Lime and Vanilla Cheesecake

 I set about to make a vegan cheesecake which would be easy, delicious (obviously) and lighter in all respects.I served this to a bunch of friends, without telling them what was in it. They loved it, and one even said it was better than regular dairy cheesecake and didn’t leave her with that sick and heavy feeling from the usual too-rich dessert.This easy no-bake vegan cheesecake is light, creamy and subtly sweet with a perfectly silky texture. Simple and lovely

  This recipe couldn’t be easier, and is super quick to make. There’s a bit of thinking ahead to do to soak some nuts, chill your crust and chill the complete cheesecake, but actual hands on prep time is less than 10 minutes, and there’s no cooking involved.The crust is a simple mixture of dates, almonds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds, set with a little coconut oil.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CRUST:

• 1 cup dates
• 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/3 cup almonds
• 2 tbsp coconut oil melted if solid

FOR THE FILLING:

• 500 g soft tofu drained
• 1/2 cup raw cashewssoaked for at least 4 hours (longer is fine) and drained
• 1/3 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
• 1/2 cup coconut oil melted if solid
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• Vanilla - seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla paste, or 1 tsp natural vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS

FOR THE CRUST:

1. Put all crust ingredients in to a food processor and pulse until you have a small crumb.
2. Use your hands and the back of a spoon to press the crust mixture evenly into a tin. I used a 20cm pie tin with a removable base.
3. Put in the fridge or freezer for a few hours to firm up.

FOR THE FILLING:

1. Put everything except the coconut oil into a blender or food processor.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. Pour in the coconut oil, while the blender is running. You'll now have a thick and creamy, but pourable filling mixture.
4. Pour the filling into your pre-prepared crust and evenly spread and smooth it with a spatula. Work quickly as the chilled crust will start to set the filling mixture quite quickly.
5. Pop the cheesecake in the fridge overnight (ideally) or for at least 2-3 hours to set.
6. Serve straight from (or recently from) the fridge. Both the crust and filling will soften at room temperature.