Baked Strawberry & Hazelnut Cheesecake
This one came about as I was trying to find a healthy alternative to my dads glutinous cheesecake, he makes religiously every time i visit home. I REALLY can’t resist it & once I start I can’t stop!!! So I had to make a deal with him, I would supply the cheesecake and it would be just as good as his. The base layer wasn’t a problem – nuts & medjool dates – can do no wrong. Devising a topping however was difficult! I regularly make a protein pudding using similar ingredients, however I wanted to avoid using any protein powders, it was trial and error but this line up worked pretty well, and i will definitely be making lots of different flavours & combinations!
PS. I made a huge amount so don’t feel like you have to feed 14, half the ingredients servings for a more modest batch!
Serves 14 squares
Cooks in Minutes
Ingredients
TOP LAYER
- 8 bananas
- 750 g greek yogurt
- 1 cup of fresh strawberries
- 1 tsp vanilla powder
BASE
- 2 cups toasted hazelnuts
- 2.1/2 cups toasted almonds
- 2 cap fulls of vanilla essence
- 1/4 cup cacao nibs
- 18 medjool dates pitted
Method
- Preheat oven to 160ºC
- In a food processor place all the base layer ingredients and pulse until they are fully combined and worked down into a a thick dough, this may take 5-8 minutes depending on your food processor.
- Spread your base layer in a lined high rise baking tin, press firmly down using the back of a soon.
- For the strawberry topping, place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.
- Pour on top of your base.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes, the top should be firm and check the middle using a screwer to ensure its cooked through. For the perfect temperature- Let cool before placing in the fridge for an hour.
¨¨¨Serve with fresh strawberries.