September is here which means one thing: it’s my birthday month! To celebrate my favourite month of the year, I thought I’d share one of my yummiest gluten free and vegan recipes: my chocolate & salted caramel cheesecake bites.
Salted caramel is definitely having its 5 minutes of fame at the moment, and I have to say I’m obsessed! There’s something so delicious about the sweet and salty combo and I’m very happy for this flavour this stick around for a while. One of my favourite ways to eat salted caramel is drizzled over gluten free pancakes or waffles. Indulgent, maybe. However, life isn’t any fun if you’re too restricted with what you eat!
Recipe origins
These chocolate & salted caramel cheesecake bites were originally created for my Instagram as part of my brand ambassador partnership with Perkier. However, I couldn’t help but share the recipe on my blog as well!
Celebrating the launch of Perkier’s brand new quinoa bars, I used the delicious cacao & salted caramel bar as the base for these vegan cheesecake bites. I simply broke the bar into pieces and squished them between my fingers to create a flat surface. I then pressed them into a muffin tin (I used a silicone one) to create the base – easy peasy!
To balance out the rich chocolate and salted caramel flavours, I decided to create a yummy vanilla cheesecake filling. Delicately flavoured and oh so creamy, this filling is everything you want in a vegan cheesecake.
Experimenting with vegan recipes
Although I’m not vegan myself, I do like experimenting with vegan recipes. I know more and more people are adapting to this lifestyle, so it’s important to keep up with the demand. I’ve realised after making a couple of cashew based cheesecakes that a strong blender is definitely needed! I’ve made a couple of vegan cheesecakes in the past with my old blender and they were grainy and not a pleasant texture. Not ideal when you’re trying to convince non gluten free/vegan friends and family that your ‘alternative’ baking is still delicious…
I’m hoping you’ll love these yummy vegan cheesecake bites as much as they do!
INGREDIENTS
BASE
3 x Perkier Cacao & Salted Caramel bar
FILLING
125g cashews (soaked in water overnight)
120g full fat coconut milk (left in fridge overnight)
3 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
CARAMEL SAUCE
75g coconut sugar
170ml full fat coconut milk
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
RECIPE
- Start by making the base. Simply break up the Perkier bars and press them into the bottom on your muffin tin (I used a silicone one). Pop these in the fridge while you make the cheesecake filling.
- Next, drain and rinse your cashew nuts, then add them to your food processor along with the remaining cheesecake ingredients – process until smooth and creamy.
- Take your muffin tray out of the fridge and add the cheesecake mixture on top of the chocolate base.
- Pop them in the fridge overnight to set, or in the freezer for a couple of hours which will speed up the process.
- To make the caramel sauce, simply add all the ingredients to a small pan and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce the temperature and simmer for around 15 minutes until it starts to thicken up. Take off the heat and leave to cool fully, then transfer to a small container and pop in the fridge for 1-2 hours.
- Once the cheesecakes are set, simply drizzle over the salted caramel sauce and melted chocolate – then enjoy!!
Sophie x
Oat So Delicious 