Mocha Cheesecake Squares
I put together my two favorite flavors — chocolate and coffee — to make one decadent dessert!
Ingredients
For the crust...
- 1/4 cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips (for soy-free try Enjoy Life) chopped
- 1 1/4 cup raw almonds
- 1 cup dates pitted
- sea salt a pinch or two
For the filling...
- 3 cups raw cashews soaked overnight (or at least 4 hours in hot water)
- 1 cup *coconut cream
- 3/4 cup coconut oil melted
- 9 Tbsp (4 1/2 oz) pure maple syrup
- 3 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 3 Tbsp cacao or cocoa
- 3 3/4 tsp Nescafé Clásico Instant Coffee Dark Roast (This is ground finer than some instant coffees and absorbs better. I don't recommend using a different brand. It's available in decaf as well, but I haven't tried it for taste.)
- 3 tsp vanilla extract
For the drizzle...
- 3/4 cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips for soy-free try Enjoy Life
- 3 Tbsp unsweetened almond milk
- 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
Instructions
- To make your crust, set the chocolate chips aside and add the remaining three ingredients to your food processor. Pulse until ingredients are combined enough to where you can form a dough with them between your fingers. If too dry, add more dates, and if too moist, add more almonds. Once a dough is able to be formed, stir in chopped chocolate chips. Be sure to stir these in and not process with the rest.
- Line a 9" x 9" baking dish with parchment paper and oil lightly, heavier on the two sides not covered in parchment. Press your dough along the bottom of the baking dish, making sure to cover evenly. You can now place this in the refrigerator until your filling is ready to pour in.
- Add all your filling ingredients into a *high-speed blender. Blend on high until everything is completely smooth. Pour the mixture into the baking dish on top of the crust. Place in the freezer overnight.
- Remove cheesecake from the freezer and let sit at room temperature for one hour. Remove from baking dish by holding onto the sides of the parchment paper and lifting. Set onto a cutting board and using a sharp knife, cut into squares of desired size. Some of this may still be frozen. Place squares in the refrigerator until completely defrosted, maybe another hour at the most. You may leave the middle pieces, which would be more frozen, at room temperature if you like, but don't let them get too soft. When covering squares in the hot drizzle you don't want these to melt.
- Arrange squares on a cutting board to prepare for drizzling. If you want some of the chocolate down the sides of your squares, make sure they aren't touching. Using a double boiler, over medium heat, whisk together drizzle ingredients until smooth. Using a spoon, drizzle mixture over your cheesecake squares. Place cheesecakes back in the fridge to let the drizzle cool and firm up. This won't take long. Now your cheesecakes are ready to devour. Store leftovers in the fridge (if you have any). Enjoy!
Notes
*Refrigerate cans of full-fat coconut milk overnight (each can contains about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of cream). After refrigeration, the coconut cream will separate from the coconut water. If in a hurry, freeze cans for one hour.
*You can use a regular blender but make sure to soak your cashews overnight.