I am insanely excited to share this recipe with you today. It was a true labour of love and at some point, I wasn’t sure if I am ever going to have a ‘cheesecake’ recipe I’ll be proud enough to share.
When it comes to my previous attempts, there were a few issues at play. I do not own a Vitamix or an equally powerful blender so in order to get my cashews blended super smooth, I had to add quite a lot of liquid to them. Normally, this could be remedied by using coconut oil as part of that liquid, which solidifies in cold temperatures giving a cheesecake its texture, but I was not terribly keen on this idea. As I live on a small island, sometimes it is really difficult to get some things here. The only type of coconut oil I was able to buy was an extra virgin coconut oil, which is healthier but it makes everything taste and smell of coconut. Secondly, I simply couldn’t bring myself to add oil to a dessert that is already pretty indulgent. My heart was set on either making a creamy cheesecake with no oil at all…or nothing I made quite a few attempts but I will be lying if I said that I enjoyed any of them that much. As it often happens, just as I was at the point of abandoning the cheesecake mission altogether, I had a true light bulb moment. What if I was to dissolve a small amount of agar agar flakes (vegan gelatine) in the liquid that I use to blend the cashews with? Surely, this will coax my very average blender into giving me a silky smooth cheesecake mixture and help my cheesecake set without any need for oil. My second idea was to see if aquafaba – the miraculous vegan egg replacement – will help me achieve more creaminess. And guess what? It did. I tasted two versions side-by-side (yeah, it’s tough being a food blogger!) and the one with aquafaba (as opposed to water) was definitely creamier and had a much better texture. I only used half a cup of aquafaba as I did not want even a hint of beany flavour in my final product. Duncan, who has been very critical of my previous cheese-free cheesecake making attempts, loved this cheesecake too, so I think I have finally found my winning, oil-free, cheesecake formula! 🙂
12 dates, pitted and soaked in boiling water two pinches of salt (optional) about ¾ cup / 100 g almonds
CHEESECAKE
1 cup / 150 g raw cashews (soaked overnight) ½ cup OR 120 ml coconut cream, chilled 3½ level tsp agar agar flakes* 1-1½ tsp finely grated ginger 4 tbsp lemon juice, more to taste 4 tbsp maple syrup, more to taste ½ cup water OR aquafaba*
DECORATION (optional)
chocolate shavings 30 g candied ginger, cut into a small dice
CHEESECAKE
