The Best Ever Cheesecake (dairy, gluten and Soy free)

The Best Ever Cheesecake (dairy, gluten and Soy free)

The Best Ever Cheesecake
(dairy, gluten and Soy free)

For me it was like climbing Everest to make, exhilarating and a challenge, for only for the first  time. I had no need to be so dramatic! It was super fun. And I'm just talking about the making! Eating was a holy experience with every slice  we savored and were awed by this culinary feat of delicious wizardry

So in Jess' own words

I’m beyond proud of this baked cheesecake! The majority of gluten and dairy free cheesecakes are raw versions, or if baked, are made on cream cheese alternatives made from soy. There is nothing wrong with these types of cheesecakes however I was set the challenge by a lovely client (who loves to cook) to make a recipe to suit her list of intolerances. This included gluten, dairy and soy free as a starting point. I then thought, well if I am going to make a cheesecake recipe around Christmas time I should make it family friendly. This meant I had to get rid of the egg yolks as my sister would rather eat her own hair than eat something with egg yolk in it. Lets just say the challenge was set.

The Best Cheesecake Ever Gluten, Dairy and Soy Free

 

serves
makes 8 slices
preparation time
60 min + overnight soaking time
cooking time
50 min

ingredients

Base
  • 260g gluten free arrowroot biscuits
  • 100g dairy free butter, melted (or use coconut oil if preferred)
Macadamia Cream
  • 500g raw macadamia nuts
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 8 tablespoons pure maple syrup
Cheesecake Filling
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1/2 cup caster sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon tapioca flour
  • generous pinch salt
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest

method

Please see notes below on my recommendations for adaptions and swaps for this Baked Cheesecake

Start the night before with soaking the macadamia nuts in a bowl covered with water. If you forget to do this you can pour boiling water over the nuts on the day of baking and leave for 3 hours.

Base

  1. Start with making the cheesecake base. Add the gluten free arrowroot biscuits to a blender and pulse to a rough crumb.
  2. Pour into a mixing bowl and add the melted dairy free butter. Mix well to combined.
  3. Grease a standard round springform baking tin with some of the dairy free butter. Spoon the base mixture into the tin and press the mixture down firmly and evenly into the base and about third of the way up the sides.
  4. Place the base in the fridge while making the macadamia nut cream and cheese cake filling.

Macadamia Cream

  1. Preheat oven to 175c, fan forced.
  2. Drain the macadamia nuts and wash well. Add to an upright blender or high speed blender with the water, salt, vanilla extract and maple syrup. Blend well till smooth and well combined. It should be the consistency of a thick whipped cream. If you find the mixture too thick add a touch more water. Set aside.

Cheesecake Filling

  1. Add to a large mixing bowl the egg whites, sugar and vanilla extract.
  2. Use an electric beater to blend well to smooth and creamy, this should take 2 – 3 minutes.
  3. Now add the coconut oil, tapioca flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest. Mix once again for a few minutes until everything is nicely incorporated.
  4. Spoon in the macadamia cream from the blender. Fold the macadamia cream through the cheese cake filling until everything is lovely and smooth and combined. Taste the mixture for sweetness, tartness and saltiness and adjust to your liking.

Assembly

  1. Take the cheesecake base out of the fridge and pour the mixed cheesecake filling into the base and evenly distribute it with a spatula.
  2. Place in the oven for 50 minutes. At the 40 min mark place a sheet of baking paper over the top of the cheesecake to protect it from over browning. Continue to bake for another 10 minutes (total of 50 minutes) or until the top is firm to touch with a wobble underneath. The cheesecake will rise with splits in the top, which is fine.
  3. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the oven with the door open for 1 hour. The cheesecake top will slowly sink down over time.
  4. Remove the cheese cake from the oven after 1 hour and place somewhere safe to cool further to room temperature. Then place in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight.
  5. When ready to eat, remove the cheesecake carefully from the springform pan, slice and enjoy!
  • Base changes – Yes I used the old fashioned approach of biscuits and butter to make the base. Look, I already had a good challenge ahead with the cheesecake filling so I wanted to keep the base simple for me (and for you). However, if you are keen to step away from the bought arrowroot biscuits you could replace them with a 50/50 mix of ground almonds and ground oats or quinoa flakes.
  • Egg free – so you can’t eat eggs at all? Firstly, some of you may be able to tolerate the egg yolk and not the white. If this is the case I would recommend swapping the egg whites for 2 egg yolks and then and additional tbsp tapioca flour and 4 tbsp water. If you need to eliminate eggs all together I would swap the egg whites for an additional tbsp tapioca flour and 6 tbsp water. Please note I have not tested these adaptions myself and am making educated assumptions of the best swaps. If you do make these swaps or any of your own for that matter let me know in the comments below.
  • Caster sugar – you could swap this for a raw sugar if you like but honestly it really will change the texture and lightness of the cake. Its really not a lot of sugar so I’d just use it and enjoy your cheesecake!
  • Macadamia nuts – this really is the heart of the cheesecake, but you can swap them for cashews if you want to try an alternative nut. You could also swap the nuts for a soy cream cheese of any bought dairy free cream cheese if you prefer.
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