Redcurrant & Lime Cheesecake

We've had an abundance of redcurrants (and more than a few blackcurrants) in our orchard this week. Lila and I have enjoyed picking more and more as they ripen each day, and feeding the overripe ones to the chickens.

Ingredients

For the crust:
- 1/2 cup of raw pecans

- 1/2 cup almond flour

- 2 pitted dates

- 1 tbsp of light sesame oil

- 1 tsp cinnamon

- 1/4 tsp kosher salt

For the base:

- 2 cups raw cashew pieces (soaked overnight)
- 1/2 cup of cashew mylk

- 1/3 cup cocoa butter

- 1/3 cup maple syrup or honey

- 2 tbsp lemon juice

- 1/2 tsp ground vanilla

- 8 drops lime essential oil

For the top:

- 2 cups currants or berries of choice

- 1/4 maple syrup or honey

- 3 tbsp milled chia seeds

- zest of one lemon

* Blitz together the crust ingredients in a food processor until you can press them together to form a dough. Don't over-process or you will end up with nut butter!
* Press the dough into a springform pan.
* Melt the cocoa butter over low heat.
* Place the other ingredients for the base into the processor (no need to wash the processor out) and blend until smooth.
* Slowly pour in the melted cocoa butter whilst the processor is still running.
* Pour half of the base into the pan over the crust and place in the freezer.
* Meanwhile, heat together the berries and the honey until bubbling.
* Press the berries and honey through a metal sieve.
* Stir 1/4 of the berry compote through the remaining half of the cheesecake base and return to the freezer.
* Remove the pan from the freezer and gently spoon the mixture over it.
* With the remaining compote, stir through the milled chia seeds and leave for ten minutes to thicken.
* Remove the cheesecake from the freezer and spoon over the chia berry jam.

* Sprinkle with lemon zest and store in the fridge or freeze if you want to keep it longer.
 

In the summer, we love to store it in the freezer. I let it freeze, then cut slices (which can be frozen individually) and remove whenever we need a little treat.

This cheesecake recipe is so flexible. I've made it without the compote and added essential oils for any flavour I like.

A tbsp of cocoa and some tangerine oil makes a fantastic chocolate orange cheesecake, lemon is a classic and six drops Green Mandarin with two drops of on Guard is a beautiful autumnal version.

If you'd like some certified, pure, therapeutic-grade oils that are safe to use internally, here's how to get them.