Good for you cheesecakes!

Well, perhaps not 'good for you' but good for the soul! Since trying to eat all healthy, the one thing that I do miss the most is some good old cheesecake! Nothing beats a no-bake cold cheesecake with a rich crumbly base and a creamy and light topping! I've had previous attempts at healthy cheesecake which weren't that great- using mixtures of cottage cheese (urgh, the texture is disgusting!), yogurt, whole wheat flour etc, so I thought I'd keep it simple with this one. Also, peanut butter cheesecake?! First time trying this cheesecake flavour and I love itttt!

For the  base, I used a raw recipe using nuts and dates instead of the usual processed high calorie biscuits and butter. As long as you leave this to set, it'll taste great! It'll be hard enough to act as a base but also has a slight chew to it which works perfectly! I used pecan nuts as I find that the flavour isn't too overpowering and they also break down to a powder really easily but I suppose that you could also use almonds, walnuts or a mixture of different nuts.
For the topping, I simply used light cream cheese which only has around 130 calories per 100 g. Traditionally full fat cream cheese and double cream is used but using light cream cheese and peanut butter or yogurt cuts down the fat content dramatically, whilst still keeping a creamy texture.

PECAN NUT CRUST
For 6 mini cheesecakes

• 40 g pecan nuts, chopped
• 5 dates (soak in water for 5 minutes, then drain)
• 20 g oats (or desiccated coconut)

1. In a large dry frying pan on medium heat, pour in the nuts and oats and toast for a couple of minutes until fragrant (don't let it brown). Leave to cool.
2. Blend up the oats and nuts to a fine powder, add in the dates one at a time until it all comes together into a soft dough.
3. Separate the dough into 6 balls and press them down into 6 well greased muffin holes (I used a silicone muffin tray, no need for greasing & the cheesecakes can easily be 'popped' out! You can also just use individual ramekins if you don't want to worry about removing the cheesecakes).
4. Place the muffin tray in the freezer whilst you prepare the filling.

PEANUT BUTTER FILLING

Enough for 2 mini cheesecakes

• 1.5 tsp peanut butter (sugar free & salt free)
• 1.5 tsp skimmed milk
• 0.5 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
• 4 tsp light cream cheese
• 1 tsp honey

1. In a small saucepan, heat up the peanut butter and milk and mix for a couple of minutes until it comes together nicely, transfer to a clean bowl to cool.
2. Add the cream cheese, vanilla and honey to the peanut butter mixture and lightly fold until a smooth filling is obtained.
3. Spoon the filling into two muffin holes and smooth the tops with the back of a spoon.
4. Refrigerate for a couple of hours, preferably over night. (I was impatient so I froze mine for 1 hour and refrigerated for 1 more hour, seemed to work!)
5. Optional: Top with some melted chocolate drizzled over, use a knife to loosen edges before pushing out the cheesecake.

PASSION-FRUIT FILLING

Enough for 2 mini cheesecakes

• 4 tsp light cream cheese
• 1 tsp yogurt
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tbsp passion-fruit pulp (+ more to top the cheesecake)
• 0.5 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

1. Mix everything together except for the passion-fruit until nicely incorporated. Lightly fold through the passion-fruit pulp to obtain a sort of marbled effect. It'll look so pretty when you cut into it. :)
2. Spoon the filling into 2 muffin holes, smoothing the tops and refrigerate until set. Top with some more passion-fruit pulp.

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