I've always had a little thing for chocolate cheesecake. Maybe it's down to my Jewish roots (the Jewish festival of Shavuot is celebrated by eating cheesecake - #winning) or maybe it's just because it's insanely delicious.
When I was little my favourite thing in the world was a triple chocolate cheesecake from Marks and Spencer - I used to savour every mouthful and finish every morsel. On holidays to America we'd always end up making a subconscious beeline for the Cheesecake Factory and stuffing ourselves silly with their unbelievably tasty (and unbelievably unhealthy) offerings.
And it's not just me - the original Mrs H (or my smother-in-law as I affectionately refer to her) is the ultimate cheesecake fan. At Hollingsworth family events there is always at least one kind of cheesecake, in fact six turned up to dinner the night before my wedding!
So when I started on my mission to a healthier life, I knew that I had to come up with an alternative. We've done a lot of taste testing (it's a hard life hey) and I'm so so happy with the final result. This chocolate orange cheesecake is everything I could ever want in a dessert - it's rich, smooth, chocolately, tangy, sweet, creamy, I could go on and on! In a word, it's just perfect, and without a doubt the best thing I've ever made, so I hope you fellow cheesecake lovers love it too!
P.S. it might seem like there are quite a few ingredients but a lot are used in both the base and the chocolate layer - there's actually only eight in total (excluding water)! We like to keep it simple!
Ingredients
For the base:
- 1 cup cashews
- 1 cup oats
- 1/2 cup dates
- 4 tbsp cacao powder
- 4 tbsp coconut cream
- 2 tbsp water
For the chocolate orange layer:
- 2 ripe avocados
- 3 ripe bananas
- Zest of a medium orange
- 8 tbsp cacao powder
- 1/2 cup dates
- 4 tbsp coconut cream
Blitz the cashews, oats and cacao powder in a food processor until they form a coarse flour. Then add in the dates and blend until the mixture is sticky but crumbly. Finally, add the coconut cream and water and blend once more until it all sticks together. Spread into the bottom of your cake mould and press down evenly, then pop in the freezer so that it sets while you make the top layer.
To make the chocolate orange layer, simply combine all the ingredients to a food processor. Mix until you have a creamy mousse-like consistency. Take the base from the freezer and spoon the chocolate orange layer on top. Place the cheesecake back in the freezer for an hour to allow it to set nicely, then remove it from the mould and store in the fridge.
Garnish with orange zest, rose petals, cacao powder or raw chocolate (to make this simply melt 1/2 cup cacao butter and mix with 3 tbsp maple syrup and 4 tbsp cacao, then drizzle on top of the cheesecake).
Love, D&H xx
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