As a healthy dessert hacker, I’m always out to find healthy ways for people to enjoy desserts, and this cheesecake is a winner in my book! I mean, cheesecake is one of those desserts that people really love. Can you blame them? The delicious, tender crust made of our Shockingly Healthy Brownies (although you can use any healthy brownie recipe), the sweet, creamy tang of the cheese filling, and the endless possibilities for toppings. Just give me a slice already!

But did you know that way back in history, cheesecake was actually considered a great source of energy?! There’s even evidence that it was served to athletes before they performed in the first ever Olympic Games, back in 776 BC. A workout-fuelling cheesecake is a cheesecake I can get behind, so I decided to create my own healthy, no-bake, dairy-free cheesecake fit for an Olympian!

This recipe makes a gorgeous cake that will impress all your friends and family – and they won’t even know that it’s dairy-free and good for them, too! You can keep it plain, or kick things up a notch by adding some raw cacao for an irresistible chocolate cheesecake.

Ingredients

2 cups raw cashews (soaked in water overnight in the fridge)
½ cup cooked chickpeas
½ cup fresh lemon juice (2-4 lemons depending on size)
½ cup raw sweetener (raw honey is amazing because of it's antimicrobial properties, but maple syrup will work, and coconut nectar, which is lower glycemic will work too)
¼ cup milk of choice (we used cashew)
⅛ teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
¼ cup coconut oil
1 four-pack of Shockingly Healthy Brownies
Optional - 3 tablespoons of raw cacao if making chocolate flavored

Instructions

Soak cashews
Drain water from cashews
Put everything except for brownies in high powered blender
Blend 1-2 mins or until totally smooth
You can taste it! see if you like the flavour or need to add a little more sweetness
Press two brownies into a 6" springform pan to make a crust
Chop up 2 brownies and fold into mixture
Pour mixture into brownie lined pan
Freeze minimum of 6 hours
Thaw in fridge to serve

This may yield enough for an extra 4 inch spring form depending on how deep you want to make it. You can also make this recipe using a muffin tin for adorable individual servings! To make things extra-fancy, take a cookie-cutter of your choice, and fill with dairy-free chocolate chips or sprinkles to create a gorgeous edible pattern on top of your cake. I chose a star, because this cake is worthy of stardom!

We’d love to see your how your Shockingly Healthy Dairy-Free No Bake Cheesecakes come out! Snap a photo and tag us with #shockinglycheesecake on Instagram @shockinglyhealthy. Happy no-baking!

If you loved this recipe and want to find more like it, head on over to www.shockinglyhealthy.com/blog, and be sure to follow us on social media @shockinglyhealthy. To find out where to buy Shockingly Healthy desserts near you, head on over to http://shockinglyhealthy.com/store-locator/

Lauren Breuer is a holistic nutritionist, former personal trainer and the CEO of Shockingly Healthy.