Vanilla Cheesecake with Caramel Topping

Raw caramel... Need I say more?

INGREDIENTS

Base

• 1 cup walnuts

• 1/2 cup almonds

• 1/3 cup desiccated coconut

• 1/2 cup pitted dates

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 tsp maple syrup

Filling

• 2 cups cashews, soaked

• 1 cup almond milk

• 1/2 cup coconut oil

• 2/3 cup maple syrup

• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Caramel Topping

• 1/3 cup medjool dates, pips removed

• 3 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup

• 2 Tbsp almond butter

• 1 1/2 Tbsp coconut oil

• 2 Tbsp water

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/4 tsp sea salt
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the walnuts and almonds into a food processor and process until finely ground.

2. Add the remaining base ingredients and process until the mixture sticks together. It should look quite crumbly but will be firm once you press it together with your fingers.

3. Press the mixture into the base of a 20cm x 20cm spring form cake tin and freeze.

4. Place all of the filling ingredients into a food processor or high speed blender and blend until very smooth and creamy. You may need to scrape down the sides several times to make sure all of the ingredients are well mixed.

5. Pour the filling over the base. Freeze for 3 hours, until the mixture has set.

6. Place all of the caramel topping ingredients into a food processor and process on medium-high speed until very smooth. Scrape down the sides of the processor jug at regular intervals to make sure it is totally smooth.

7. Spread the caramel topping over the filling. Decorate with chopped almonds, walnuts or cacao nibs. Serve immediately, or return to the freezer. Let the cake thaw for at least 10 minutes before serving.
   

TAMARAS' TIP If you have a powerful enough food processor, you can use ordinary pitted dates instead of medjool - just soak them for at least 10 minutes first, drain the water and you're good to go.

This recipe is featured in the Sweets & Treats eBook, along with 50 others nutritiously raw snacks.

A Word from Tamara Lee Ahhh caramel.. I could honestly live on the stuff. It's such a weakness for me, I have to watch myself - though eating it raw isn't quite so bad. In moderation. When I first started creating raw recipes, it blew my mind just how much dates + maple syrup + almond butter tastes EXACTLY like caramel. Add a pinch of himalayan pink salt and now it's salted caramel. Too good! In the early days, I went hard creating lots of raw caramel recipes. Caramel Creme Eggs are one of my most popular recipes to date (especially at Easter time!) and Caramel Slice certainly doesn't go astray. In fact, it took me almost two weeks to perfect my Caramel Slice - hubby loved it, each day he'd come home from work to discover a new attempt in the freezer. He was certainly well fed that fortnight. These days, I satisfy my caramel addiction in a much more healthful way: Amazonia's Fermented Paleo Salted Caramel protein powder. It is quite literally the best tasting plant protein powder I've ever tasted, as well as being alkaline, free from sugar and artificial sweeteners, and clocking in at 1% sugar (from stevia). It's absolute gold, and means I still get my caramel fix every day while packing in spinach, super greens and all sorts of other goodness. It's perfect for a post workout smoothie too, with all that plant protein... Winning!