Strawberry Cheesecake with Macadamia Nut Crust
MAKES ONE 8-INCH CHEESECAKE
Cheesecake is special to Tamal. His mother was a master of desserts and plant-based cuisine. He remembers his mother showing him how to design each cheesecake, including all sorts of tricks to make them taste and look appealing. Tamal has spent countless hours crafting different cheesecake staples to please even the toughest critic of plant-based versions of dairy sweets. This Strawberry Cheesecake has been requested countless times for family gatherings, parties, and birthdays! We have yet to find someone who doesn’t want to eat the whole thing.
For the crust
½ cup walnuts
½ cup salted macadamia nuts
½ cup dates (preferably Medjool)
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 Place the nuts in a food processor and blitz till they reach a crumb-like texture, around 10–15 seconds.
2 Add dates and lemon zest into the nut mixture in the food processor and blend until the dates and nuts are like small crumbs.
3 Spoon the crust mixture into an 8-inch cheesecake pan. Pat the crust down with your fingers so that it covers the bottom of the pan. It’s fine if it looks a bit messy, as the filling will cover it up. Let it set in the freezer while you work on the filling.
1½ cup s raw cashews, soaked
½ cup coconut cream, chilled overnight or for at least for 2 hours
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
¼ cup melted coconut oil
¼ cup maple syrup
⅛ tsp. Himalayan pink salt
½ tsp. lemon zest
½ cup fresh or frozen and thawed strawberries
¼ tsp. vanilla extract
1 Place all the filling ingredients in a high-powered blender or food processor and blitz twice for 45 seconds each time, or until creamy smooth, like a cheesecake filling.
2 Remove the crust from the freezer. Pour the filling mixture into the crust. Smooth it out with a spoon or spatula.
3 Place strawberries as garnish on top or press them into the cheesecake filling.
4 Freeze the cheesecake for at least 1–2 hours to set. Store in the refrigerator.
