Not to brag, but I used to make a ridiculously good lemon cheesecake. It contained over a cup of sugar and a pound of cream cheese which I’m fairly certain equated to at least a days worth of calories per slice, but it was totally worth it.
Since starting the Specific Carbohydrate Diet I presumed my days of heavenly cheesecake were well behind me until I started to see raw cheesecake photos popping up on Pinterest. Although I doubted that ground nuts could really resemble silky cream cheese, my interest was piqued and I decided to give it a try.
Crumbly base? Check!
Smooth and creamy filling? Check!
A tart lemon filling which is perfectly balanced with a sweet blueberry compote? Check!
Not only do these raw cheesecakes taste better then regular cheesecake, they are healthier, have a prep time of less then 20 minutes and can be stored in your freezer for up to 3 weeks, meaning you can have a delicious dessert ready to go for those unexpected situations. An added bonus- my bragging rights remain in tact, I can still make a ridiculously good (and now healthy!) lemon cheesecake.
If you make this recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@everylastbite_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!
Lemon Cheesecake with Blueberry Sauce
Ingredients
Base
- 1 cup pecans
- 1 cup dates
- 1 1/2 tbsp lemon zest
- 2 tbsp shredded unsweetened coconut
Filling
- 1 1/2 cups cashews which have been soaked in water overnight
- 1 1/2 cups macadamia nuts which have been soaked in water overnight
- 1 1/2 tbsp lemon zest
- 3/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup honey or agave nectar
- 3/4 cup coconut oil
Sauce
- 4 cups blueberries
- 2 tbsp honey or other sweetener
Instructions
- Cut cling wrap into 5 x 5 inch squares and line each cup of a 12 cup muffin tin with a square (this will make the cheesecakes easier to remove once frozen).
- In a food processor combine all of the base ingredients and pulse until pecans/dates are broken into small pieces and it clumps together into a ball
- Place a heaping tablespoon of the base mixture into each muffin cup and press down with your fingers as hard as possible to create a compact and even base. Place the muffin tray in the freezer.
- In the food processor add all of the filling ingredients and blend until the nuts have completely broken down and formed a smooth mixture. Make sure there are no large pieces of nut, the entire mixture needs to be smooth and creamy.
- Remove the muffin tin from the freezer and fill each cup to the top with the filling. Place back in the freezer and allow to freeze completely through which should take a minimum of 4 hours.
- To make the sauce place the blueberries and honey in a sauce pan on medium heat and cook for 8-10 minutes until the blueberries are beginning to lose their shape and the sauce is bubbling.
- To serve, remove the cheesecakes from the tin, allow to thaw for 10 minutes or so and then top with the blueberry sauce. You can serve the sauce hot, room temperature or cold, it tastes fantastic any way. Enjoy!
Tried This Recipe?
Leave a comment below and let us know how it was!
would the recipe still work if you didn’t add the the honey/maple? I am doing Whole30 and would like to make a dessert for valentines. (i am past my 30 dats, just living this lifestyle).
For people with a cashew allergy, would it work to substitute extra macadamia nuts in place of the cashews or would it be better to substitute cauliflower (like used in the Cranberry Cheesecake Bar recipe)?
Yes you could definitely use all macadamia nuts in place of the cashews, it shouldn’t make a big difference in the end result.
A favourite in our house. Even my fussy eater 6 yr old son wolf’s it down. I make it as one large cheesecake, and just keep in the refrigerator. Keeps for days (once 7 days). Very happy that I can give my kids a healthy dessert.
Wow! I know how fussy a 6 year old can be so that is quite a compliment!! So happy to hear that your whole family loves the recipe!
Is there another but I can substitute for cashews? I’m allergic to them but very excited to try these!!
Are you ok with macadamia nuts? You could easily substitute those for the cashews and the texture and taste would turn out the same.
I made this with a small tweak — instead of putting into muffins tins, I just put into a 9×9 square pan and then cut into squares before serving with sauce. I did one short cut which made me mega excited. Instead of soaking nuts overnight (didn’t have time), I put them in my instant pot with a bit of water (maybe half cup) and set to manual for 2 min and let the pressure rise naturally (instead of instant release). I combined both the the cashews and macadamia nuts for this step. This seemed to work very well. I have made cheese sauces and custards with nuts before, but this seemed to yield the creamiest texture to date. I am guessing soaking for long time would do the same. When they were finished in instant pot, they had soaked up most of the water and were bigger — and fork tender.
Made these, ate these, LOVED them!!! Kids LOVED them too, even with the lemon, with all our dietary issues no one got sick eating them!! 🙂
Thanks Sonya!! I’m so happy to hear they were a success with the entire family!
Thank you so much for these wonderful recipes I finally have a no wheat base cheese cake, I am over the moon , I can even have the gluten free stuff, either to sweet or to much salt preservatives ect, I’m going to make it today
Thank you So much again Mennie
Thanks Mennie, I hope you enjoyed the cheesecake! Unlike a lot of gluten free desserts this recipe contains only natural sugars so its a lot better for you.
i want to try the cashew cheesecake. this looks delicious!
who would have thought nuts would work as a substitute. these look amazing, i will definitely be giving these a shot!