Double decker brownie cheesecake

If you are dairy free you can still make the bottom brownie bit and swap the butter for coconut oil, dairy free chocolate and leave the top layer out.


Brownie Base
200g dark chocolate
125g butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
2 tbsp coconut flour
Pinch of salt

Salted caramel cheesecake top layer
250g full fat cream cheese, room temperature
1 egg
6-7 medjool dates, pitted
½ tsp vanilla extract
Salt to taste- you can leave out if you prefer

Method

Preheat oven to 160c fan forced oven. 180c normal oven

Line a 20 x 20cm square cake tin.

Melt butter and chocolate together in a pot

When the chocolate mix is cooled a little add, eggs, vanilla, salt and coconut flour. You may have noticed there is no add sugar in the brownie mix. You can add some honey if you like just taste you mix and see how you like the taste. Spoon into your lined cake tin, spread evenly.

For the top layer blitz up the ingredients for this until smooth and then spoon this on top of the brownie base. Bake for 25-30 minutes, will be a little golden brown on top. When cool cut into squares/rectangle or whatever tickles your fancy. Store in the fridge.

Chocolate almond loaf

Ingredients

1 cup of nut pulp –this is what is left after squeezing out the liquid when you make nut milk, I have used almond here.

 2 eggs

¼ cup of cacao powder

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp honey or maple or similar

125g butter, melted

Method

Beat everything together then put in a loaf tin and bake at 180 c for 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Serve with cream/ice cream as a dessert or have with some butter.

Hazelnut and chocolate tart

This is gluten/grain/dairy/egg free- check your chocolate to make sure it doesn’t contain the ingredients you want to avoid.

Makes 1x 25cm based tart

Ingredients

220g hazel nuts, I used macadamias as well because I didn’t have enough hazelnuts, you could use any nuts

40 g raw cacao powder, you could use cocoa powder but you will need to use more of it and a little more oil too

40 shredded coconut

40g coconut sugar or other granulated sugar, I reckon you could leave it out completely if you wanted.

2 1/2 tbsp coconut oil

A pinch of salt

1 x 400ml can of ayam brand coconut cream

280g dark chocolate, check your chocolate to make sure it is dairy/gluten/grain free

Fresh berries to serve

Method

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a 25cm based fluted tart tin.

In a food processor blitz your nuts and coconut until it is a fine meal, add your cacao powder, sugar and salt. Blitz briefly then add your coconut oil until it forms a ball, it should hold together when you pinch it. Press it into your tart tin and bake for 10-15 minutes. Take out and leave to cool. In a small pot put your coconut cream in, when nearly to the boil add your chocolate and melt in then whisk until smooth and glossy. When your tart shell is cool add your chocolate mix and put in the fridge to set about 2-3 hours. Serve straight from the fridge as it softens quickly and the base becomes a little more crumbly. Serve up with your favorite fresh berries. If you wanted to add some liquor like baileys, kahlua, frangelico, that would be nice :)

adapted from "nourish" magazine, thank you to Vegie Head