Hey hey, I feel like it's been ages my last update! I've been going through some dietary changes trying to optimise my health and working through some food intolerances so I've been experimenting with different recipes but not necessarily posting them because I like to perfect things before sharing. Also, I've been extremely busy with studies and a new job, on top of a couple of new hobbies, so the blog took a back stage for a bit. That said, I feel great whenever I get to focus on the blog and share recipes so I decided to finally make the time.
In terms of my diet, I decided to eat 100% gluten-free from now on. You'll see some older recipes on the blog where I used spelt flour, which I thought I could tolerate even though it's got gluten. (a slightly different type compared to wheat flour) However I recently discovered I feel heaps better if I just avoid it entirely. Besides that, I decided to drastically reduce my fat intake. I guess I never really experienced weight gain issues, so I thought I could consume that stuff as much as I wanted. But from a health perspective, consuming too much fat is never a good idea. I already almost never use oils in my cooking, but on top of that, I decided to shy away from having too much nut butter or even too many coconut products (I can't believe there was a time I used to spoon coconut oil out of the jar, convinced it was a superfood) They say everything in moderation but I guess what I discovered is that that doesn't only apply to bad staff. You can have too much of a good thing too. Anyhow, I feel like i'm in a good place now health-wise and I feel better than before and my digestion has been working great.
But enough of my rambling, I've got a really good recipe to share with you guys. I've been playing around with different fermented foods, like making cheese out of cashews and trying out different types of vegan yogurt from the store and it's been fun experimenting with them to see what recipes I could come up with. And I absolutely love this sugar-free vegan cheesecake recipe that uses cashews and coconut yogurt as a base for the filling. It's soft, airy, yet still rich and sweet without any added refine sugar.
You may have also noticed the blue tint of the crust. I was at ALDI the other day and they had some superfood powders on special so I grabbed a bunch to experiment. For this one, I used Butterfly Pea Powder to give the crust its colour but it's completely optional, it'll taste he same either way.
This is one of two vegan cheesecake recipes I came up with recently, and I'll post the other one soon so make sure to check back soon!
If you make this recipe, please share it with the hashtag #revelinplants on Instagram.
First step is to soak the cashews and the dates in a bowl of water. This helps soften them so you can blend them easily later on. It also makes cashews more digestible by reducing their phytic acid which is an enzyme inhibitor found in most nuts.
Preheat oven to 180C and mix all ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl. Press onto a 9 inch (22.5 cm) springform pan lined with parchment paper. I like to line the sides too but you can lightly grease them if you prefer.
Prick the crust all over with a fork (this prevents rising.) Place in the centre rack of the pre-heated oven and bake for 15 minutes. Take it out to cool while you prepare the filling.
After taking out the crust, reduce oven temperature to 160C. Fill up any oven-safe tray with water and place at the very bottom centre. This will help keep the cheesecake moist and prevent cracking.
Place all the ingredients for the filling into a blender and blend until smooth.
Pour onto the pre-baked crust and place in the oven. Bake for about 30 minutes but make sure to check it after the 20 minute mark. The cheesecake is ready when the sides are set and the centre is still wobbly and brown on the outside.
Let cool on a wire rack for 15-20 minutes then place in the fridge and let it set. Ideally overnight but if you're impatient like me, it should still be mostly set by the 4 hour mark! Enjoy as is or with some coconut cream and fruits or jam on top.
Ingredients
Directions
First step is to soak the cashews and the dates in a bowl of water. This helps soften them so you can blend them easily later on. It also makes cashews more digestible by reducing their phytic acid which is an enzyme inhibitor found in most nuts.
Preheat oven to 180C and mix all ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl. Press onto a 9 inch (22.5 cm) springform pan lined with parchment paper. I like to line the sides too but you can lightly grease them if you prefer.
Prick the crust all over with a fork (this prevents rising.) Place in the centre rack of the pre-heated oven and bake for 15 minutes. Take it out to cool while you prepare the filling.
After taking out the crust, reduce oven temperature to 160C. Fill up any oven-safe tray with water and place at the very bottom centre. This will help keep the cheesecake moist and prevent cracking.
Place all the ingredients for the filling into a blender and blend until smooth.
Pour onto the pre-baked crust and place in the oven. Bake for about 30 minutes but make sure to check it after the 20 minute mark. The cheesecake is ready when the sides are set and the centre is still wobbly and brown on the outside.
Let cool on a wire rack for 15-20 minutes then place in the fridge and let it set. Ideally overnight but if you're impatient like me, it should still be mostly set by the 4 hour mark! Enjoy as is or with some coconut cream and fruits or jam on top.
