LEMON & PASSIONFRUIT RAW VEGAN CHEESECAKE

It dawned on me recently that passionfruit season is almost over! So I rushed to the shop and grabbed some, and this is what I made. A beautiful raw vegan cheesecake with passionfruit and almonds. I've made raw vegan cakes with cashews plenty of times before, so this time I decided to try almonds instead! The result was delicious! Definitely a rich choice, you only need a little of this flavourful cake which is wonderful as it can feed a big crowd! For a less rich taste you can easily swap almonds for cashews.  So simple to make and beautifully zingy.

I've teamed up with HealthPost NZ for this recipe and we are giving away a raw cheesecake BioBalance starter pack to two awesome readers! - BioBalance Chia seeds, BioBalance Manuka Honey and BioBalance Coconut oil! Head over to facebook to enter!

Chia seed in this recipe is not only for the health benefits. It's ability to form a gel when in contact with water makes it a fabulous egg substitute, and therefore it holds this cake together! If you don't have chia, you can always use linseed (ground is easiest to work with) in the same way.

Ingredients
4 cups blanched (white) almonds, soaked for 5-8 hours (or use cashew)
6 - 8 pitted dates
One mini can of coconut cream (165ml / 3/4 cup)
3/4 cup BioBalance Chia seed gel (place 3 Tbsp in 3/4cup water, set aside)
3 heaped Tbsp BioBalance Manuka Honey or sweetener of your choice
3/4 cup BioBalance Coconut oil
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice 3/4 cup
Passion fruit 4-5 for the inside, plus some to drizzle on top


Method
Make your chia seed gel. Add the seeds to the water, stir and set aside

Pulse 2 cups of almonds (drained) and the dates in a food processor or high speed blender until evenly processed, still a bit chunky.

Grease a cake tin with coconut oil and press the base into it. Place in the freezer.

Using your food processor or high speed blender, blend the remaining 2 cups of soaked almonds , honey, coconut oil, lemon juice, coconut cream, and chia gel until very smooth - no remnants of chia seeds or almonds. Stir in the flesh of 3 passion fruit.

Pour over your almond base and freeze for 5-6 hours to set, or you can freeze overnight and thaw in the refrigerator about an hour before serving.

Garnish with passionfruit and serve!