Raw lemon cheesecake

Lemon cheesecake with no cheese? It's like hosting a Greek barbecue where everything is vegetarian. At first it seems nothing but down right insulting. There will be yelling and plenty of tantrums. However, as your guests sample your perfectly cooked haloumi with lemon, then perhaps dabble in some of your delicious spanakopita, suddenly their worlds are turned upside down. They can be somewhat satisfied without lamb! That's pretty much the experience I had with this dessert. I was skeptical, just as my Yia-yia was skeptical of our vegetarian babysitter, but like my grandma I gave it a go. And also like her I realised I actually really like Ruth – and the cheese-less cheesecake. It arrives with a creamy, lemony smoothness and leaves with a sweet, nutty crumble. We hope you enjoy.

Credit: Nikki To

• serves

  4-6

• prep

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

Base

• 1 cup raw macadamias
• ⅔ cup shredded coconut
• 8 medjool (or soft) dates
• ⅔ cup flaxseeds
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp sea salt

Filling

• 1 cup full fat coconut cream
• 160 g dried figs (see Note)
• ½ cup lemon juice
• 1 cup coconut oil, melted
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp pure vanilla powder
• ½ tsp sea salt
• coconut flakes, to serve

Chilling time 1 hour

Instructions

Blend all base ingredients together until smooth and sticky. Press down into a 25 cm round pie tin to form an even base and refrigerate while you prepare the filling. 

Blend all filling ingredients together until very smooth. Spread onto cold base, sprinkle some shredded coconut on top for decoration and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Note

• If you have a particularly sweet tooth, you may want to increase the amount of figs in the filling.

Recipe from The Life Holistic by Jacqui Tedder, with photographs by Nikki To.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.