Are you guys ready to put your feet up? I certainly am. This past week has been manic and we have had a big health scare, which turned out to be a false alarm luckily but it did stress us both out no end, caused some unpleasant emotions and disrupted sleep so I am not feeling my best. After I hit publish on this recipe, I intend to do nothing (well, less at least) for a week. I need a little breather from recipe creation so that my brain can switch off a little.
As it’s Easter and my last recipe was savoury, today I’ve decided to tackle a bit of an Easter classic – baked cheesecake. As it’s spring and spring for some reason makes many people crave lemons – it’s a curious thing, isn’t it as not only do they not grow in our part of the world, but even where they do it’s not until late summer – so I made a lemon cheesecake. Even though I am more of a chocolate, coffee and nuts kind of dessert person, I do love this cheesecake! It’s delicate and creamy, with a deliciously crisp base that has little hints of salt. You can have it as is or if you are feeling flamboyant, make a bit of a warm blueberry sauce to top it with. It’s divine. You can also pop some blueberries into the cheesecake as it bakes if you like a bit of a blueberry treasure hunt while you eat. Whatever you do, please make it as it’s super easy to make and it’s to die for, I promise.
200 g / 1½ cups raw cashews, soaked in boiling water for 30 minutes 120 ml / ½ cup oat milk (or other) zest of 2 lemons + 90 ml / 6 tbsp lemon juice 250 g / 8¾ oz silken tofu 125 g / ¾ cup icing sugar or ground up coconut sugar ½ tsp lemon extract (optional) 2 tsp vanilla paste or vanilla extract a generous pinch of turmeric (for colour) a generous pinch of kala namak (black salt) or regular salt 16 g / 2 tbsp tapioca starch
TOPPINGS
fresh blueberries dollops of vegan meringue or vegan whipped cream
