Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake with Dark Chocolate and Truffles

---

Have your superfood cake and eat it too! This decadent masterpiece has a little hidden superfood magic within it: caramel-like, mineral-rich mesquite pod meal and antioxidant loaded acai berry. And that’s not to mention all of the raw cacao….serve yourself up a slice of bliss with this delicious chocolate caramel creation.

Ingredients

For the base

• 40g raw almonds
• 50g any variety of dried grapes (sultana, raisins, currants – just make sure they are oil free and sweetener free)
• 2 tablespoons raw cacao powder

For the filling

• 150g raw cashews
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 teaspoon unhulled tahini (or 1 tablespoon of regular, hulled tahini)
• pinch of sea salt
• 8g melted raw cacao butter (coconut oil works too)
• 3 tablespoons raw cacao powder
• 1 tablespoon acai powder

Toppings

• cacao nibs
• extra cacao powder
• date caramel truffles

To make 6 date caramel truffles

• crushed almonds
• 2 Medjool dates, pitted and each cut in 3

Instructions

1. To make the base of the cake, add the ingredients to a blender and process until you get a sticky ‘dough’.
2. Scoop out the ‘dough’ and press it into the cake pan lined with cling film at the bottom (this helps remove the cake easily when it’s ready). Place the cake pan in the fridge.
3. Melt cacao butter (or coconut oil) using the bain marie method. Add all the ingredients for the filling to the blender, except for the cacao and acai powders, and process until you get a really smooth, creamy mix. Scoop out half the mix and set it aside in a bowl.
4. Add the cacao and acai powders to the remaining half of the mixture in the blender and process for another few seconds until you get it mixed through. Scoop out the cacao filling in another bowl.
5. To make a patterned cake, add one tablespoon of the caramel filling on the cake base, right in the middle. Gently smooth it out, but don’t spread it over the entire surface. Then add a tablespoon of the cacao filling on top of the caramel one, and similarly smooth it out, but don’t spread it throughout. Continue alternatively with caramel then cacao fillings until they finish. Level the surface of the cake, cover it and pop it in the fridge to set.
6. When ready, dust it with cacao powder and few cacao nibs. If you want to drizzle a bit of chocolate as well, all you need to do is melt 1 tablespoon of coconut oil and mix it with 1 tablespoon of cacao powder until you get it incorporated. Using the spoon, drizzle that on top of the cake.
7. To make the date caramel truffles, roll each piece of chopped Medjool date into a tiny ball and roll it in crushed almonds. Add on top of cake.

Notes

Enjoy and be happy.