Paleo Dark Chocolate Cheesecake

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If you’ve spent anytime on this blog, you’ve probably figured out that I love cheesecake and chocolate. We have had, after all, Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Bars, Cream Cheese Frosting and Chocolate Cake recipes featured. I decided that Valentine’s Day was the perfect opportunity to try out a chocolate cheesecake recipe.

I spend a lot of time surfing the inter webs looking at food. I am not paleocentric when it comes to the sites I visit. I visit chef sites (Jamie Oliver and David Lebovitz), I visit food photography sites like Food Gawker and yes, I even visit vegan sites. Let me tell you, those vegans are on to something when it comes to dessert. All vegan recipes will be dairy free and egg free, so they are a great resource for figuring out how to substitute dairy or eggs in your cooking.

This recipe is adapted from a mini chocolate cream cake recipe I found over at Pure2Raw.

The Bottom Crust

I used the same crust recipe that I did for my Chocolate Fudge Coconut Bars. You can use any kind of nut you want. Today, the only nuts I had on hand were about 3/4 cup pecans and 1/4 cup walnuts, so that’s what I used. I also only had about 180 grams of dates so what’s a clever cook to do? Improvise and substitute. I added 45 grams of raisins that I had left over from making stuffed apples in addition to the dates I had. The end result? It tasted exactly like it was supposed to.

• 1 cup of nuts (any)
• 8 large medjool dates (about 225 grams), pitted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 4 Tablespoons of cocoa powder

Put it all into a food processor together and whiz until a dough ball forms.

Done when it clumps like this

Press the dough down into your well-greased 8 inch spring form cheesecake pan. The dough is really sticky! I greased my hands and spread it into the bottom of my pan by hand.

The crust

Ingredients for the filling

• 2 cups cashews (raw, unsalted)
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup water
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder (the unsweetened stuff)
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup coconut butter
• 1/4 cup coconut oil

1. Put the cashews, syrup and water into the food processor and whiz until smooth.
2. Add in the cocoa powder, vanilla, lemon juice and salt. Mix well and scrape sides down as needed.
3. Add in your coconut butter and coconut oil. I didn’t melt them ahead of time. Blend in your food processor until smooth and creamy.
4. Pour your thick filling over your crust.
   

   Ready for the fridge—No Baking!

5. Refrigerate for several hours before removing the sides of your spring form pan.
6. Garnish with strawberries, raspberries, drizzled chocolate or coconut butter, flowers etc…before serving.
   

   Look Yummy?

   I put sliced fresh strawberries on my cake. Then, I melted a dark chocolate bar with 2 Tablespoons of coconut milk and drizzled it over the strawberries. Then I took some of my homemade coconut butterand drizzled that over the chocolate.

   

   Garnish however you want

   The Verdict

   This cake turned out really smooth and creamy with a rich chocolate flavor. I loved the finished look and think it would be perfect for serving at a luncheon or dinner party. My husband and I will enjoy a piece for Valentine’s Day, but the rest will be taken over to a friend…otherwise, we all know how this story would end. I would eat the whole thing.
   

   Creamy and rich

    

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