We’ve been down this road before, haven’t we? I swore that I was kicking sweet things to the curb and barely a week goes past and I’m at it again 😉 ! Oh well! I don’t think I’ve ever made my sweet tooth a secret, have I? Plus, to be honest, this particular dessert is a distant memory now anyway as I shot the photos a few weeks back, which is what I tend to do if I am in my well-organised mood, so technically I’m still TRYING to stick to my promise… Although I’ve just baked a cake…
Speaking of being well-organised, Duncan usually cleans up after our dinners as I tend to cook them. He is very diligent about it and sometimes, I try to corrupt him by saying ‘don’t worry about it, we will do that tomorrow – I will help you’ to which he replies ‘no, I’ve got to do that now ‘cos tomorrow’s Duncan will appreciate today’s Duncan for not having to wake up to a messy kitchen’. Awwww…Sometimes I wish I could adopt that philosophy when it comes to eating cake, for example. ‘No, don’t have another slice, Ania! Tomorrow’s Ania (or even an hour later Ania!) won’t appreciate feeling like a 2 tonne truck 😉 . Anyway, I digress while there are important things to point out about the cheesecake situation. This recipe makes 5 small cheesecakes and believe me, that’s a perfect size! They seem pretty innocent on the account of consisting of healthy wholefoods and containing no refined sugar, but you can totally overdose on them too. Duncan found out the hard way after he demolished a double portion in one sitting 😉 . The key to getting the cheesecake layer beautifully creamy and fairly firm is to add as little moisture to the cashews as you can, which is easier said than done if your blender is a bit rickety, like mine. Don’t worry, I have that bit covered. If you don’t panic and follow my instructions, you’ll end up with a lush cheesecake layer without the need for any agar agar or any coconut oil.
240 g / 1½ cups dried dates, pitted and soaked in boiling water pinch of salt, to taste 1-2 tbsp strong espresso (optional)
GINGER CHEESECAKE LAYER
225 g / 1½ cups raw cashews (soaked overnight) 120 ml / ½ cup coconut cream (from a tin of full fat coconut milk, I use this brand) 6 tbsp lime or lemon juice, adjust to taste approx. 2½ tbsp finely grated ginger, adjust to taste 1 tbsp maple syrup
ALMOND BRITTLE*
½ cup almond flakes 2 tbsp maple syrup fine sea salt 2 tsp olive oil (optional, SEE INSTRUCTIONS) a pinch of ground cinnamon or ginger, for serving (optional)
ALMOND BRITTLE* ASSEMBLY
