No Bake Cheesecake

Ingredients

• 1 cup Oats
• 1/2 cup Peanut butter or almond butter
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pink salt

FILLING

2 cups cashews, soaked in water 30 minutes, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup coconut yogurt

1/2 cup coconut cream 

1/2 cup lime or lemon juice

1/2 cup honey or blonde coconut nectar

seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean (save the empty pod for Berry Compote)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup coconut oil or cacao butter, melted

serves: 12

To make the crust, add the dry ingredients to a food processor and pulse until fine. Add the wet ingredients and process until well combined. The dough should be sticky. If not, add afew tablespoons of melted cacao butter, coconut oil or water until it holds together when pressing gently. Line the bottom of a cake pan with parchment paper and press the crust into the pan and up the edges. Use a spoon to cut the edge of the crust straight and even. Cover and set aside while making the filling.

To make the filling, add all ingredients except cacao butter to a blender and blend thoroughly until very smooth. Once the filling is really creamy and smooth, add the cacao butter and blend briefly until incorporated. Avoid overblending the coconut oil as it can turn rancid and spoil the taste of the cake. 

Allow the cake to set in the refrigerator overnight, or in the freezer for about 4 hours. Serve with BERRY COMPOTE. 

A LITTLE TIP

If you are placing your cake in the freezer to set, ice crystals will form on top. To avoid this, place a couple of sheets of paper towels on top of the cake pan before covering and placing in the freezer. The moisture will get absorbed into the paper towels and result will be an ice free cake.  

BERRY COMPOTE 

I prefer not to cook fruits and berries, because they are so full of nutrition and enzymes that will get lost when heated. But for this berry compote I want the strawberries and raspberries to be soft and tender, as if they´ve been cooked. So I use frozen berries and by simply defrosting them they take on a soft and tender texture, just as if cooked. 

1 cup fresh mixed berries

1 cup frozen mixed berries, defrosted

1 teaspoon psyllium husk or chia seeds

1-2 tablespoons honey or sweetener of choice

1/2 empty vanilla pod (leftover from the cake filling)

pinch salt

makes: 2 cups

Add all ingredients to a bowl and stir gently until everything is combined. Allow to sit for at least 30 minutes. As it marinates, the psyllium soaks up the juice from the defrosted berries and the sauce will thicken. And the longer it sites, the more the berries will be infused by the wonderful flavor of vanilla.