This is a stunner of a dessert and the base is gluten-free.
For the base
| 200 g | Almond meal |
| ½ cup | Desiccated coconut |
| 2 tsp | Ground cinnamon |
| 70 g | Butter, melted |
| 6 | Medjool dates, stones removed |
For the filling
| 400 g | Cream cheese, softened |
| ⅓ cup | Caster sugar |
| 3 | Eggs |
| 220 g | Dark chocolate (Main) |
| 200 g | Sour cream |
| 1 Tbsp | Cocoa powder |
| 1 tsp | Vanilla bean, paste or extract |
| 1 cup | Cherry jam, I used black cherry jam |
To serve
| 1 handful | Cherries (Main) |
| 1 handful | Strawberries |
| 1 handful | Raspberries |
| 2 Tbsp | Cherry jam, I used black cherry jam |
| 1 block | White chocolate, shaved with a peeler |
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Directions
- Heat oven to 160C (non-fan forced). Line the base of a 20cm spring form cake tin with baking paper and grease the sides.
- In a food processor, blitz all the base ingredients until well-combined. The mixture should be a crumbly consistency and hold together well when pinched.
- Tip base mixture into cake tin and press down firmly and evenly with the back of a spoon, ensuring it is neat and flat where it meets the tin. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling.
- Use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time.
- Melt chocolate in a double boiler or in a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water. Stir in the sour cream, cocoa and vanilla, mixing until smooth.
- Add chocolate mixture to cream cheese mixture and beat until well combined.
- Melt cherry jam in a small saucepan on low heat for 1-2 minutes.
- Pour half of the cheesecake mixture into the cake tin, and drizzle over two-thirds of the cherry jam. Pour over remaining cheesecake mixture, and drizzle over remaining jam. Bake for 1 hour.
- Remove cheesecake from oven and leave to cool at room temperature for an hour before transferring to the fridge for a few hours, or overnight.
- When ready to serve, heat cherry jam in a saucepan for 1-2 minutes, until melted.
- Garnish cheesecake with fresh cherries, strawberries, raspberries and white chocolate shavings. Drizzle over the jam. Serve chilled.
