Vegan Lemon Cheesecake (Gluten Free; Paleo)

The topping for this vegan lemon cheesecake is made with cashew nuts rather than dairy products. The base is made from ground almonds making it gluten free, lower carb and suitable for those on the paleo, GAPS and SCD diets. The cheesecake is also refined sugar free.

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The story behind the recipe

Apparently it’s Veganuary. The month when people eat a vegan diet. To be honest, I haven’t got a clue why this should be the case but it seems to be very popular.

Because I’m always bang ‘on trend’ (oh dear god, who am I trying to fool?), I’ve teamed up with a group of fabulous food bloggers for another challenge.

Before Christmas our challenge was to create simple Christmas dishes free from the top 14 allergens (#FreeFromChristmas). This time around we set the challenge to create gluten free and vegan dishes, calling our bit of fun #glutenfreeveganuary. Catchy eh?

More gluten free vegan recipes

So far my wonderful friends have come up with the following gluten free and vegan recipes:

How to make chia or flax eggs and Rainbow fruit skewers by Mel at Le Coin De Mel

Roasted tomato and rosemary soup by Nova at Cherished By Me

Chocolate oat thumbprint cookies by Ciara at My Fussy Eater

Warm kale, pomegranate and avocado salad by Emma at Free From Farmhouse

Pear and cinnamon breakfast rolls by Nathalie at The Intolerant Gourmand

Now it’s my turn to collect the baton…

If I’m honest I’ve lost my baking mojo.

As I outlined in my last blog, I’ve had to give up grains in addition to the dairy, gluten and refined sugar in an attempt to sort out my hormone issues (which radically improved under the Specific Carbohydrate Diet when I tried it to sort out my IBS a few years ago).

It leaves lots of things I can eat, I just haven’t quite got enthused about them.

However, after seeing Rebecca from Glutarama post a photo of a spectacular looking cheesecake on Instagram, I decided to crack on with a gluten free, vegan, grain free, refined sugar free version. I do love a cheesecake!

My vegan lemon cheesecake

My ‘cheese’ topping is made from soaked and blended cashew nuts. This makes cashew cream, a wonderful substitute for cream cheese for any self-respecting food lover. My kids prefer this to the usual cream cheese based cheesecake.

Since I’m supposed to avoid chocolate on this diet I’ve made a lemon cheesecake with a ginger grain free base. The base is created using ground almonds, coconut oil and honey and is very simple and quick to make. You could increase the ginger if you wanted to because you don’t really taste it…but it acts to disguise the taste of the coconut oil for my coconut hating husband.

If you weren’t avoiding sugar I would stir some crystallised ginger through the lemon topping (and base) which I think would take this to another level.

As I keep sugar to a minimum some of you might find this not sweet enough. Feel free to add a little more honey, but don’t go overboard as it will change the consistency of the bake.

If you like cheesecake check out my other recipes:

If you’re not vegan you’ll love my gluten free lemon lime and blackcurrant cheesecake

Then there’s my vegan chocolate cheesecake with Baileys

My no bake gluten free chocolate cheesecake (not vegan)

And my refined sugar free raw chocolate cheesecake with hidden avocado (vegan).

Make sure you Pin my vegan lemon cheesecake recipe to a Pinterest board:

Gluten Free, Vegan Lemon Cheesecake

This cheesecake is simple to make and utterly delicious. It is also Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Egg-free, Soya-free, Vegan, Grain-free, Refined Sugar-free, Suitable for those on the paleo, GAPS or SCD diet.

4.84 from 6 votes

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COOK MODEPrevent your screen from going dark

Prep Time10 mins

Chilling time2 hrs

Total Time2 hrs 10 mins

Servings 8

Author Vicki Montague - the Free From Fairy

Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary units

 

0.5x1x2x4x

• FOR THE BASE:
• 180 g ground almonds
• 40 g coconut oil - I use Coconut Merchant, melted
• 30 g maple syrup - or runny honey if not vegan
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• FOR THE TOPPING:
• 185 g cashew nuts - raw, unsalted
• 3 lemons - juice and zest (make sure they're unwaxed)
• 40 g coconut oil - melted
• 40 g maple syrup - or runny honey if not vegan

Instructions

 

• The night before you wish to make this, place the cashew nuts into a bowl and cover with water. Leave to soak over night (or for around 4 hours if you are in a hurry)
• Mix the base ingredients together and press into a round tin measuring around 15cm diameter
• Place in the fridge while you make the topping
• Add the topping ingredients into a blender and blend until completely smooth
• Scrape the topping onto the base and place back in the fridge for at least 2 hours (or in the freezer if you're in a rush) before serving

Notes

Nutrition data is for information only

Nutrition (Approx)

Calories: 377kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Sodium: 4mg | Potassium: 228mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 10IU | Vitamin C: 21.6mg | Calcium: 76mg | Iron: 2.7mg

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