I’m a bit excited about this recipe…It really is one of my all-time favourites. Honestly, that first mouthful is just foodgasmic. I made this for my girlies and of course, we all went back for seconds and polished it off – I’ll definitely be making it again!
Another of those ‘tastes far too naughty to be healthy’ recipes, I urge you to give this a go if you’re craving chocolate but don’t want to eat the bad shit. Get your chocolate fix the cleaner (but still very enjoyable!) way with this stunning dessert!
Ingredients:
For the base –
- 4 tablespoons rolled oats (Mornflake)
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
- 2 tablespoons almond flour (Sukrin)
- 1 tablespoon almond butter (Pip & Nut)
- 2 tablespoons date nectar (Beloved)
- 1 tablespoons coconut oil (Lucy Bee)
Heat the coconut oil, date nectar and almond butter in a pan, then remove from the heat and stir in the protein powder, almond flour and oats, mixing well until it sticks together. Press into a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin, making sure it covers the base and is evenly spread.
For the topping –
- 2 cups cooked butternut squash, pumpkin or sweet potato chunks
- 1 x can full-fat coconut milk, left in the fridge for a few days beforehand
- 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
- 2 tablespoons cacao powder (Kaizen Living)
- 2 tablespoons stevia (Truvia)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lucuma powder (optional)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Open the coconut milk can – the cream should have separated from the liquid. Scrape this out (you should have about 3 tablespoons) and place in a blender along with the rest of the ingredients and whizz up until thick and smooth.
Pour this over the base and place in the freezer for at least 6 hours.
[OPTIONAL] For the pear & pomegranate topping –
- 1 large pear, skin on and thinly sliced
- 4 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
- 1 tablespoons date nectar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- Flaked almonds
Heat the date nectar in a non-stick pan and stir in the pear slices to coat. Add the cinnamon and cook on a medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, until they start to soften. Stir in the pomegranate seeds and cook for a further minute, then remove from the heat and leave to cool. Keep in the fridge until needed.
When you’re ready to serve, remove the cheesecake from the freezer at least 10-15 minutes beforehand to defrost a little. Remove from the tin, arrange the pear slices and pomegranate seeds on top and sprinkle with flaked almonds. Now slice up and serve!