Paleo, Vegan, Blackcurrant Cheesecake
This is a luscious, creamy dessert which is also highly nutritious. It’s packed with blackcurrants, nuts and beneficial fats and doesn’t contain any sugar. But the really fabulous thing about it is that it doesn’t even have a whiff of virtuous about it when you eat it, it’s just like dessert ought to be; rich, delicious and satisfying.
Blackcurrants are antioxidant rich and about to come into season in the UK. They can get a bit of a bad press for being mouth puckeringly sour and not overly popular with children but give this recipe a try it’s totally delicious and a hit with the children I’ve tried it on.
It’s an excellent substitute for that much loved dessert cheesecake and can also be served as a frozen ice cream style dessert – instructions for both in the method.
I made the filling in a high speed blender ( Vitamix ), if you have a go with a regular food processor I imagine it’ll do the trick you just might find a few blackcurrant seeds throughout it giving some crunch – but I haven’t actually tested it that way.
Recipe
Ingredients, serves 12
Base:
6 medjool dates, stones removed
1 cup flaked almonds (any kind of nut will do)
1 scant teaspoon coconut oil or ghee
Filling:
2 cups cashew nuts, soaked overnight and
1 cup coconut flakes, soaked overnight
or
3 cups cashew nuts, soaked overnight
200g blackcurrants, fresh or frozen
1 cup coconut oil, melted
50-100ml coconut milk
1 lemon or lime, zest and juice
Method:
For the base;
Place all base ingredients in a food processor and whizz until well blended and fairly smooth, a little crunch in the nuts is nice.
Grease a 20cm round, loose bottomed tin with coconut oil and press the base in to cover the bottom. Place in the ‘fridge until the filling is ready.
For the filling;
Drain the nuts and place in a high speed blender ( I used a Vitamix) with the blackcurrants and coconut oil. Blend on 6-7 until everything is nicely smooth. Use the tamper and you may also need to add a little coconut milk if the mix is too thick and not moving. The result needs to be as thick as possible without breaking your machine!
Place the filling on top of the base and smooth out the top.
Freeze for 10-15 minutes to chill and set. At this point you can take it out of the freezer, remove it from the tin, decorate and eat it.
Or to serve as a frozen ice cream style dessert leave in the freezer for at least 2 hours. *Before serving remove to the fridge to soften for 1-2 hours and then remove from the tin and decorate.
This dessert keeps well in the freezer for 2-3 months and then can be eaten either way as above, if eating as a cheesecake defrost for 4 hours. If as an ice cream dessert follow instructions * as above.
