Imagine a snickers crossed with a ferrero rocher in cheesecake form, and you're close to getting the taste of this amazing dessert. Combine the amazing peanut and chocolate flavoured layer with a hazelnut and cacao nib crunchy base and you're close to a dream dessert. Not only does it deliver on taste, it also has the added benefits of being gluten free, dairy free and vegan, so I reckon that means that you get to have 2 guilt free slices instead of one! What's not to like?
Ingredients
Base layer
140g buckwheat
20g cacao nibs
150g de-stoned medjool dates (approximately 10 dates)
130g whole raw hazelnuts
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp cacao or cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of sea salt
Cheesecake layer
190g raw cashew nuts (Soaked in boiling water for at least 1 hour)
250ml coconut cream
60g coconut oil
100ml maple Syrup
50g crunchy maple peanut butter (I like to use Pip and nut or you could mix 35g crunchy peanut butter with 15g maple syrup if you can't get it)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of sea salt
1 tbsp cacao or cocoa powder
100g crunchy maple peanut butter for swirling through the cheesecake mix (I like to use Pip and nut or you could mix 70g crunchy peanut butter with 30g maple syrup if you can't get it)
100g dark chocolate (70%)
Directions
Base layer
Preheat the oven to 150 degrees C.
Roast the hazelnuts for 5 mins in the oven.
Blitz the hazelnuts, cacao nibs and buckwheat in a food processor until they’re like fine breadcrumbs and then remove.
Add the dates, vanilla extract, salt, and coconut oil to the food processor and blitz until smooth.
Add the hazelnut, cacao nib and buckwheat mixture and pulse until combined.
Press the mixture into a rectangular tin (approximately 20cm by 25cm) lined with baking paper and place in the freezer to firm up whilst you make the cheesecake layer. Cheesecake layer
Drain the soaked cashews and place into a food processor. Blitz for 1 minute.
Add the coconut cream, coconut oil, vanilla extract, salt, cacao powder, maple peanut butter and maple syrup and blitz again until smooth.
Spread over the base and then dollop spoonfuls of the remaining 100g of maple peanut butter randomly over the top.
Use the end of a skewer, or sharp knife, to swirl the peanut butter through the cheesecake layer and then return to the freezer for 1.5 hours to set.
Melt the dark chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.
Remove the cheesecake from the freezer and drizzle over the melted dark chocolate.
Cut into rectangular bars.
Keep in the fridge until ready to serve.
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