Healthy Caramel Swirl Cheesecake

This healthy vegan cheesecake is unbelievably creamy and decadent! It’s a gluten-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free and paleo treat, drizzled with the most incredible salted caramel sauce. The middle cheesecake layer is made from cashews and a secret vegetable ingredient that I promise you can’t taste!

This cheesecake secretly packs in extra protein and fibre, but you’d never guess it’s good for you.

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Time: 15 minutes (+ 5 hours freeze time)

Serves: 10

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 cup (110g) almonds
• 1/2 cup (50g) shredded coconut
• 6 Medjool dates*

Cheesecake

• 2 cups (340g) cashews, soaked overnight**
• 1 cup (100g) cauliflower rice, steamed***
• 1/2 cup water (I like to reserve the water the dates has been soaked in)
• 6 tbsp (135g) maple syrup or honey
• 1/3 cup (70g) coconut oil, melted
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, or 1 vanilla bean, scraped

Topping

• 1 recipe Nourish in 5 Healthy Salted Caramel Sauce

Method

1. CARAMEL SAUCE: Make the caramel sauce either the night before or a few hours before the cheesecake, so that it has time to cool.
2. CRUST: Process all crust ingredients in a food processor and process until it resembles coarse sand. Press the crust mixture into a lined 7 1/2 inch springform pan and smooth with your fingers, or you can also use baking paper wrapped around a glass to help flatten.
3. CHEESECAKE: To make the cheesecake filling, add all ingredients except cauliflower to a high-powered blender. Blend on high for 2-3 minutes or until creamy. Add steamed cauliflower and resume processing until really smooth again, about 3-4 minutes. Pour the cheesecake onto the crust and gently tap to flatten and remove any air bubbles. Pour about 1/2 cup salted caramel sauce on top, and swirl with a skewer. Freeze the cheesecake for at least 5 hours before serving.
4. ENJOY: Remove the cheesecake from the springform pan while it’s still frozen to prevent the sides from sticking to the pan, and thaw on top of a cake stand, at least 30 minutes before serving. Drizzle more sauce on top if desired and save the rest for a future indulgence (can be frozen also).

Tip

*If dates are hard, soak in boiling water for 15 mins to soften. Reserve date water for the filling!
**For fast soak of cashews, soak in boiling water for 15 mins then drain and rinse. (Note: this technique doesn’t preserve the nutrition of the recipe as well as the traditional soaking technique above).
Once the cheesecake is thawed, it’s best to keep refrigerated until serving. The cake will stay firm in a cool room, but remember that coconut oil liquifies at 24C/76F, so it will go soft faster.
***To steam cauliflower, place in a microwave safe bowl and cover loosely with plastic film; microwave for about 4-6 minutes on high to steam. Let the cauliflower cool for a few minutes.