No bake Eggless Creamy Paneer Cashew Cheesecake with Peaches

When I hear the name cheesecake, a delicate, creamy, delicious and fancy dessert comes to mind. A crumbly biscuit base, a layer of delicious creamy cheese and a topping of some fruits, this is how I love my cheesecakes! I am a big fan of no-bake cheesecakes, simply because it is so much easier to put together, saves you the effort of baking and is equally delicious. You can make it at night, let it set in the fridge and there is a wonderfully delicious dessert ready in the morning!

If you are looking for one such delicious and guilt-free dessert that you can be whip up in minutes, this egg-free and gluten-free paneer cashew no bake cheesecake is just what you need! Made with creamy paneer (whole milk ricotta), cashews, and a hint of lemon juice, this cheesecake is rich in flavours but light to eat.

I wanted to make a cheesecake and top it with peaches. I feel cheesecakes are a great way to include lots of fruits in a dessert. But I didn’t have cream cheese at home. Then I thought, let’s make a vegan cheesecake. But I realised soon that I didn’t have enough cashews. So, in the true spirit of Indian “jugad”, here’s what I did. I made my cheesecake layer with a mix of homemade made paneer and cashews. And the result was a real surprise! Cashews brought an amazing decadence and paneer provided the much needed lightness and freshness. Paneer technically is a cheese, so I feel this dessert really qualities as a cheesecake.

The base here is also made from scratch, with toasted oats and almonds combined with dates and some ghee. The past few months of living with the pandemic has taught me one thing, how to make the most of ingredients that are already available at home.

This hodgepodge cheesecake is made with some simple ingredients that you can find easily at your home. It is eggless, gluten-free and refined sugar free. I have topped it with peaches, but you can choose to serve it with any fruits of your choice.

Here is how you can make this decadent treat yourself!

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 20 mins Cooking Time: 30 mins 30 mins

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

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Ingredients

For the base -

1/3 cup - Rolled oats

1/3 cup - Whole almonds

1/4 cup - Pitted dates

1 tbsp - Ghee/Melted butter/Coconut oil

¼ tsp - Salt

For the cheesecake -

1/2 cup - Soaked cashews

1/2 cup - Freshly made paneer

2 tbsp - Cocoa butter/Regular butter

1/4 cup - Honey

1/4 tsp - Salt

For the peach sauce -

2 Peaches

1/4 cup - Honey

1/3 cup - Water

1/4 tsp - Agar agar

Instructions

For the base -

• Roast the oats and almonds in a pan until it starts to turn golden brown and starts to get a little aromatic. Let it cool completely.

• Add the roasted oats, almonds, dates, ghee/oil and salt in a food processor or grinder and process it into a smooth crumb.

• Take a loose bottom cake pan or a spring form pan and take out the crumb into the pan. I used a 6 inch pan here.

• Press it tightly using your hands or a spoon to form an even base.

For the cheesecake -

• Take the soaked cashews in a blender jar along with the paneer, honey, salt and melted cocoa butter/butter.

• Process it until a smooth paste forms, for approximately 5 minutes.

• Pour this over the cheesecake base in the cake pan and refrigerate it for a couple of hours.

For the peach sauce -

• Slice the peaches into think segments.

• Take water in a sauce pan and add the peaches and the honey to it.

• Cook it on a low flame for about 10 minutes, until the peaches get soft and the cooking liquid turns pink.

• Take out the peach slices and add the agar agar to the cooking liquid.

• Mix it thoroughly until agar agar dissolves and wait till the liquid comes to a boil.

• Let it cool for a couple of minutes.

• Take out the cheesecake from the refrigerator and pour the liquid slowly over the cheesecake, to form an even layer.

• Let it set in the fridge for 4-8 hours.

• Top it with segments of fresh peaches and serve!

Notes

1. Apart from roasting the oats and almonds in a pan, you can also roast these in the oven. I like to put ingredients for roasting when I am pre-heating my oven for a cake or cookies and store these in air tight containers for when I am making such recipes.

2. Make paneer freshly at home. It takes very less time, gives amazing results and is cheaper than store bought paneer.

3. While making paneer, make sure to add the acid gradually and stop as soon as you notice the curds forming. Lemon will work great here as that mild flavour of lemon in the paneer will bring a wonderful flavour to the cheesecake.

4. Make sure to grind the batter to a smooth paste.

5. Before pouring the peach sauce, make sure that the top of the cheesecake is set. Otherwise you will end up with swirls of the sauce like I did.

6. You can replace peaches with any fruits of your choice. Make the sauce the same way and top the cheesecake with fresh segments of the fruit.

7. For using any citrus fruits, you can work with the juice to make the sauce.

 

Did You Make This Recipe?

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