“Did someone say cheesecake and peanut butter? OK, you now have my full attention. This recipe combines two of my favourite things into easy-to-enjoy mouthfuls that look great and are perfect for entertaining. If you don’t eat peanut butter, you can use any other type of nut butter instead” Luke Hines
Makes 16 bites
INGREDIENTS
Base
100 g (1 cup) hazelnut meal
1 tablespoon coconut flour
1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of sea salt
3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
80 ml (1⁄3 cup) maple syrup
1 egg yolk
1 vanilla pod, split and scraped
Peanut butter cheesecake filling
100 g (1 cup) macadamia nuts, soaked for 2–4 hours or overnight, then drained and rinsed
125 ml (1⁄2 cup) Vanilla Almond Milk or Homemade Coconut Milk
125 ml (1⁄2 cup) maple syrup
125 ml (1⁄2 cup) coconut oil, melted
125 g peanut butter, or other nut butter
1 vanilla pod, split and scraped
pinch of sea salt
1 tablespoon gelatine powder, dissolved in 25 ml warm water
Chocolate topping
220 g cacao butter
120 g (1 cup) cacao powder
125 ml (1⁄2 cup) maple syrup or 175 g (1⁄2 cup) honey
1 vanilla pod, split and scraped
pinch of sea salt
METHOD
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a 20 cm square baking tin with baking paper.
2 For the base, mix together all the ingredients in a bowl to form
a batter using an electric whisk. Spoon the batter into the prepared tray, being sure to cover the base evenly, and bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 15 minutes or so.
3 To make the filling, put all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse on high speed until smooth and creamy. Pour this mixture over the base, transfer the tray to the fridge and leave to chill and set for a minimum of 4 hours, or overnight for best results.
4 Once set, remove the cheesecake from the tray and cut it into 5 cm squares. Place the squares on a wire rack or a baking tray.
5 For the chocolate topping, melt the ingredients together in a saucepan over medium–low heat until nice and runny. Pour the melted topping over the cheesecake squares. Return to the fridge for 30 minutes for the topping to set before serving.
Tip
Peanuts aren’t actually nuts. They are legumes, which is why those following the paleo diet like to substitute them for other nut butters.
