Chocolate Walnut & Orange Vanilla Cream Layer Cheesecake
This is one of those show-stopping desserts
which are fabulous as a finale to a simple meal:
the kind to create "oohs" and "aahs" when
brought to the table.
It's spectacular to look at,
with its 3 layers of colour and texture,
but the fabulousness doesn't stop there,
because this raw vegan cheesecake is as delicious as it is theatrical.
The walnut & buckini base has a wonderful crunchy texture,
which is topped with a filling of jaffa flavours
(that classic combination of chocolate + orange),
in a deeply, darkly delicious earthy layer.
On top of that sits a refreshing citrus coconut yoghurt layer,
all silky smooth and tangy on top of the rich chocolate layer.
Drizzled with orange-scented dark chocolate
as the final layer,
it can then be scattered with whatever fresh fruit you have on hand.
Raspberries are in plentiful supply around here at the moment,
in the last of the warm weather in these early Autumn days,
but any colourful fruit in season would work just as well.
If you haven't tried buckini yet,
you're in for a delightful surprise,
because these little triangular seeds are incredibly versatile
in both savoury & sweet cooking.
Buckini are activated buckwheat grouts
(the seeds from the buckwheat plant),
which are then dehydrated to crunchy deliciousness.
We keep finding more and more ways to use them,
from a sprinkling on top of smoothies and ice cream,
to a crunchy addition to biscuits & cakes.
In this tart, buckini adds crunch and texture
to the base without being too rich -
so it's a perfect foil to the creamy middle layers.
Based on a recipe from Our Holistic Kitchen,
(sisters in Sydney with a similar plant-based pantry as ours),
we tweaked the original ingredient list a little
to suit what we had on hand.