Gluten-Free Vegan Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake

[nverland]

Gluten-Free Vegan Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake
Prep Time 20 minutes Chill Time 4 hours Total Time 4 hours 20 minutes Servings 10 slices

Ingredients

For the crust
½ cup roasted peanuts
1 cup (96g) almond flour
3 tablespoons cacao powder
3 tablespoons (63g) pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons (25g) refined coconut oil
½ teaspoon sea salt

For the cheesecake
1½ cups raw cashews soaked for at least four hours or preferably overnight, drained and rinsed in cool water before using
½ cup canned full-fat coconut milk
⅓ cup (111g) pure maple syrup
½ cup (128g) creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons refined coconut oil melted and cooled
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon sea salt to taste if your peanut butter is salted

For the dark chocolate drizzle & garnish
3 oz. dark chocolate finely chopped
¼ cup canned coconut milk
Mini peanut butter cups


Instructions

Grease a 6” springform pan with coconut oil, or line a 6” cake pan or an 8x8” square baking pan with parchment paper for easy removal and grease well with coconut oil. Set aside.
Add the peanuts, almond flour, cacao powder, and salt to a food processor or high-powered blender and pulverize to break up the peanuts until just small bits remain. Add the maple syrup and coconut oil and pulse until it comes together into a dough, with small peanut bits remaining. Press the dough evenly along the bottom of the prepared pan.
In a high-powered blender, combine all of the filling ingredients and blend for about 2 to 4 minutes, or until the mixture is silky smooth and super creamy. Use your tamper and scrape down the sides as necessary to get it to blend smoothly.
Pour the smooth filling into the prepared pan over the chocolate crust. Smooth out the top and tap the pan hard against the counter a few times to release any air bubbles. Place in the freezer to set for at least 3 hours, or in the refrigerator to set for at least 6 hours.
For the chocolate ganache, place your chopped chocolate in a small bowl. Heat the coconut cream in a saucepan or microwave until steaming and just barely simmering and pour over the chocolate. Let stand for 3 minutes and then whisk until smooth. Spread over the top of the cheesecake, letting it drip down the sides as desired.

Store in the refrigerator or freezer. I recommend running your knife under hot water to warm it up before cutting the cheesecake with the still-hot (dried) knife.
If serving from frozen, let thaw at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before serving. Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months or in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Recipe Notes

For a Paleo-friendly version: swap out the peanuts & peanut butter with almonds/almond butter or cashews/cashew butter (or any other nut/seed you prefer).