Morrisons Free From Challenge: Chocolate Vanilla & Berry Cheesecake

It’s an absolute pleasure to share this recipe. Not only because I love the finished result and photos, but this was a challenge set by Morrisons as part of a campaign to promote their Free From range. I was sent a very generous delivery of mystery ingredients matched to the kind of things I make – and as you can see below, this basically sums up my store cupboard!

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Straight away I thought: RAW CHEESECAKE. Yes. As you’ll see in the recipe below, it’s pretty straight forward to make yet the result is a decadent and stunning dessert, free from gluten, dairy and refined sugar. You can choose to leave the brownies out (they contain dairy) but overall, it’s a great one to make if you’re aiming to impress and can be made in advance. Who said eating free from had to be boring?!

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Ingredients:
For the base –

  • ½ cup Morrisons gluten-free oats
  • ½ cup Morrisons desiccated coconut
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil (Groovy Food Company)
  • 1 tablespoon cashew butter (Meridian)
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix together the oats, coconut and cocoa powder in a bowl. Gently melt the coconut oil, cashew butter and maple syrup in a small pan, then remove from the heat and mix in the vanilla extract. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir well to combine – it should come together and be slightly sticky. Press into the base of a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin. Chill.

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For the filling –

  • 1 cup Morrisons cashew nuts, soaked in water for at least 2 hours
  • 1 cup coconut cream
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup

Drain the cashew nuts and place in a blender with the other ingredients. Blend well until completely smooth, then pour onto the base and spread out evenly. Place in the freezer for 2 hours.

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For the topping –

  • Fresh strawberries, halved
  • Fresh blueberries

Once the cheesecake has been in the freezer for 2 hours, the vanilla coconut cream will be just about set. Decorate with fresh berries in whatever pattern you want, gently pushing them in. Leave space in the middle if you want to serve with brownies for extra indulgence. Return to the freezer for at least one hour.

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To serve –

  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • Optional: 1 x Morrison’s Free From gluten-free brownie

When you’re ready to serve, remove the cheesecake from the freezer about 10 minutes beforehand, to thaw out a little. Meanwhile, gently melt the coconut oil and maple syrup then whisk in the cocoa powder until you have a glossy chocolate sauce. Cut the brownie into small chunks and arrange on top, then drizzle over the sauce. Now slice up and serve!

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Hope you like it 🙂 Thanks Morrisons and Cirkle PR for this opportunity!

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