Baked cheesecake with nut base
It seems like everyone I know has given up delicious things this year. They feel healthier, but it's seriously hard to fine sharable desserts! That is why this recipe is so awesome, it really doesn't have any sugar or any carbohydrates so it's friendly for many many diets.
Recipe:
This recipe was adapted from various paleo and LSLC recipes by my friend Michele who was kind enough to share her awesome instructions!
For the base:
- 120g butter (soft)
- 1 cup hazelnuts (use a food processor to chop the nuts into a med/fine consistency)
- 1 cup dessicated coconut
- 1 cup almond meal
- 1-2 tablespoon cacao (optional)
Put all the ingredients in a bowl and use your finger to to rub the butter into the rest of the ingredients until a loose dough is made. Line and grease your cake tin (I used two loaf tins). Push down clumps of the dough until the tin is lined with a layer about 10-15mm thick. It is up to you if you just want to line the bottom with the dough, or also do up the sides. Put the tin/s in a preheated oven at 160 degrees for around 15 minutes or until the base feels cooked through (i.e. a bit crispy on top). If you don't use cacao you will know the base is cooked when it goes golden. Remove from the oven and but do not remove from the tin.
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| Hazelnuts after being processed |
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| rub the butter into the other ingredients to make a dough |
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| rough dough consistency |
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| Line bottom of tine or base and sides |
For the filling:
- 750g Philadelphia cream cheese (soft)
- 150-200g Birch Xylithol (available from most health food shops)
- 2 eggs
Filling Options:
- for plain, scrape the seeds from one or two vanilla pods
- for citrus, add juice of one small lime and juice of 1/2 a lemon (for a stronger flavour add some grated rind as well), as well as seeds from 1 vanilla pod
- for chocolate, add around 2-4 tablespoons of cacao as well as seeds from 1 vanilla pod.
Using an electric beater combine the cream cheese and Xylithol until smooth. Add whichever option you would like (for this batch I did one loaf of plain vanilla and one load with cacao). Then beat in the eggs until fully mixed through and and scoop into the tins with the cooked bases. Bake in an oven at around 160 degrees for around 45 minutes, until the filling is just set (it is best if it is still slightly woobly in the middle).
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| Smooth filling consistency |
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| Vanilla loaf (with dough lined bottom and sides) |
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| Layered cheesecake - part vanilla, part cacao |
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| Baked layered cheesecake (with dough on the base only) |
To finish I added whipped cream and some fresh berries.
Nut free option: If you are catering to people with nut allergies, just skip
the base part, bake the filling in small ramekins lined with baking
paper. Line small cups with berries and push the baked mixture out of
the ramekin and on top of the berries.
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| Nut free option with vanilla and fresh blueberry base |
