Raw Berry & Tang - 2 layer Cheesecake

September (??) how did that happen?  I still want to be surrounded by summer!!!  It came so fast, hardly time to blink before it was Secret recipe club time again.
Once again I was given a link to a distant foodie. To then poke around, under cover of darkness, to covertly trawl through recipes that made me drool. To then choose one to recreate in my home.  Really, when you think about it, it's a bit like teleportation.  Well, I'm finding something, then bringing it to life hundreds or even thousands of miles away.  Also, for good measure, it is time travel too. Hear me out.  It's like... the Big Bang occurs in one kitchen, and then, months later, the outfall from that, reaches here.  So, recipes are like me, standing on my patch of grass and looking at stars…..well a little bit anyway (ahem..I think it's the sugar rush..gone to ma head!)

Chelsy from Mangia (means to eat in Italian…she's Italian…well actually from Texas, but the roots…they are Italian) had no idea I was snooping on her kitchen activities.  She has a LONG list of recipes on her blog and boy is she addicted to coconut…and peanut butter!  A moment of warm and fuzzy arrived when I read that Chelsy began cooking gluten free because of her fierce love of her little sister, who suffers from celiacs disease.  Ahh, the Italians family bond is certainly strong.

I was tempted by so many of her recipes.  Happy to see lots of vegan and gluten free bakery bites that I had no need to veganize.  Sugar free too!  Easy breezy.  I toyed with making the Lavender Vanilla Bean Scones then definitely decided to make the Apple Pie Breakfast Cakes before actually recreating the Raw Blackberry Cheesecake.  It looked so good.  I also couldn't help myself and made her chocolate dipped biscotti (gluten free sugar free vegan) too.  I didn't add the oats and I used carob instead of chocolate and they turned out with a nice hard biscotti bite and were lovely.  I packaged them up in brown paper wrap and a mauve straw tie, and delivered them to a friend for her birthday.

The cheesecake was relatively simple to make, and I complicated it by adding another layer to the cake.  Of course, you don't need to do that.  I used the ingredients I had to hand.  I picked more berries than I needed so I could freeze the surplus and make a blueberry and apple crumble next week.  Yay, for autumn and 'crumble' season (those of you in the USA call it 'crisp').  Same thing.

Raw Berry & Tang Cheesecake

Ingredients

base
1 c sprouted and dehydrated raw buckwheat
1/2 cup almonds soaked overnight and rinsed (or just use pre made almond flour)
2 dates (soak them a little to soften)
1 Tbs melted coconut oil
1/4 tsp salt

blackberry layer
1/4 cup agave or coconut syrup
I cup cashews soaked over night and rinsed
1 cup freshly picked blackberries
1 Tbs melted coconut oil
1 tsp fresh vanilla powder
pinch salt

mango & passionfruit layer
1 small mango.  peel and cut flesh away from the stone
1/4 cup cashews soaked over night and rinsed
2 Tbs passionfruit juice (push through a sieve to separate the pips…they are way too crunchy for me and my dentist already very rich)  3 whole passion fruits yield
a few drops of lemon oil, not essential but it elevates the zing a little
pinch of salt


Method

base
1. put all ingredients into a blender and blend until a dough starts to form.  Press mixture down into bottom of a springform pan and pop in freezer whilst preparing other layers.

blackberry layer
1. put all ingredients into a blender with exception of coconut oil and blend until smooth then slowly pour in the oil.  This prevents curdling and makes it so silky.
2. pop the mixture on top of the base and pop back into freezer again to set.

mango passionfruit layer
1. just do the same as the blackberry layer.

Pop in the freezer to set for about an hour. Remove 10 minutes or so before serving.

Here is the biscotti - Chelsy, I think you'd be proud!

Well, that is Septembers Secret Recipe Club done.  Now to await the reveal and see what everyone else made, AND who got me as their 'secret' recipe pal this month.  Why don't you come join us!

be well

India Leigh xx