bubbles by tapping the pan on a table.

Place in the freezer until firm. 


For the topping, put most of the blueberries in the food processor with the dates until creamy, then mix with the whole berries and pour the mixture over the firm cake, back to the freezer until you're ready to defrost for serving.

Remove the whole cake from the pan while frozen and place on a serving platter. Defrost in the refrigerator. 

Once the cake is defrosted, it does not need to go into the freezer again.