Just wanted you to know that this fall-inspired cheesecake is sponsored by my friends over at Amoretti!
This fall-inspired caramel apple paleo cheesecake is SO creamy you will never believe it’s healthy and gluten, grain, dairy free and vegan friendly!
This grain free cheesecake is literally sitting on the table staring at me right now.
Luring me in with her crispy, crunchy, golden brown crust that is the foundation of a velvety smooth and INTENSELY creamy cashew layer, mixed with warm, cozy cinnamon flavors, rich notes of sweet coconut sugar, buttery ghee and that STICKY, DRIPPY caramel topping with tender, spiced apples.
Internet friends. If the fact that I am using my hands to type words to you, and NOT using them to pick up this cheesecake – no utensils REQUIRED- and shove it in my mouth, is not proof enough that I love you dearly… I DON’T KNOW WHAT IS.
By now you’ve learned of the love-affair that I have with turning cashews –> cream –> adding healthy-real-food ingredients like flax, apple sauce and natural, wholesome sweeteners –> GRAIN FREE CHEESECAKE.
Liiiiike. NO CREAM cheese but A-L-L the CREAMY.
In my mind, there are 2 dessert flavors that make me think of the coziness of fall in food-form: pumpkin spice (liiike, duh) and caramel apple. Realistically, I also think that caramel apple should be a “like, duh” but for some reason all the people of the world just HONE in on pumpkin spice ALL THE THINGS, and I feel like things like caramel apple healthy gingersnap recipes just doesn’t get the <3 <3 <3 that they deserve.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Celebrate cozy fall flavors with a slice of #paleo Caramel Apple Pie Cheesecake! @AmorettiFoods” quote=”Celebrate cozy fall flavors with a slice of #paleo Caramel Apple Pie Cheesecake! @AmorettiFoods” theme=”style2″]Considering we just ate chai gluten free pumpkin cheesecake, it was time to bring the cashew-cheesecake obsession into the CARAMEL APPLE territory. But first:
How Do You Make Paleo Cheesecake?
There are a few ways to do this – both use cashew cream and one variety is frozen whereas one is baked. I MUCH prefer the baked version because it’s ultra creamy and velvety smooth just like a “real cheesecake”
- Start with a base of cashew cream, which is just cashews that you let sit in water OVERNIGHT until nice and soft. Then, drain them and blend with other liquid, such as almond milk or coconut milk!
- Add a binder to make sure all that cashew cream sticks together when you cut into the cheesecake! I also wanted to make you a vegan cheesecake, so we’re using flax eggs and applesauce. The applesauce also adds to the “caramel apple” goodness!
- Add a LITTLE bit of liquid coconut oil. Since coconut oil is hard when it’s cold, this helps really set the cheesecake as it chills.
- Bake until the cheesecake just begins to rise – AND NO MORE. Over baking could leave it gritty and not luscious and smooth!
Now that you know how to do it, question: Do you ever have that moment in your life when something just CLICKS, and you feel like you have discovered your very soul’s purpose and reason for being placed on this Earth?
That was MY LIFE when I discovered Amoretti’s “Apple Pie WITH CRUST” Extract.
Read that again my internet BFF’s who love good food. WITH. CRUST. <– It ACTUALLY tastes like it. Mind blown. Totally IN LOVE.
Like I said, upon this discovery, I knew that my VERY BEING was created to share a caramel apple “cheesecake” with your just-as-food-loving selves.
No exaggeration. Just COLD, HARD (er…creamy?) FACTS.
Uhmmmm, I know I just professed my obsession with dairy free, paleo cheesecake buuuut will you be mad at me if I tell you I am equally addicted to something else at this very moment in time because hi-I’m-Taylor-and-I-can’t-pick-one-thing-to-obsess-over-at-a-time?
GHEE.
Is Butter Paleo?
Yes, some varieties of butter are paleo. It has to be high-quality and made form grass-fed cow. However, even still, some people DO NOT like to include it in their diet because of the lactose.
THIS is why, instead of grass-fed BUTTAH in this paleo cheesecake, I we are using Ghee! Ghee is clarified butter. This means it simmers for a long time and has the impurities – like LACTOSE removed. You know what’s not removed though? THE YUM.
It has all the rich, buttery goodness of…well…BUTTER. BUT without the lactose so the Hubs can eat it WITHOUT DOOM AND DEATH AND OTHER BAD THINGS. I’ve been using it to make caramel sauce for his morning homemade caramel vanilla iced coffee and it is SO GOOD.
Plus, it gives the VRYVRY necessary yumminess to the drippy caramel and cinnamon-spiced apples that crown the top of this beautiful little lady, glistening with shiny, melty coconut sugar BLISS.
NEXT LEVEL DELICIOUSNESS my friends.
Let’s all agree to take a little step back from the pumpkin spice fascination that threatens to overshadow all the other warm-and-fuzzy fall flavors.
There’s always room to welcome a slice of apple-caramel yumminess with open MOUTHS.
Ingredients
For the cheesecake:
- 3 Tbsp Flax meal
- 7 1/2 Tbsp Warm water
- 2 1/2 Cups Roasted cashews, * soaked in water overnight *
- 1 Cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce
- 10 Tbsp Coconut sugar (1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp)
- 5 Tbsp Unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 5 Tbsp Honey (or agave for vegan)
- 2 Tbsp Ghee, melted (or vegan butter)
- 2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Amoretti Apple Pie with Crust Extract
- Pinch of sea salt
For the crust:
- 1/3 Cup Ghee, at room temperature (the consistency of softened butter - or use vegan butter)
- 3 Tbsp Honey (or agave)
- 3/4 Cup Coconut flour, sifted (66g) **
- 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
- Pinch of sea salt
For the caramel:
- 1/2 Cup Coconut sugar
- 2 1/2 Tbsp Full-fat coconut milk
- 3 Tbsp Ghee, at room temperature (or vegan butter)
For the Apples:
- 4 Large apples, sliced 1/3 inch thick (I used Fuji)
- Lemon juice (fresh or bottled)
- 1/4 Cup Ghee (or vegan butter)
- 1/2 Cup Coconut sugar
- Cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the 3 Tbsp of flax meal and 7 1/2 Tbsp of warm water and place into the refrigerator to gel while you make the cheesecake.
- lace the soaked cashews into a high-powered blender (make sure you drained the water into the sink first!) along with all of the other ingredients for the cheesecake. Puree until thick, smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides as necessary. Set aside while you make the crust. Note: you want to be able to pour the cheesecake onto the crust as SOON as it's out of the oven, which is why it's best to prepare it first.
- In a large bowl, beat together ghee and honey for the crust, until smooth. Stir in the coconut flour, cinnamon and a pinch of salt until well mixed. The dough may be a little wet - that's normal!
- Press the dough evenly into the bottom of a 9 inch Spring form pan.
- Bake until the edges of the crust are lightly golden brown, about 7-8 minutes.
- When the crust has about 2 minutes left to bake, transfer the cashew mixture into a large bowl and pour in the flax eggs from the refrigerator. You want to leave them into the refrigerator as long as possible, so they can really gel up. Stir until the flax is evenly mixed into the cashew cream.
- Remove the crust from the oven. Your crust with most likely have risen in a few spots. Just use a small spoon to pack it back down flat, leaving no cracks. Immediately pour the cheesecake mixture over top and smooth out evenly.
- Bake until the cheesecake has risen slightly and the outside appears set and firm,about 45-50 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the counter. Then, cover and refrigerate overnight to completely set.
- The next day, combine all of the caramel ingredients in a SMALL sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring so everything is melted and combined.
- Once boiling, let it boil for 1 minute without stirring. Then boil, stirring frequently, until it begins to thicken, darken and reduce, about 2 minutes. Once thick, transfer to a bowl and let it stand for 15 minutes to further thicken, stirring occasionally.
- While the caramel sits. Toss the sliced apples in a squeeze of lemon juice and heat the ghee in a large, high-sided frying pan on medium-high heat.
- Once the ghee is melted, add the apples into the pan and cook, stirring frequently, until the apples are golden brown and fork-tender, about 5-6 minutes.
- Add in the coconut sugar and sprinkle with cinnamon and cook until the sugar melts and is syrupy, about 1 minute.
- Run a sharp knife around the outsides of the Springform pan, and then release the sides from the pan. Spread the caramel over top of the cheesecake.
- Arrange apples in concentric circles atop cheesecake and brush apples with any juices left in skillet.
- Slice and DEVOUR!
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Info:
Recipes written and produced on Food Faith Fitness are for informational purposes only.
FOR THIS RECIPE, I RECOMMEND:
THIS POST IS SPONSORED BY MY FRIENDS AT AMORETTI. THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO CONTINUE CREATING GREAT CONTENT FOR YOU BY SUPPORTING PARTNERSHIPS WITH SUPER-FAB BRANDS THAT FOOD FAITH FITNESS LOVES TO WORK WITH! AS ALWAYS, OPINIONS REMAIN 100% MY OWN!
Stay in touch with Amoretti on social media for more delicious ideas! Facebook/Twitter/Youtube /Instagram
AMORETTI IS BEING FAB AND GIVING 10 OF YOU A CHANCE TO WIN YOUR OWN BAG OF APPLE PIE WITH CRUST EXTRACT SO YOU CAN MAKE THIS CHEESECAKE! ENTRY IS SUPER SIMPLE, JUST USE THE WIDGET BELOW!
This giveaway will run from 10/09/2017 until 10/16/2017. 10 winners will be and contacted via email within 48 hours. The winners have 48 hours to claim their prize, or a new winner will be selected in their place. Open to residents of the USA and Canada only
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Gina @Running to the Kitchen says
This is gorgeous and sooo perfect for the holidays!
Taylor Kiser says
Thank you!! 🙂
Whitney says
I can’t wait to try this! Feels like a guilt free cheesecake 🙂
Taylor Kiser says
It totally is! I hope you love it if you try!
Liz Musgrave says
Absolutely LOVE this idea. I’m a huge fan of cashews to begin with. I would love to make this recipe with my mother Bonnie for Thanksgiving this year. Thank you for sharing!
Taylor Kiser says
You are so welcome! I hope she loves it! <3
Stephanie says
This cheesecake sounds amazing! If I get my hands on that apple pie extract I would have to make an apple pie smoothie with vanilla protein, almond butter and lots of cinnamon. Then paleo apple cake or muffins. Om nom nom!
Taylor Kiser says
ALL of those sound AMAZING! Good luck!
Brenda @ a farmgirl's dabbles says
Those fanned-out apples over the top are perfection!
Taylor Kiser says
Thank you!
Amy says
You mentioned a “binder” to add to the preparations of the cashew cream. What do you use and how much?
Taylor Kiser says
It’s the flax egg that is outlined in the recipe!